![]() ![]() You will be more productive if you take that time off. “Even though it takes time from your workday, it will give you back time. “Adults need this, too,” says Suzuki, including teachers. She argues that movement breaks in K-12 classrooms support the deep kind of learning that they should be striving for. A simple burst of exercise helps students focus better - to filter out what they do and do not need to pay attention to in class.” And when they run around, their brains are getting a bubble bath of good neurochemicals, neurotransmitters and endorphins. ![]() When you cut down recess, you are removing time that kids can run around. “It really has to do with what we know about how the brain works and how we can rejuvenate brain activity – particularly focus, attention and mood. Recess has cascading benefits for children, says Suzuki. Movement will help your brain today and protect you against neurological decay in the future.” With exercise, “you are making synaptic connections, and you are making more synapses grow. As we age, exercise has a protective effect on the brain, says Suzuki, making it less susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline. Physical activity also increases levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and endorphins that support emotional well-being, motivation and response to stress. In addition, it increases the neurochemical BDNF, which acts as a fertilizer, strengthening neurons and making them less susceptible to breaking down. In her research, Suzuki found a single workout can improve a student’s ability to focus on a task for up to two hours.Įxercise stimulates the growth of new neurons, Suzuki explains, in a process called neurogenesis. In this way, exercise supports our ability to think creatively, make decisions, focus and retrieve key information. Exercise strengthens both the prefrontal cortex (which is involved in executive functioning) and the hippocampus (which plays a key role in memory and learning). Suzuki encourages people to think about the brain like a muscle. She says exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain, and she is on a mission to help her students and the public understand the “life-changing,” mood-boosting, cognitive-enhancing effects of physical activity. In this class, I don’t even need to take notes because I remember what is said.'” “One student told me, ‘In my other 9 a.m. She has been measuring outcomes of this hybrid teaching method in quantitative and qualitative ways. She also teaches a class at NYU called " Can Exercise Change your Brain?" To tap into the brain-boosting effects of movement, she begins each class with an hourlong workout session, followed by a 90-minute lecture and discussion. She is the author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better, and gave a popular TED Talk on exercise and the brain. These days, Suzuki has switched her primary research focus to the cognitive benefits of exercise. “My hippocampal memory was clearly better at remembering details and retrieving information." That observation prompted her to explore what exercise was doing to her brain. ![]() Then I realized that all of my work had been going better recently, and the only major change I had made to my life was regularly working out.” ![]() “About a year and a half into that regular exercise routine, I was sitting at my desk writing a grant and this thought went through my mind, ‘Writing is going well!’ I had never had that thought before. She signed up for the classes that “looked the most fun.” As she expected, her mood and fitness level improved – but she began to notice something else at play. I thought, at least I can go to the gym and try to feel stronger.” “I was trying to get tenure, and I was doing nothing but work," she says. Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki was a rising star in the field of memory when she looked around and realized that her lifestyle wasn’t sustainable. ![]()
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