addition of even just a little bit of extra movement in the
day:^2 one study from the University of Utah found that just
two minutes of walking for every hour spent sitting
dramatically reduced (by 33 percent) risk of early death,
while a study out of the University of Cambridge found that
an hour of moderate intensity exercise a day eliminated it
completely.^3
For the brain, exercise might as well be considered a
panacea, continually validated by research trials in both the
cognitively healthy and impaired. It acts as both medicine
and a tonic, coating our vulnerable organ in a chemical
cocktail of “smart” molecules ranging from powerful
antioxidants to nerve growth factors. And after reading this
section, you’ll know exactly how to implement exercise for
maximum cognitive gain.
The Brain Grower
Okay, so you’re sold on exercise. Where do we start?
There are two main energy systems that you can train—
aerobic and anaerobic. For simplicity’s sake, aerobic
exercise is akin to a long bike ride or hike, while anaerobic
exercise tends to include weight lifting and sprinting. Think
of the former as fat and oxygen burning and the latter as
sugar burning.
Aerobic training gets your heart rate up and can be
sustained for a long period of time. The vast majority of the
day you are functioning in a state of aerobic respiration.
Aerobic exercise simply increases the intensity and demand
on your metabolism, but under similar metabolic conditions.