How does exercise and nutrition affect your brain?

Exercise has long been an activity that people turn to in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When you’re feeling down, going for a walk can help relieve your stresses. When you’re feeling overweight or out of shape, going to the gym 2-3 times a week can help you feel healthier. Exercise can even help your brain process information better, giving you a chance to catch up to yourself.

At the same time, proper nutrition can jump-start your health and help you maintain your wellness in a positive way. What many people may not know is that you can’t just workout and expect to see results for too long. Your wellness depends not only on exercising, but also what you put into your body.

So how exactly does the combination of exercise and proper nutrition affect your brain? Here are some ways.

Energy

Eating foods like fish, nuts, dark chocolates, raw carrots, blueberries, and avocados can help your body and brain maintain its energy levels. Things like a cheeseburger from McDonald’s, a slice of pizza, and candy that is coated in sugar will give you a boost of energy in the short-term but then will sadly drop off, leaving you less fueled and tired afterwards.

In order to exercise, your brain needs food. As stated above, in order for your brain to give your body more of a chance at success, you should focus on a diet that will give you energy throughout the day. This will leave you less tired and more motivated to reach for your goals.

Focus

Both exercising and adopting a diet full of proper nutrition can impact your ability to focus in a positive way. Having a lifestyle that consists of a lot of sitting and eating bad foods will most likely result in less of an opportunity to focus and be productive. Our brains need the right kinds of fuels to function properly. Without a functioning brain, your body may not feel up to the task of exercising. That’s a lose-lose situation.

Productivity

Exercising at the right time can propel you to be more productive with other areas of your life. For example, getting up early (after sleeping the right amount) and heading to the gym before work can help you get more work done throughout the day. Don’t forget: Most Gyms open at 5:30am. Come up early and get a nice workout in so that your days can be much more productive.

Having a diet that is filled with sugars and saturated fats can slow you down. In my personal experience, I’ve even felt as if I had a cloudy mind after eating those bad foods, resulting in less productivity and more of a tired feeling. When you fill your body with the right kinds of foods, your brain has a chance to do more. Give your body that opportunity.

Endorphins

Exercise is scientifically proven to make you a happier person. Your endorphins go crazy when you go for a walk instead of sitting on your couch and watching reruns of “Friends.” If you haven’t been active for a while, go for a walk. You’ll see what I’m talking about afterwards when you feel refreshed and happier.

Eating the right foods can fuel you for your exercise. To keep your body performing at its peak, fill your body with fresh foods, important nutrients, and lots of water.

Clean Slate

When you exercise, it actually helps you sort through all of the million things that you’re thinking about, which can help you stay fresh both mentally and physically. Who knew that going for a 20 minute walk or job could help you clean your mind slate and develop critical thinking skills?

Likewise, eating healthy foods can help your mind stay clear. We’ve all had those moments where we are thinking too many things at once and we become flustered. That could be from eating fast food or foods that don’t help but hurt your brain.