Which type of exercise is best for the brain?

Running, weight training or high-intensity interval training, which do you think is the best option for long-term brain health? Surprisingly, it's not about how hard you train.

While physical activity is known to impact brain function and size, a study recently published in The Journal of Physiology claims that certain forms of exercise also aid in the creation of new brain cells.



In the study, researchers injected adult male rats with a substance that marks new brain cells and grouped them into different workouts, with one group as sedentary to serve as controls. According to The New York Times, some of the rats were given running wheels in their cages, allowing them to run at will. It was noted that most jogged moderately every day for several miles; however, individual mileage varied.

Some were placed on resistance training, which in this case, involves rats climbing a wall with small weights attached to their tails.

Those grouped for high-intensity interval training were placed on little treadmills and required to sprint at a very rapid and strenuous pace for three minutes, followed by two minutes of slow skittering, with the entire sequence repeated twice more, for a total of 15 minutes of running.



After continuing this regimen for seven weeks, researchers examined brain tissue from the hippocampus (the centre of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system) of each animal. Interestingly enough, the results showed very different levels of brain cell creation, depending on how each rodent had exercised.

Here are the results:

Jog: These rats displayed the best results, with robust neurogenesis (growth and development of nervous tissue) levels. The greater the distance covered, the more new cells their brain contained.

High-intensity interval training: Far fewer new neurons were recorded in the brains of animals that had completed this training. They showed somewhat higher amounts than in the sedentary animals but far less than in the distance runners.

Weight training: Although the rats in this group were much stronger at the end of the experiment than they had been at the start, they showed no discernible increase in neurogenesis levels. Their hippocampal tissue looked the same as the control.

Since the study is based on rats, findings may be taken with a pinch of salt. However, according to the study's lead researcher Miriam Nokia claims that "sustained aerobic exercise might be most beneficial for brain health also in humans.”

Proving that certain exercises are, in fact, more beneficial for the human brain than others.

With this study, researchers concluded that sustained aerobic exercise is the key to creation of new brain cells. For those who take part in high intensive training, there will be a certain level of growth in the brain cells compared to those who live a sedentary lifestyle. On the other hand, potential brain benefits of high-intensity interval training may be undercut by its very intensity.