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Move!—Because Exercise Can Boost Your Brainpower

- Valentin Benzing and Mirko Schmidt

Most people know that physical activity is important for their physical health. People who are more physically active have a smaller risk of getting ill (for example, developing heart disease), they tend to live longer and they have a higher quality of life. Because of this, an average of at least 60 min of physical activity per day is recommended for children and teenagers. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer children and teens are getting the recommended amount of exercise—sedentary (seated or inactive) behavior is increasing, especially in developed countries.
Lack of exercise is not just a cause for concern because physical exercise is good for physical health, but because there is a connection between physical activity and the human brain. You may have heard the saying "be smart, exercise your heart"? Well, a large amount of research has been conducted that shows that physical exercise has positive effects on the brain. This research indicates that exercise can boost your brainpower under certain circumstances. More specifically, this means that physical activity can help the brain to work better and more efficiently.

License information: CC BY 4.0
MPAA: G
Go to source: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00022

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