Researchers Find The Missing Link For Why Exercise Makes You Smarter
Eye blinking is the missing link between fitness and brain function.
Most of us know by now that successful people exercise. It’s such a status symbol that the workout routines of presidents like Bush and Obama and CEOs like Ariana Huffington and Jeff Bezos are frequently covered by the media. We know exercise is good for us, but one of the biggest appeals for high performers is the way it boosts our cognitive function. Exercise literally makes us smarter. But how exactly does that happen? Spoiler alert: it’s dopamine.
Scientists have been trying to find the exact mechanism behind the boost in brain function exercise gives us for a while. It looks like exercise boosts growth factors in the brain, which means brain cells can grow and adapt, a process called neuroplasticity. And research also finds that exercise improves neuronal efficiency, so our brain cells work faster and interact with each other better. But the actual biological link between exercise and these cognitive improvements has remained unknown. Until now.
A research team from Japan has found the missing link between exercise and better cognitive function. And they did it by studying how fast people blink their eyes.
