Exercise fanatics may be right – getting out and moving increases blood flow in the brain, U.S. researchers say. Tests on monkeys show that exercise helps foster blood vessel development in the brain, making the animals more alert than non-exercises.

“What we found was a higher brain capillary volume in those monkeys who exercised than in those monkeys who did not” Judy Cameron of the divisions of Reproductive Sciences and Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University said in a statement.

“Specifically, changes were most noted in older animals that were less fit at the start of the study” she added.


“The next step of this research is to determine whether other areas of the brain undergo physical changes. For instance, how are the brain cells affected and does that impact cognitive performance”.
Cameron, who presented her findings to a meeting of the society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, said the findings should help explain why exercise also seems to make people more alert.

The preceeding information is excerpted with permission from the IHRSA* Wellness Report, a newsletter provided to its member clubs with sponsor support from Technogym.