Why exercise is of particular importance during a pandemic:
People are attracted to exercise for various different reasons and the benefits which come along with it. Some of these include lowering the risk of developing heart disease, strokes and diabetes. Some people exercise to help with weight loss or to lower blood pressure or just to build muscle and bone density. However, the other benefits of exercise are often underappreciated, especially during these strange and uncertain times. In the midst of a global pandemic, many people are experiencing fear and anxiety and the brain fog that comes along with working the same long days from home without leaving the house.
How can exercise help with these feelings?
Various research over the years has shown that regular aerobic exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain associated with memory and learning. Exercise improves memory and learning by stimulating the production of hormones which can promote the growth of brain cells, making working at home that little bit easier (1). Although exercise is of great value, in terms of cognition, for anyone, it’s especially important for older adults because aging promotes changes in brain structure and function. Exercise has been shown to reduce changes in the brain that can cause Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia (2), so even if you’re not working from home, moving your body benefits the mind not only for the period immediately after but can act as a defence for the brain well into the future.
During these times, it’s common to feel your baseline levels of anxiety to be higher, making it harder to relax at night-time and fall asleep, which frequently causes or contributes to cognitive impairment, but exercise can be a massive aid to this as well. The energy depletion that occurs as a result of exercise stimulates recuperative processes during sleep. Not only does exercise improve sleep quality, but it can also help you to fall asleep faster because it produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulates stress and anxiety, which we all know can keep us up at night. (3)
Apart from having a good night’s sleep, exercise in itself can boost energy levels of all people, even those suffering from various medical conditions and progressive illnesses like cancer and HIV (4), who would be particularly at risk to the coronavirus and so may not be able to get out at all. Many studies have also shown that regular exercise reduces feeling of fatigue for healthy people who had reported persistent fatigue. This has been shown to be true for people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) as well. (5)
How can I exercise while on lockdown?
Hopefully at this point I have you convinced of the benefits of exercise for the function of your brain, not only for life, but especially during quarantine, where routines are altered, and minds can be clouded. However, you may be thinking about how you can safely exercise and get all the benefits, all while adhering to the rules put in place by the government to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus. At home workouts can be quick and simple, without the need for any gym equipment. Exercises like jumping-jacks, squat jumps, press-ups, mountain climbers, burpees and so many others can be done in a simple circuit for just a short amount of time and give you all the benefits listed above. Of course, there’s always the option of going on a run or walk within a two-kilometre radius for those who are less at risk and not fully cocooning. Even the more ordinary tasks such as walking up and down the stairs and cleaning/hoovering the house can be of great benefit when done with purpose, especially for the older population.
For how long and to what intensity?
The ideal length of time to exercise for, to bring about these cognitive benefits, is still unclear and thought to be differing from person to person. Many studies have shown improvements in mood, cognitive tasks and anxiety levels for acute exercise bouts as short as 10 minutes and the intensity of the aerobic activity is thought not to have a major effect on perceptual tasks (6). The main thing is to get up and be active, doing something you enjoy, that is good for both your body and brain!
References:
(1) Kirk-Sanchez, N.J. and McGough, E.L. (2014) ‘Physical Exercise and cognitive performance in the elderly: current perspectives’, Clinical interventions in aging, 9, pp.51-62
(2) Pedrinolla, A., Schena, F. and Venturelli, M. (2017) ‘Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of Physical Activity’, Current Alzheimer Research, 14(5), pp. 546-553.
(3) Driver, H.S. and Taylor, S.R. (2000) ‘Exercise and sleep’, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 4(4), pp. 387-402.
(4) Payne, C., Wiffen, P.J. and Martin, S. (2012) ‘Interventions for fatigue and weight loss in adults with advanced progressive illness’, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.
(5) Larun, L., Brurberg, K.G., Odgaard-Jensen, J. and Price, J.R. (2016) ‘Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome’, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.
(6) Brisswalter, J., Collardeau, M. and René, A., (2002) ‘Effects of acute physical exercise characteristics on cognitive performance’, Sports medicine, 32(9), pp.555-566.