Working Out Makes You Smarter?

Time to ditch the Sudoku, crosswords and those brain game apps! Countless research showing the link between brain health and exercise have been popping up over the last few years – more reasons to consider an active lifestyle and to get your kids active from a young age. Exercise not only makes you smarter, but makes you more efficient, proving that workplaces could also benefit by having a gym break or a stroll break during office hours – something interesting to share with your boss.

In one study, vigorous exercise was shown to improve IQ scores by 3.8 points and test scores. Exercise releases BDNF or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (a protein that makes your neurons healthier), and has been shown to potentially increase the size of  the part of the brain responsible for forming memory – the hippocampus.

Here’s an infographic summarizing a few studies that might interest you:

Source: http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/08/27/exercise-makes-you-smarter/