Our Brains and Physical
Exercise
• We all know that exercise
is good for our health but
did you know that exercise
is also good for your brain?

Five main points to help get you
moving and keep you moving.

1. Keep your body active.
 “Some studies have found that
exercise boosts activity in the brain's
frontal lobes and the hippocampus.”
 If we start exercising today then we
will feel better about ourselves today.
Baby steps will get us to our ultimate
goals.
 http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/depressi
on/a/howexercise.htm

2. Water, water, water
• It is highly important that we stay hydrated throughout the day
as well as during our workout.
• “A drop of as little as 1 to 2% of fluid levels can result in slower
processing speeds, impaired short-term memory, tweaked
visual tracking and deficits in attention.”
– http://www.lumosity.com/blog/brain-hydration/

3. Increase your Health
and Memory.
 Increase neurons in from your hippocampus.
 Increases positive thoughts as we are making
positive choices for long term health.
 New brain cells are actually being created as we
exercise. This will help sustain our memory as we
continue to exercise.
 Increase long term memory for elderly.
http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/03/02/train-
your-muscles-embiggen-your-hippocampus/

4. Prevention of illness
• Decreases heart disease
• Lowers the risk of diabetes
• Reduces the risk of cancer
• Less aches and pains as we
get older

5. Weight loss
 Exercising is one of the most
important things we can do for
our bodies. The second is
watching what we put into our
bodies.
 It is important that we watch the
amount of calories going into our
bodies as well as how much we
are using throughout the day.
 Calories eaten should be less than
what we use, this will help to increase
weight loss.

Using Brain Exercises
• Brain Gym activities that will
increase your brain activity which
will lower stress and anxiety.
– Hook-ups: calms the mind so brain
can focus a activity.
– The Positive Points: Helps stress
related memories become more
manageable.
– Belly Breathing: Helps to focus
when there is a challenge task
ahead.

Brain Gym Exercises students can
use to help them refocus:
 To help children focus
on academic skills,
great to use right
before testing.
 Calf Pump
 The Grounder
 The Gravity Glider

Annotated Bibliography
* Schlosberg, Suzanne Neporent, and Liz Neoirebt. Fat-Free Truth: Real Answers to the Fitness
and Weighloss Questions You Wonder about Most . Boston, MA USA: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, 07/2005. 368. eBook.
This book gives readers realistic approaches to Weight loss and Fitness. The approaches
are based on many different authorities in the medical field, The book also gives the reader
tips on where to go to get more information.
* Blech, Jorg. Healing Through Exercise: Scientifically-Proven Ways to Prevent and Overcome
Illness and Lengthen Your Life . New York, NY USA: Da Capo Press, 03/2009. 255. eBook.
This book gives readers hope when they are going through medical challenges, This hope
comes through exercises that will keep their bodies moving before they go though an illness
as well as if they become ill.
Dennison, Paul, and Gail Dennison. Brian Gym. Teacher's. Ventura, CA USA: Hearts at Play,
Inc., 2010. 134. Print.
This book covers many exercises that help children as well as adults find focus and reduce
stress through easy to follow instructions.

Annotated Bibliography Cont.
* Scicurious, "Train your Muscles, Embiggen your Hippocampus." Neurotic Physiology.
Scientopia, 03 02 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2012.
http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/03/02/train-your-muscles-embiggen- your-
hippocampus/>.
This blog states that physical exercise can promote longevity and better health.
This shows a video of a 67 year old lady who is competing in sprints with much younger
people.
* Holmes, Leonard. "How Does Exercise Improve Mental Health?." About.com A part of the
New York Times Company. 18 03 2010: 1. Web. 5 Aug. 2012.
<http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/depression/a/howexercise.htm/>.
This blog tells how the chemicals in our brain react to exercise.
* Kellett, Gregory. "Brain Hydration." Lumosity Blog. lumosity.com, 07 01 2009. Web. 5 Aug.
2012. <http://www.lumosity.com/blog/brain-hydration/
This blog show the effects on our brain if we don’t drink enough water throughout
the day as well as when we are exerting ourselves though working out or day to
day activities.
Syah, Jeong. "Jeong Syah: Brian Gym for Everyone." N.p., 03 2011. Web. Web. 5 Aug. 2012.
<http://jeongsyah.blogspot.com/2011/03/brain-gym-is-for-everyone.html>.
This blog show pictures of Brain Gym Exercises as well as gives detailed
descriptions of each exercise.