This Workout Will Make You Smarter, Says Study

Working out can be just as healthy for your brain as it is for your body.

A new study from the National Institute of Health claims that running also makes you smarter. That’s right, a daily jog can do more than just improve your cardiovascular fitness, burn calories, and strengthen your bones.

Researchers at NIH reported that one protein in particular, Cathepsin B, which is released after aerobic activity to help muscles recover, can also make its way to the brain.

After having subjects run up to four times a day over the course of four months, researchers used various cognitive tests to discover that the more the subjects ran, the more Cathepsin B was released, and the more their test scores improved.

Henriette van Praag, a researcher at the NIH, concluded that the brain is more effective with Cathepsin B helping it to function. “There is good reason to think that any amount of exercise is going to be better than none,” she said.

And while that might be obvious, it’s important to note that for the purposes of improving your test scores and maintaining healthy brain functions, running on the treadmill is going to be more beneficial than attending a yoga class.

Let this be your motivation to make it to the gym before/after work!

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