Brain Health: Did Albert Einstein do Burpees for Brain Health?

I often wondered if Albert Einstein did any other type of exercise besides riding a bike around to help improve brain health. I bet he would have loved burpees! And, just like Albert Einstein, your brain health is important to act fast.

Whether you’re fiddling with the multi-purpose remote, playing one of the fast-paced video games with your kid, or trying to make up an excuse for working out, you are going to need to make quick decisions.

And because of this, you are going to need to keep your brain healthy the best that it can be to think quickly as you age.

Luckily, science seems to have found the answer to preventing brain atrophy: EXERCISE!

Exercise for Brain Health

I’m sure you think I’m crazy. After all, aren’t we taught that we should keep our brains sharp? When we think of “strengthening the brain” the routine usually consists of crossword puzzles or the occasional Sudoku challenge; not treadmills and push-ups.

According to a study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, people who ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes did better on a computer test afterward; as opposed to the group that had no exercise whatsoever.

Thirty minutes of cardio exercise changed these people’s brainwaves to the point where they could make better decisions, faster—that’s right, all thanks to some basic cardio and improving brain health.

Consider this: a clear head is a necessary contribution to keeping our brain sharp. A foggy, distracted mentality caught up with everyday worries won’t be so quick when faced with a problem or be forced to remember something.

And yet, that fog seems to magically lift while you’re pounding away at the treadmill or doing some burpees. You become acutely aware of your exhausted muscles and how ragged your breath sounds.

Mental Clarity

This mental clarity can also contribute to faster problem-solving and making new connections. For example, you could improve your problem-solving skills when you are solving a crossword puzzle while doing cardio or outsmarting your friends at Wii Tennis!

Wouldn’t life be so much simpler if we could simply keep that lucid perspective over the long haul?

According to John Ratey, a psychiatrist who wrote the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, there is overwhelming evidence that suggests the payoff of regular exercise includes increased mental capacity, cognitive functions and a stronghold against dementia.

Imagine the possibilities if regular exercise was incorporated for the rest of your life!

Healthy Recipes for Brain Health

Of course, another way to keep your mind sharp and improve brain health is to research healthy recipes! Despite how many hours you spend working out, your brain will always need a nutritional diet to function at its full capacity.

So, next time you find yourself stuck on a Jeopardy question, start doing some burpees (or jumping jacks or mountain climbers…), and channel your inner Albert Einstein. You never know what answers that could produce!