The physical benefits of exercise are well known to even the sedentary couch potato but sometimes it is more difficult to discern the benefits to the brain that come with exercise. 

For years there have been claims both through popular belief and scientific assumption that exercise directly effects mood.  However, current case studies have successfully proven exercise helps ease depression and aggression, increase neuron activity in the brain, and improve mood.

“Research has shown that after exercise, neurogenesis occurs more rapidly, the formation of new brain cells”, said Dr. Lisa K. Sprod.

Dr. Lisa K. Sprod is an assistant professor for the UNC Wilmington School of Health and Applied Human Sciences. Her involvement in college athletics sparked an interested in exercise science that peaked when she realized it could be used to help cancer patients. Now, Sprod assists cancer patients through exercise. 

“We’ve done research in cancer survivors that have symptoms of depression, where exercise reduced those symptoms,” Dr. Sprod said.

A process called neurogenesis, which is the formation of new brain cells, occurs more rapidly after exercise according to Dr. Sprod. 

A person’s mood can fluctuate several times throughout the day. Studies have shown that exercise can help dictate a person’s mood.

In a study by the University of Georgia, 16 young temperamental men on aggression were tested before and after exercise. The participants wore caps that measured electrical activity in their brains’. To invoke angry feelings the men watched a slideshow of gruesome images before exercising. 

Half the group was told to sit sedentary while the other half rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes.  The images were shown again and the half that exercised reached an anger plateau while the sedentary group continued to have rising anger. 

Scientists credit an increase in the neurotransmitter, serotonin, when exercising.  A person with a higher level of serotonin is able to stabilize their mood better than a person with lower levels. 

UNCW student, Lauren Bellew, is a NPC bikini competitor and sponsored athlete.  Bellew has been a dedicated Gold’s Gym member for the past year and a half. To her, exercising one to two times a day significantly impacts her mood on a day to day basis.

“It is my stress reliever and it is my “me” time that I need for myself every day,” Bellew said.  “Any negative energy or any stressful emotions that I am feeling I leave at the gym.”

The brain benefits of exercise are not limited to avid gym members like Bellew but reach even those newest to exercise.  Activities like walking to class or the gym are a good starting point to a regular exercise routine. 

“I got frustrated easily. I am pleasantly happy…because I spent all of the negative emotions.”

Jesus Madrid started working out two weeks ago. With simple workouts, Madrid has provided more structure in his life and felt a decrease in his temperamental feelings.

“In the past week, my mood has definitely changed. My head is clearer, there is more clarity in what I have to do,” Madrid said.