A Leg Work Out for Your Brain!

While it may not be the first thought that comes to many peoples minds when they talk about ‘training your brain’, it has commonly been believed that maintaining a good level of exercise is as good for brain as it is your body. A recent study has taken a step closer to proving this link. It found that not only is there a strong connection between brain health and physical activity but that they are interlinked.

As more and more research is completed and compiled we have become much more aware of the negative effects of not using your muscles and your brain. We know that as we get older, if we fail to take time out to purposefully train our legs, that they begin to become weaker, reducing in muscle mass and bone health. It also leaves you at a higher risk of ailments such as thread veins and varicose veins. While these are usually harmless they can develop into serious problems that can impact your ability to walk.

The importance of our legs in our development as a species has enabled us to be one of the few species who spend the majority of their life on only their ‘hind quarters’. Therefore the impact of muscle degeneration in our legs for humans is much more debilitating than in other species. It was this knowledge that leg scientists to delve in to the relationship between leg movement and brain health.

Carried out in 2018, this study split two groups of mice into a group that would be left to lead the same life as the other group, however, for the duration of the test they immobilised the hind legs of the mice. After a month, they studied the subventricular region of the mice’s brains to understand how it had affected this area, which is the hub of their central nervous system. The group of mice who had hindered leg movement experienced a 70% reduction in their neural stem cells compared to the group that were left to roam as usual and therefore constantly exercising their hind legs. It is this high figured number that led scientists to confidently state that leg movement and exercise is important in the healthy performance of our brains. An author of the study mentioned how, “"It is no accident that we are meant to be active: to walk, run, crouch to sit and use our leg muscles to lift things."

If you’re looking for ideas on keeping your legs in good health, take a look at these leg exercise tips that will have you on the road to having healthy legs in no time.