It's no secret that exercise is not just good for your body, but also the mind. Now, scientists have pinpointed why working out holds these brain benefits.


The findings, published in the journal Cell Metabolism[1] , show that endurance exercise seems to lead to the production of a molecule called irisin. Irisin boosts the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a growth factor that may play a role in protecting against symptoms of neurological diseases.


Indeed, researchers found that when they raised irisin levels in the blood of mice, there was activation of memory- and learning-related genes.


"Our results indicate that FNDC5/irisin has the ability control a very important neuroprotective pathway[2] in the brain," study researcher Dr. Bruce Spiegelman, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.


Of course, the benefits of exercise can be seen all throughout the body. Check out this guide to what happens to your body when you exercise[3] , and click through the slideshow below for more ways exercise is good for your brain:



Also on HuffPost:




Loading Slideshow...



  • It Sharpens Thinking


    Earlier this year, Dartmouth researchers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/exercise-makes-you-smarter-adhd-research_n_1528383.html">added support to mounting evidence about the way that exercise affects learning</a> and mental acuity: it boosts the production of “brain derived neurotrophic factor" -- or BDNF – a protein that is thought to help with mental acuity, learning and memory.




  • It May Alleviate Childhood ADHD Symptoms


    In the same Dartmouth study, the researchers discovered that, thanks to the BDNF boost, exercise also helped to <a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/05/exercise-memory-and-adhd/">alleviate ADHD-like symptoms in juvenile rats</a>. Since BDNF is involved in the brain's development and growth of new cells, the effect was more profound on the younger rats, with their still-developing brains and more rapid cell turnover, compared to adult rats.




  • It Helps You Learn New Tricks


    Even one exercise session can help you retain physical skills by enhancing what's commonly known as "muscle memory" or "motor memory," according to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433433/">new research published in <em>PlosOne</em>.</a> <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/how-exercise-can-help-you-master-new-skills/">As the New York <em>Times</em> reported</a>, men who were taught to follow a complicated pattern on a computer and subsequently exercised were better able to remember the pattern in subsequent days than the men who didn't exercise after the initial squiggle test.




  • It Supports Problem-Solving


    In one study, mice that exercised by running not only generated new neurons, but those neurons lit up when the mice performed unfamiliar tasks like <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html?pagewanted=all">navigating a new environment</a>.




  • It Helps Alleviate Symptoms Of Depression


    When you exercise, your pituitary gland releases endorphins to help mitigate the physical stress and pain you are experiencing. But those endorphins may play a more important and longer-lasting role: they could help alleviate symptoms of depression, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043">according to a Mayo Clinic report</a>.




  • It Reduces Stress


    Although exercising raises our levels of cortisol -- the hormone that causes physical stress and is even associated with long-term memory impairment -- its overall effect is one of a stress reducer. That's because exercise increases the <a href="http://www.hormones.gr/57/article/article.html">body's threshold for cortisol</a>, making you more inured to stressors.




  • It Helps Delay Age-Associated Memory Loss


    As we get older, an area of the brain called the hippocampus shrinks. That's why age is associated with memory loss across the board. However, profound memory loss -- such as in dementia and Alzheimer's disease patients -- is also contributed to by accelerated hippocampus shrinking. Luckily, the hippocampus is also an area of the brain that generate new neurons throughout a lifespan. And, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/02/21/133777018/aerobic-exercise-may-improve-memory-in-seniors">the research shows</a>, exercise promotes new neural growth in this area.