Most people tend to associate working out with physical outcomes, like stronger arms, enhanced mobility, or boosted endurance. But there’s one part of the body that massively benefits from exercise, too, even if you don’t necessarily see it changing: Your brain. 

Yes, while your brain is not a muscle, it still needs a workout. Decade of research on exercise has shown that physical activity has a huge range of potential benefits for your brain health—a term that covers a big range of abilities, including problem-solving, language, memory, attention, concentration, and more, says Alan J. Gow, PhD, a professor in psychology and Healthy Aging co-lead of the Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Curious? Below, experts break down the relationship between exercise and the brain, including how, exactly, working out strengthens your cerebral health—plus how to maximize those perks.

The Connection Between Exercise and the Brain

Every time you work out, a host of physical changes happen to your brain—setting the stage for potential boosts to your cognition and mental health. 

“Being more physically active supports the systems that supply oxygen and glucose to the brain,” Gow says. For example, exercise—particular aerobic workouts like running—increases blood flow to your brain, says Ryan Glatt, a personal trainer and researcher who studies the connection between exercise and the brain. Working out also triggers the development of more blood vessels in the brain, and helps bring nutrients to your brain cells for better functioning and communication with other cells. 

Some research also seems to show that exercise can spur neurogenesis, aka the creation of new brain cells, says Glatt, who also serves as the director of the FitBrain Program at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute Foundation in Los Angeles. This process likely happens in the hippocampus, which is your brain’s memory center. This is especially promising for aging adults and folks who want to prevent memory decline, Glatt explains. (More on that in a bit.)

Plus, “physical activity might increase the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, [which is] important for how our nerve cells develop as well as their plasticity—that is, how they change over time,” Gow adds. 

During and after workouts, your brain also releases a bunch of neurochemicals that can make you feel super good, including endocannabinoids, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. 

On a macro level, your brain itself might get bigger and healthier over time through working out. “Studies suggest that more physically active people have higher volumes of grey matter, and healthier white matter—the connective wiring of the brain,” Gow says. (In case it’s not clear, this is a good thing!) 

Experts believe that these physiological changes, even the microscopic ones, work together to help change your behavior and your cognition, Glatt says. Basically, the changes happening in your brain help you feel better and sharper, among other benefits (like the ones listed below!). 

The Benefits of Exercise for Brain Health

Now that we have a solid grasp on how exercise and the brain work are connected, what tangible benefits does that relationship actually lead to? Here’s an overview:

1. Improved Cognition

According to Gow, many studies suggest that physical activity might help “develop or protect” our brain’s overall cognitive ability, aka how well it does things like plan, problem solve, create and store memories, and process information. (Your environment may play a role too—walking for 15 minutes outside is thought to provide a stronger cognitive boost than walking for that amount of time inside.)

You don’t need a vigorous workout to experience these benefits, either. Glatt says that these cognitive boosts are also seen with exercises that are less strenuous and more mind-body or skill-based, like tai chi or tennis—likely because they challenge your brain. “By stimulating the brain and increasing the amount of brain activity…typically that can benefit cognition,” he says.

2. Better Memory

Study after study has found that working out (even just one time) can improve your short- and long-term memory. It can also help boost your working memory, the skill that allows you to hold onto information relevant for a task at hand (like remembering directions for a project or the rules of a board game while playing it). That may be in part because exercise increases the volume of your hippocampus, particularly in older adults. 

3. Enhanced Mood 

Having a bad day? Consider lacing up your sneakers. Research shows that nearly every kind of exercise can help you mentally feel better. Even as little as 10 minutes of movement could make you happier.

4. Improved Mental Health Risks and Symptoms

Working out can also reduce your risk of depression, plus lead to fewer bad mental health days per month. 

Exercise may also play a part in helping manage existing mental health conditions. Research shows that working out—particularly aerobic or stretching workouts—can help with anxiety and depression symptoms, in conjunction with other forms of treatment. 

Of course, it’s important to emphasize that exercise is not a cure or replacement for mental health treatments like therapy or medication for those who need it, but it can serve as one helpful resource in your collection.  

5. Reduced Risk of Dementia

Research suggests that one in 10 Americans over age 65 has dementia, an umbrella term for the significant loss of memory, problem-solving, and thinking abilities that can happen due to age and disease. But exercise is one behavioral factor that may help reduce the risk, Gow says.

Indeed, research suggests that physical activity can lower the risk of cognitive decline (an early Alzheimer’s symptom) and even delay the onset of dementia by over nine years. 

However, Gow says that exercise is just one lifestyle factor among many that influences a person’s risk of dementia—things like mental stimulation, maintaining social connections, and reducing alcohol consumption are also important.

6. Slowed Progression of Neurodegenerative Diseases Like Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that slowly worsens over time, potentially causing tremors, stiffness, and slowness of movement. (In some cases, it can also lead to dementia.) While there is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, physical activity has been shown to improve symptoms and slow the progression of the disease.  

7. Reduced Brain Fog 

Ever have those days where your brain just feels sluggish and hazy for no good reason? You might need a quick sweat sesh. Experts believe that the oxygen- and blood-boosting effects of exercise can help cut through brain fog.

Do All Types of Exercise Improve Brain Health?

In general, “activities that are aerobic in nature have received a lot of focus, and in general are related to better brain health,” Gow says. But just like how Pilates may physically affect you differently than running, certain workouts confer different brain-boosting perks than others. 

Aerobic workouts like running, cycling, swimming, and so on can improve the volume of your temporal lobe (the part of your brain that processes emotions, stores memories, and understands language) and hippocampus, Glatt says. But he adds that resistance training seems to boost the size and functioning of your brain’s frontal lobe, which can help with how you make decisions and solve problems. 

There’s also something called “neuromotor exercise,” Glatt says, which refers to mind-body workouts like yoga and Pilates as well as skill-based exercises like tennis, martial arts, and dance. With these activities, “you’re moving and thinking at the same time,” Glatt explains, which leads to boosts for your cognition.

Long story short: “If we want the biggest array of benefits, we should do a varied amount of different types of exercise,” Glatt says. 

And in case you missed it, the Peloton App is a great tool for exploring new workouts, with thousands of classes across 16 different modalities.

How Much Exercise Do You Need for Brain-Health Benefits?

Glatt says that exercising for even five minutes will provide short-term benefits to your brain. “There’s more blood flow and more neurotransmitters and more brain activity,” he explains. “Then we have cognitive benefits for up to two hours [after working out], and then mood benefits for up to 24 hours.” 

But to strengthen those benefits (and enjoy them consistently), you need regular exercise. Try working toward the current expert-recommended exercise guidelines: 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise (or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise), plus two days of strength training. Glatt says you can expect to enjoy more consistent benefits for your brain in about three to six months if you stick with it.

Again, experts recommend doing a mix of aerobic, resistance, and neuromotor exercise for the best results. If you’re really prioritizing cognitive benefits, Glatt recommends picking an activity that’s cognitively demanding, like dance, racquet sports, martial arts. Even certain video game exercises (remember playing Dance Dance Revolution at the mall?) fit the bill, he says. If you have a Peloton Bike or Tread, check out Lanebreak, a gamified workout experience, to mix things up mentally and physically.