Exercise can help maintain and improve the health of your body. There are many types of exercise that we can do, ranging from strenuous sports such as weightlifting, or light casual ones like walking, yoga, gymnastics and cycling. All of them are able to help you burn calories and maintain ideal body weight.

Exercising can be done by anyone and anywhere. Preferring to climb stairs rather than riding an elevator or escalator is also a form of exercise that you can do every day. Not only does it improve overall body health, exercise can also keep your body looking younger. Some studies also show that exercising can help improve brain performance, especially aerobic.

In addition to aerobic, brain performance can also improve if you do yoga. In a recent review conducted by experts from the University of Illinois and Wayne State University, they found that yoga can also improve brain structure and function, the same benefits that can be obtained from aerobic exercise. The results of this review were published in the Brain Plasticity journal.

The experts conducted a review of 11 results of studies on the relationship between yoga and brain health. The experts found that yoga can increase the volume of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is involved in memory processes, whose performance can decrease with age. Yoga is also known to improve other brain structures such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and cingulate cortex. These three parts play a role in regulating emotionsand memory. The experts also found that practicing yoga can also improve performance on cognitive tests.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Gothe, N.P., Khan, I., Hayes, J., et al (2019). Yoga Effects on Brain Health: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature. Brain Plasticity, DOI: 10.3233 / BPL-190084.
• Science Daily - Experts review of evidence yoga is good for the brain (2019). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191212105851.htm, 18 December 2019.