Your Brain On Exercise

Coffee is good; exercise is better. That’s the conclusion of researchers studying the pleasing brain boost from both coffee and exercise. The Boston Globe reports on the recent analysis of 19 studies, which is published in the British Medical Journal, and which found that short 10 to 40 minutes bursts of exercise lead to an immediate boost in concentration and mental focus. Wait, there’s more; the Globe directs our attention to the brain scan images above, part of a 2009 University of Illinois study that was included in the meta analysis. The pictures compare the brain activity of 9-year-olds while they were taking a test. The brain on the right belongs to a child who had just taken a brisk walk, and the person on the left did not. Read more in the Boston Globe’s Daily Dose.