When you stop playing sports you have an immediate collapse both physically and mentally. We know that an active life is better than a sedentary one; the point is that, to really feel good and continuously, it’s better not to give up on physical activity, on pain of a general decrease in our faculties. This was revealed by John Ratey, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in the book Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain.
What happens mentally when you stop playing sports
According to Ratey, exercise has the power to activate many more brain cells than are normally active when we are still. And, quoting a 2014 studyexplains that just stop exercising for two weeks to lose its benefits on a mental level. In four ways.
Read also: 60 minutes of sport a day against the risks of a sedentary job
1. Mood down
The endorphins produced by the body during sport they have the power to spread a sense of well-being and good mood. The same goes for serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine and endocannabinoids (our body makes chemicals similar to marijuana) and myokine, a protein that according to one recent study protects the brain from depression triggered by stress. Stopping moving means losing the influence of these positive mood accelerators and being more exposed to moments of ‘down’. It is also demonstrated by a Duke University study that cardio exercises have the same effect on mood as antidepressants.
2. Ballerina memory
According to a study by the University of Marylandwhen you exercise, blood flows to the hippocampus, the area responsible for learning and memory, but when you stop playing sports, 10 days are enough to record a drop in this dynamic. This leads to a reduction in memory faculties and greater difficulty in developing new memories. Second another study appeared on Cell metabolismThe protein cathepsin B, a protein linked to memory growth, is also involved in the process
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3. Difficulty concentrating
Even just a 10-40 minute workout, with any type of exercise, leads to an immediate increase in concentration: he claims it a study by the VU University of Amsterdam published in 2013 on British Medical Journal. This increase in mental faculties is due to the increase of blood flow to the brain, in turn facilitated by the high level of endorphins and other hormones present in the blood during physical effort, which would keep the brain in a sort of state of alertness and concentration. Again, a two-week crash in fitness could cause less blood flow to the brain and noticeable lapses in attention.
4. Foggy brain
Exercising at least twice a week (or even the 150 minutes a week recommended for a cardiovascularly healthy life) makes you smarter. Yes, a Finnish study has shown that with this kind of regular engagement, gray matter, the brain tissue dedicated to processing information, increases. Exercise actually strengthens all parts and tissues of the brain, making it more resistant to stress and aging. Stopping moving can lead to a decrease in gray matter resulting in a reduction in the ability to critically think and analyze information.
> read also: Running makes you smarter
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