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Can Exercise Make You Smarter?

Scientists have long studied exercise and its impact on any number of physical and emotional factors, including bone density, cardiovascular disease and stress.

But if we take the mind-body connection one step further and study exercise and cognitive functioning, will we see a link?

Cognition is your brain’s ability to acquire and process knowledge through thought, experience and your senses. It involves thinking, remembering, judging and problem-solving.

Our ability to take in information and reason informs our social behavior and can contribute to life’s successes. For example, you might make a judgment call about whether it is the right time to ask for a raise based on knowledge you’ve acquired and synthesized about your work environment.

A number of research studies have identified a link between improved cognitive functioning and exercise in elderly people. A 2004 study, for example, found that exercise did, in fact, improve the cognitive functioning of elderly people with cognitive impairments or dementia. In an analysis of more than 30 years of data and 2,020 subjects, this study found that groups who exercised fared better in terms of mental acuity than those who did not exercise.

Can the same be true for adults of all ages? According to a recent study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress and reported in the Wall Street Journal, it can.

This small study involved overweight, sedentary adults. They first underwent a series of assessments and then completed twice-weekly exercise sessions. These sessions involved both cardiovascular exercise (biking) and weight training, lasting for four months.

The fitness gains for the group were clear, with reduced waist circumference and lower body weight. Researchers reported the more surprising result: “significantly and clinically” improved functioning on tests of mental acuity.

“Even ten minutes can change your brain,” says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, author of the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. According to Ratey, exercise increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors. It is these growth factors that help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn.

German researchers found that high school students scored better on high-attention tasks after completing 10 minutes of a complicated fitness task. Their research suggests that complicated physical activities, such as tennis or dance, enhance our attention and concentration, thereby improving our capacity to learn.

A 2011 Canadian study found that in an elderly population even those who engaged in short walks, cooking, gardening and cleaning scored better on cognitive tests than those who were more sedentary.

According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise has a wide array of benefits including weight control, combating health problems and disease, improved mood, greater energy, better sleep, better sex and more fun. If these advantages aren’t enough to get you motivated, maybe knowing that it also improves your mind will.

This article was written by Christy Matta, MA, and has been reprinted with the kind permission of PsychCentral. To see the original article and other great entries, please visit www.psychcentral.com

S L
UPDATE: it's been almost 5 years since I left this review. We're still going strong! I'm still training with Tim 💪 My now 10-year-old son is still doing Ninjas classes 👍 Great local gym with a very welcoming environment. I've been training with Tim for almost 2 years and I always enjoyed his personalised approach which helped me to achieve my goals. Tim is always very encouraging and makes each training session challenging, but rewarding. Apart from training adults, Tim is excellent working with kids and my 5.5yo son is always looking forward for his next Little Ninjas classes, which he started as a 3-year-old. Kids classes are always fun, with a mix of games and various exercises teaching self-awareness and safety. I would definitely recommend FunFit to everyone.
S L
2022-05-16
Neil G
Lovely atmosphere. It’s a great place to spend time with your child. Tim and his family are some of the nicest people you could hope to meet. It’s perfect for fun - plus introduces genuine concepts of discipline to youngsters.
Neil G
2020-10-30
Karen Wakil
Fantastic mix of fitness, self-defence and life skills in a fun environment. Builds confidence, respect and strength - both physical and mental - in the children. Highly recommend!
Karen Wakil
2020-10-27
Estelle Demontrond-Box
My boy really enjoys Tim's teenagers' fitness classes: Tim is very encouraging and motivating and has a good sense of humour! The class is very energetic and fun! Highly recommend!
Estelle Demontrond-Box
2020-10-16
Edward Kim
Tim always keeps the workouts fresh and interesting and was always committed to safety. Workouts were always challenging but catered to the level you were at. Never a boring session and looked forward to them always. Great community feel and music too! Only reason I'm not going anymore is because I moved to the other side of Sydney.
Edward Kim
2020-06-03
Ruth Hawkins
Both my 4 year old girl and 6 year boy absolutely love the classes. They've done lots of other activities over the years but there's something about being a little ninja that makes them light up and they enjoy every minute of the class.
Ruth Hawkins
2020-02-04
Michael Darcy
Great classes. My daughter loves them. They're a good mix of fun, fitness, knowledge and skills. An awesome find.
Michael Darcy
2019-12-30
Pablo Lillo
Very friendly people and staff, classes are fun and engaging!
Pablo Lillo
2019-12-25
Vfr Doug
My 6 year old son has been attending Mini Ninjas for almost a year and loves it! Tim is a natural with kids, he has the right balance of humour, fun and discipline to keep the whole class motivated and engaged. As well as having a great time and a good workout, our son is gaining physical confidence, self discipline and respect for others. Having trained in different martial art clubs when I was younger, I can see Tim has all the right qualities, values and knowledge you would want to be teaching our children.
Vfr Doug
2019-10-24
Zoe Jenkins
My son joined mini ninja class as a 3 years old. He has been excited to go every week. Tim is extremely good with engaging young kids with various activities. The whole lesson is filled with kids' joy and laugh. It's also great entertainment for parents to watch on the side. I can see my son has been improving in protecting himself with all the self defence actions he learned from Tim, which is very important for kids safety.
Zoe Jenkins
2019-09-26