A new study reveals that 10 minutes of moderate-intensity jogging is enough to boost your mood and cognitive functions, findings that give us a better understanding of how physical exercise relates to mental health.

The study looked at the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in particular, the part of the brain associated with executive functions and mood control. The researchers discovered that running increased blood flow in this area.

Running is a relatively easy thing for many of us to do – no special equipment or training required to get started, and it’s proven to extend life. And all this coordinated movement also seems to give the brain more thought.

“Given the extent of executive control required to coordinate balance, movement and propulsion during running, it makes sense that there would be increased neural activation in the prefrontal cortex and that other functions in this region would benefit from this increase in neural activation,” says biochemist Hideaki Soya, from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. brain resources.

We already know that exercise can enhance mental and physical health in many ways, but when it comes to mental health, there has been relatively little analysis done on the specific benefits of jogging, compared to other physical activities such as cycling.
This was something the researchers decided to tackle, given how important running was to our evolution as a species.

A total of 26 participants were tested after periods of rest and after 10 minutes of running, in part using what’s known as a Stroop Color-Word test that measures reaction times in the brain’s processing — one exercise might involve seeing the word “green” written in red ink and naming the color instead. of reading the word.

After the exercise, the participants reacted more quickly to the tests and reported being in a better mood, too. This was in addition to the increased blood flow observed in the PFC using a technique called functional infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

And there are many functions of the PFC that are unique to humans, and not found in the brains of other animals, so the researchers suggest that the discoveries they outline could further our understanding of how we evolved as a species as well. It’s also further proof that you don’t necessarily need to do a lot of exercise to feel its benefits. Brief bursts of activity have previously been shown to improve mental focus, heart health, and overall metabolic health.

The researchers point out that if exercise can be considered a form of medicine, different types of exercise are similar to different types of medication – and now we know more about the effects of running and how it can be used as a form of therapy.