Can Exercise Make You Smarter?

The Art Kramer talk was one of the most influential talks I have ever attended. Kramer emphasized a point that everyone has heard at least once in their lifetime, exercise is great for you. Kramer presented this argument with many studies and experiments and quite frankly, even with my busy schedule he got me to go to the gym. He gave various examples about how exercising allows the brain to shrink less in areas that become smaller with age and that exercise can even turn the elderly into incredible athletes. He gave the example of Olga Kotelko, a 94 year old female who started exercising at age 75 and has won 26 world records and was named a world class field athlete. Kramer has become an expert in this field of study and through many years of research he has proven that aerobic physical activity increases neurotransmitters in the brain and therefore there are more neuronal connections that trigger better functional connectivity in the brain. This also leads to the phenomenon that aerobic physical activity can help decrease diseases that involve a decline in cognition, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The whole presentation presented the benefits that come with exercise, such as decreases in anxiety and depression and increases in one’s well-being and self-esteem. Overall, Art Kramer was able to support his original opening statement about the flexibility of your brain, you either use it or lose it.