There are a myriad of health effects of regular yoga, especially if included in your daily morning routine. One particular benefit that one could reap from yoga is its brain-boosting function that powers up your memory! 🤓✨
Keep your mind alert and your senses alive as you flex those muscles and stretch each sleeping joint on the mat. Activate the brain neurons that prompt your mind to do healthy mental work and keep those functions running with every yoga pose that you make 🧠🧘
According to science, yoga has a positive effect on the structure and function of key brain areas associated with memory. Findings provide evidence that yoga may hold promise in mitigating age-related and neurodegenerative decline.
Scientists have known for decades that aerobic exercise strengthens the brain and contributes to the growth of new neurons, but few studies have examined how yoga affects the brain. This reveals how yoga enhances many of the same brain structures and functions that benefit from aerobic exercise.
The hippocampus, which is involved in memory-processing, increases in volume with every yoga practice. The amygdala, a brain structure that contributes to emotional regulation, tends to be larger in yoga practitioners than in their peers who do not practice yoga. The prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex and brain networks such as the default mode network also tend to be larger or more efficient in those who regularly practice yoga.
The studies also find that the brain changes seen in individuals practicing yoga are associated with better performance on cognitive tests or measures of emotional regulation. Scientists found that those who had done yoga for eight weeks had an attenuated cortisol response to stress that was associated with better performance on tests of decision-making, task-switching and attention.
Researchers say there is a need for more – and more rigorous – research into yoga’s effects on the brain. They recommend large intervention studies that engage participants in yoga for months, match yoga groups with active control groups, and measure changes in the brain and performance on cognitive tests using standard approaches that allow for easy comparisons with other types of exercise.
Any health benefits of Yoga that you can think of? 🤔ðŸ’
Share them below and let’s create a thread on why we should do yoga more!
