Why Physical Activity is Good for the Brain

Axons and dendrites continue to modify their structure throughout your life. When we are learning, more and more neurons grow. Physical Activity can enhance the growth of more neurons. How? Well many researchers have had a hard time pin pointing the reason as to how this works at a cellular level. However, there have been many studies on rats. In one recent study scientist manipulated the bone-morphogenetic protein or BMP in the brains of these lab rats by reducing it. These proteins, inhibited by Noggin, allowed for more stem cells become more active and divide. Stem cells division is important especially in old age because when they are inactive the brain process become slower. They suggest that during exercise the process of enhanced stem cell division is acquiring in the brain giving us enhanced learning and memory processes. I do have a problem with remembering little things here and there so after reading this part of the article I thought to myself, if this is true I need to become more active. It later states that doing any kind of minimal activity is good for the growth of new neurons, but the results were from the activity of rats. 

I want to know the certain exercises that can improve them even more. I have always been told that exercise was good for the brain because it gives more oxygen to to the blood vessels in the brain, but what I’ve learned today doesn’t even seem close to that. Why has it been so hard to find the reason physical activity increases learning?