Your Brain on the Couch

Many studies show the benefits of physical exercise on brain development and remodeling. Now, recent studies are showing that inactivity can also remodel the brain. This study conducted in rats, found that a sedentary lifestyle changes the shape of neurons, which significantly affect the brain and the heart.

Within the last two decades, neurological studies have established that the brain retains plasticity (the ability to be reshaped) throughout life. These studies have shown that exercise appears to be particularly effective at remodeling the brain.

The study recently published in The Journal of Comparative Neurology, tested sedentary versus exercise in rats over the period of three months. They measured the shape of neurons within the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for controlling our fight or flight response. Your sympathetic nervous system directs blood vessels to adapt to changes in environment quickly, and if it is overactive, it can contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular damage.

The study showed that the rats that exercised had a well functioning sympathetic nervous system, and the neurons were intact. Contrary to these results, the rats that were inactive had overactive neuron growth, which over-stimulated their sympathetic nervous system. This led to increases in blood pressure and the potential development of heart disease.

This confirms that inactivity can increase the risk of heart disease at a cellular level. Interestingly enough, the results also confirm that inactivity has a negative impact on neuronal development, just as exercise has a positive effect.

Inactivity has a negative impact on both neurological and cardiovascular function, which in turn puts stress on the brain and the heart. The evidence shows us that sedentary behaviour can have short term and potentially long term effects on our health.