A recent study published in Imaging Neuroscience indicates that engaging in a very slow jog for just ten minutes can improve a person’s mood and enhance their ability to focus.
Neuroscientists uncover a previously unknown brain benefit of very slow running
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A recent study published in Imaging Neuroscience indicates that engaging in a very slow jog for just ten minutes can improve a person’s mood and enhance their ability to focus. The research suggests that the gentle, rhythmic bouncing of running at a low intensity provides a measurable boost to brain regions involved in mental control and emotional regulation.
Human beings have a long evolutionary history of running, a form of movement that provides widespread physical and mental health benefits. The prefrontal cortex, a brain area located behind the forehead that is responsible for complex thinking and emotional control, appears particularly responsive to aerobic exercise.
Earlier work has shown that different forms of activity can stimulate this brain region. For example, a 2014 study revealed that even very mild, low-effort pedaling on a stationary bike is enough to activate the prefrontal cortex and improve mental focus. Building on that concept, researchers later found that a 2021 study of a ten-minute session of moderate-intensity running boosts mood and strongly activates the same brain areas.
But moderate running can be physically taxing, elevating the heart rate to a level that might feel uncomfortable or stressful for older adults or people who are not regularly active. This research progression led scientists to wonder if the gentlest possible jog could still deliver these same brain and mood benefits without the physical strain.
How to find fundings to just state the obvious!?
This is so true, I often send people for a 10 minute jog so I can increase my mood and ability to focus.
Pretty sure that any level of behavioral activation leads to better mood.
Very unscientific, but I’ve found this to be the case in my life. When I have deep worked to be completed, I usually run while mentally planning everything out and then sit down and do it. The total time expended is less, I’m less stressed out by the effort, and obviously I’ve improved my health relative to sitting at my desk for the entire duration.
Walking also works for those of us who don’t really feel like a jog.
I’m interested, but I’d like to see how much slower future research can get this.
I prefer a fast walk instead works the same and look sless silly
Walking has the same benefits
As my personal trainer buddy once said, “It’s impossible to feel bad after you work out.”