Ask anyone and they’ll equate movement with activity, which may or may not be voluntary. That exercise is healthy movement.
This is how your mind processes and explains movement.
What if you decided to look at movement more as a mental stimulation rather than a physical action?
Feels a bit out of routine, isn’t it?
Your Brain Was Designed to Move
Take a pause and think about some of your best ideas.
Did you get them while staring at your screen, or did they pop up when you were taking a walk or a shower or at a workout?
As long as there’s movement, your brain gets better conditions to work in. And the reason is simple.
Blood flow increases when your body moves. More oxygen reaches the brain. Chemicals needed for focus, learning, motivation, and emotional well-being are released.
The brain becomes more efficient.
Movements, thus, don’t just have physical impact but sharpen your thinking.
So don’t feel guilty about that small walk during work. Or taking a few moments to stretch. It’s just firing up your brain cells and improving the quality of the work that follows.
I know I’ve got most of my ideas when I’m out for a walk or during a swim, or even a few minutes of playing fetch with my doggie. The ideas just appear even if I’m not thinking.
What about you?
Movement Is Mental Infrastructure
Exercising feels optional most of the time. Something you’ll do if time permits or it’s a desperate situation, like need to lose a few kilos fast or the doctor’s warning.
But compare your lifestyle to what would happen if you stopped movement from your routine.
I’m sure you’ve had a few occasions like that. A packed schedule, increase in workload, travelling, plenty of excuses.
A few days of inactivity can go unnoticed. Its consequences aren’t immediate. But stretch it for weeks or months and the changes become obvious.
You’d noticed a drop in energy, focus becomes harder, stress feels heavier, and mental fatigue wears you down.
Your brain is paying the price of your inactivity.
This is especially relevant to anyone who spends long hours in thinking, like students, educators, professionals.
Maybe that’s the reason teachers pace in the classrooms, coaches walk in the sidelines, leaders walk the talk. Most of the mentally demanding professions instinctively have movement included.
The cognitive work demands a fully involved and alert brain. Yet the brain feels sluggish. It needs some movement to recover and perform.
Hence, the oft-heard but often ignored advice to walk after an hour of sitting before the computer or studying, do a few stretches to increase blood flow to the rest of the body, or walk while taking a call.
These aren’t just some fitness hacks. These are acts of cognitive maintenance, resetting the brain to perform.
Small Movements, Big Benefits
Everyone I know has a gym membership, and the wardrobe to go with it. But honestly you don’t need either of it.
All you’ve to do is to make movement intentional. Consciously move more than you currently do.
Walk a little more (not just to the coffee machine or the chai-tapri), stretch and feel your muscles loosen, use a quick stroll to clear the mental clutter.
The goal isn’t to burn calories, though it can be a good additional benefit. Your goal is to create conditions for better thinking, freeing your brain from sluggishness.
Never forget that your body and your mind work together, that they’re part of one system – you.
The moment you begin to think about movement this way, you’ll begin to act accordingly. When you move, you provide your brain the support it needs to function optimally.
The next time you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, or just mentally exhausted, get up and move. Your brain may thank you for it.
