Marcus Describes Link Between Learning and Exercise in Motiv Running Article

I was pleased to be the expert voice in a recent article entitled "Learning on the Run," which appeared on Motiv Running, a website dedicated to helping runners of all levels run better, reduce injuries, and live an active, outdoor lifestyle.

The article described the University of Oregon's "Run with a Researcher" program, which highlights the connection between running and learning. I confirmed the powerful connection between movement and learning, pointing out that the brain's central processor of learning and memory—the hippocampus—is larger among people who exercise regularly.

Exercise also releases BDNF, a key protein that creates new cells, and because of this, as I noted in the article, "Studies suggest that we return from exercise with a euphoria for learning."

I was able to speak from personal experience, not only as the co-developer of the BrainSMART program but as a runner myself. I described how going out for a run is a perfect follow-up to reading research since it allows me to process the information during my physical activity.

"I find that I come back with the information clearly embedded," I told the article's author Amanda Loudin.

Read the entire article at the Motiv Running website.