Can exercise increase your brain size? Let’s see what the science says.
Exercise can grow your muscles but did you know exercise can grow your brain?
There’s been a growing interest in neuroplasticity meaning the ability for the brain to rejuvenate and exercise plays a significant role.
A recent study of over 10,000 healthy participants showed that exercise actually increased brain volume. These participants underwent whole-body MRI scans with brain sequencing. Adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index, those who had increased days of moderate vigorous activity correlated with larger brain volumes. Their brains grew in multiple regions, including total grey matter, total white matter, frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. The study concluded that exercise-related activities were associated with an increase in brain volume and potentially an increase in neuroprotective effects.
So how does exercise increase your brain volume?
Exercise stimulates Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) by stimulating the hypothalamus to increase metabolism, increase oxygen, and blood flow to the brain.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor is essential for brain rejuvenation, including neuroplasticity, learning, and memory.
What types of exercises can boost Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor?
- Aerobic exercise means any activity that gets your heart rate up and you’re breathing hard enough so you can’t talk counts for cardio. Running, swimming cycling, rowing, and dancing are all aerobic activities that increase blood flow, which increases brain growth.
- Strength training can also be an important addition to your physical activity by increasing lean body mass which increases metabolic activity.
- Mind-body exercises like yoga and tai chi help reduce the stress response to lower cortisol levels which actually decrease brain size.
Studies show that people who are physically active and participate in aerobic exercise have improved memory, both short-term and long-term, which increases their ability to learn.
Exercise slows down age-associated cognitive decline. Seniors who exercise regularly are less likely to develop dementia than those who are sedentary.
Aerobic exercise also improves mood and mental health by increasing dopamine levels, balancing serotonin levels, and increasing oxytocin, and endorphin levels.
How much do you need to exercise to improve your brain size?
For cardiovascular fitness to improve blood flow to the brain, you need aerobic exercise three times a week. Moderate to vigorous physical activity about four days a week was the most effective in increasing brain size. High-intensity training can be incorporated to increase cardiovascular function and improve brain size.
Consistency counts. It’s better to be consistent than occasional intense activity which raises cortisol.
How can you improve your brain health beyond exercise?
- First, make sure your hormones are balanced. Supporting hypothalamus function with Genesis Gold® and Sacred Seven® amino acids will help keep your hormones balanced and improve cognition. Both products have been used successfully in patients with learning disabilities.
- Focus on nutrition for your brain which includes a diet rich in omega three fatty acids, and colorful plant foods to increase antioxidants. And avoid inflammatory foods like highly processed foods.
- If you’re sedentary, start small, adding five minutes of walking three times a day increasing to 10 minutes of walking three times a day until you can actually walk 30 minutes at a brisk pace.
Learn more about your hormonal health, your hypothalamus, and your brain health in my free Hormone Reboot Training.
Resources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10874612
Can exercise really increase brain size?
Yes — and the evidence is substantial. A large-scale study of over 10,000 healthy participants using whole-body MRI with brain sequencing found that increased days of moderate to vigorous physical activity correlated with measurably larger brain volumes across multiple regions, including total grey matter, total white matter, and the frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. These findings held after adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index — meaning the brain volume differences were attributable to exercise itself, not other demographic factors. The mechanism behind this growth involves improved blood flow and oxygenation to brain tissue, stimulation of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), and the reduction of neuroinflammation — all of which support the growth, survival, and connectivity of brain cells over time.
What is BDNF and why does it matter for brain health?
BDNF stands for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor — a protein that functions essentially as fertilizer for your brain. It supports the growth, maintenance, and survival of neurons; promotes the formation of new synaptic connections (neuroplasticity); enhances learning and memory consolidation; and protects existing brain cells from stress and degeneration. BDNF is one of the most important molecules in the brain for long-term cognitive health, and its levels naturally decline with age, chronic stress, poor sleep, and hormonal imbalance. Exercise is one of the most powerful known stimulators of BDNF production — which is the primary reason physical activity has such a measurable impact on brain volume, memory, and cognitive resilience. Low BDNF levels have been associated with depression, cognitive decline, and increased risk of neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s disease.
How does exercise stimulate BDNF production?
Exercise triggers BDNF production through several interconnected pathways, with the hypothalamus playing a central coordinating role. When you engage in aerobic or resistance exercise, the hypothalamus responds by upregulating metabolism and increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain — both of which are required for BDNF synthesis. Exercise also activates the release of irisin, a hormone produced by muscle tissue during physical activity that crosses the blood-brain barrier and directly stimulates BDNF expression in the hippocampus — the brain’s primary memory and learning center. Additionally, exercise lowers cortisol over time through HPA axis regulation; this matters because chronically elevated cortisol actively suppresses BDNF production and causes measurable shrinkage in the hippocampus. By reducing cortisol burden and increasing irisin and blood flow simultaneously, exercise creates the neurochemical conditions in which BDNF can rise and brain tissue can grow.
What types of exercise are best for brain growth?
The research points to three complementary types of exercise, each contributing to brain health through different mechanisms. Aerobic exercise — including running, swimming, cycling, rowing, and dancing — is the most extensively studied for brain volume and BDNF stimulation. It drives the increases in heart rate and oxygen delivery that the brain needs to grow. Moderate to vigorous aerobic activity four days per week produced the most significant brain volume increases in the large MRI study referenced above. Strength training contributes by increasing lean body mass and metabolic activity, which supports overall hormonal health and reduces the inflammatory burden that impairs cognitive function. Mind-body exercise — including yoga, tai chi, and breathwork-based practices — specifically addresses the cortisol piece: by down-regulating the stress response and lowering chronic cortisol levels, these practices prevent the brain-shrinking effects of HPA axis dysregulation. For optimal brain health, a combination of all three types — rather than any single modality alone — is most effective.
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