I’m not an athlete. I don’t wake up in the morning itching to run, or skip to aerobics class at the Y. I exercise regularly, but it’s almost always driven by guilt and anxiety. If I don’t go, I’ll get fat. I’ll have less energy. I’ll die young. This kind of thinking isn’t a great motivator, they say. So today I’m trying a re-framing tactic: learning more about how, exactly, exercise can boost brain power.

(Caveat up front: Some studies have found that exercise does not improve cognition. I will be conveniently ignoring those in this post and in life.)

The mental benefits of exercise begin while you’re doing it and continue in the hours afterward.