> What I've Learned. WHY Exercise Is so Underrated (Brain Power & Movement Link). YouTube, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVzKCk066g>. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021. # WHY Exercise is so Underrated (Brain Power & Movement Link) > Exercise is good for the heart and makes you look good. However, there are much more compelling reasons to exercise regularly. - Until now, exercise was marketed as being good for your heart and making you lose weight - Exercise does actually not cause weight loss, but muscle gain - Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky: "If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed" - Daniel Wolpert: "We have a brain for one reason only: to produce **adaptable and complex movements**" - Koalas had a bigger brain before adapting to their eucalyptus diet - John J. Ratey, _Spark_ - Exercise primes the brain to learn faster by increasing BDNF production - BDNF improves the function of neurons, encourages their growth and strengthens and protects them against the natural process of cell death - 20 to 40 minutes of aerobic exercise increase blood BDNF by 32% - Movement signals to the brain that something important is happening (escape, search for food) - Exercise boosts motivation by increasing dopamine storage and triggering the creation of dopamine receptors in the reward center - Exercise also elevates levels of norepinephrine and serotonin - Exercisers are less depressed, less anxious, more socially outgoing and less neurotic - Stress raises cortisol, which is eliminated through exercise