Your Brain on Movement & Muscle
- Janice C
- Aug 2, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 3
A Cognition Prescription
Bigger. Faster. Sharper. Happier. That's your brain on movement and muscle.
Keep moving and feed your muscle. Protect it. Grow it. Use it. Your brain and body will thank you.
BONUS I: The biggest new benefits come to those with the most room to grow.
This is about more than building muscle for looks and preventing falls as we age. It's about feeding and protecting the brain itself:
Stimulate BDNF to strengthen connections between neurons
Remove damaged mitochondria to protect cellular energy
Reduce brain and body inflammation
BONUS 2: There is no age limit. No marathon or gym membership required. Special equipment optional! Want to start at 80? Go for it. Want to start building your brain's cognitive reserve in your 20s or 30s? Even better.
Consider these three high-impact pathways for our mind and total wellness.
I. Your Brain on BDNF
Effortful movement triggers the release of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor).
Why care?
Maintains and strengthens synaptic connections between neurons,
Strengthens the axons that connect different brain regions, and
Triggers neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons, in the hippocampus (the primary brain region responsible for short-term memory and its conversion to long-term memory).
Fun Fact: The hippocampus is one of the few brain regions capable of neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) in adult brains.
Net effect: More BDNF → larger hippocampus → better memory, cognition, and mood.
The trick: It's all relative - push your personal limits enough to feel the effort. Go for a brisk walk, not a stroll!
II. Waste & Bad-Actor Removal - Mitochondrial Mitophagy
Effortful movement (a.k.a. intentional exercise) increases energy demand and oxidative stress, which trigger mitophagy.
Why care?
Mitochondria are the energy life-source of every cell in our body and mind!
Our ability to replicate healthy mitochondria declines with age.
Mitophagy - triggered by exercise - cleans up and recycles damaged MitoC, freeing up resources for fresh, more efficient MitoC to take their place.
Removing damaged mitochondria reduces the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and metabolic dysfunction while improving energy.
Net effect: Movement at any age helps to slow or even reverse outcomes commonly associated with MitoC aging challenges. It gives us more energy and more vitality.
The trick: As with BDNF stimulation, it's all relative. You only need to do what it takes to push your personal boundaries.
What about intermittent fasting for mitophagy? Long fasting windows can trigger mitophagy. However, we have much to learn about the potential sarcopenia risk (loss of muscle mass) from frequent long fasts for peri and post menopausal women. I use a 12 to 14 hour overnight window for established benefits while mitigating this risk.
III. Cooling the Fires of Inflammation
Both the effort of movement and the lean muscle it builds reduce oxidative processes that drive inflammation in the body and brain.
Why care?
Exercise builds glucose (glycogen) reserves, giving the immune system energy to respond to acute challenges like an infection while lowering chronic inflammation.
Resulting improved insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism quiet the fire of chronic inflammation, a key driver in Type 2 diabetes, many cancers, dementia, and most other common chronic conditions.
The Glucose Sponge Effect: Skeletal muscle (especially leg muscle) soaks up glucose creating an energy reserve to supply brain and body needs when stressed. This also takes glucose out of blood circulation, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.
Signaling and molecule release Muscle acts as an endocrine organ, releasing signaling molecules (myokines) during contraction. This supports the immune system's ability to fight infection and insults to our body, while reducing chronic inflammation.
Example: A 10 to 20 minute brisk walk after eating drops blood glucose spikes by roughly 30% on average, your leg muscles in motion soak it up.
Net effect: Reduced impact of high-glucose meals means less inflammation and insulin resistance. The resulting increase in lean muscle translates into bigger reserve tanks for our immune system.
The trick: As with triggering BDNF and mitophagy, do what you can to push your system on a regular basis. Benefit from movement is about relative effort - not absolute numbers!
Recap
As our bodies change, we have the need and the opportunity to support...
Brain size and function through BDNF stimulation.
Mitophagy for increasing total healthy mitochondria while removing damaging ones.
Immune system function while reducing chronic inflammation.
These mechanisms support brain health by:
Building brain and muscle reserves.
Reversing muscle and brain function loss.
Growing new brain cells.
Fortifying the brain connections we do have!
Do what you can and build from there. Take pleasure in knowing the biggest new benefits come to those with the most room to grow!
Now What?
To Learn more and get actionable specifics to trigger these pathways: Explore the Playbook Movement Portal for links to expert resources - Quick Bytes to Deep Dives.
Wishing you well,
Janice
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