No matter how you choose to get it, exercise has plenty of benefits. It helps reduce your risk of several conditions, including high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression. It improves your sleep, boosts your mood and energy levels, and can help you lose weight (via Mayo Clinic). Exercise is also good for your brain. Exercise increases blood flow, which improves the integrity of the white matter in your brain. It also encourages neuroplasticity, per Cleveland Health Clinic. One study published in the journal Neurology showed that physical activity might help delay cognitive decline and dementia.

无论你选择怎样锻炼，锻炼都有很多好处。它有助于降低患多种疾病的风险，包括高血压、中风、2型糖尿病、焦虑和抑郁。它能改善你的睡眠，提升你的情绪和能量水平，并能帮助你减肥。锻炼对你的大脑也有好处。运动可以增加血液流动，从而改善大脑中白质的完整性。据克利夫兰健康诊所介绍，它还能促进神经可塑性。发表在《神经学》杂志上的一项研究表明，体育活动可能有助于延缓认知能力下降和痴呆症。

Depending on your needs, you may require more or less exercise. The American Heart Association recommends that for general health, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. You can reap even more benefits if you are active 300 minutes per week.

根据实际情况，你可能需要或多或少的锻炼。美国心脏协会建议，为了整体健康，成年人每周应进行至少150分钟的适度运动或75分钟的剧烈运动。如果你每周能活动300分钟，可以收获更多的好处。

While more exercise might sometimes seem good, that does not mean that a little is bad — especially when it comes to the effect exercise has on your brain. At least that is what one study published in Translational Sports Medicine showed. Researchers looked at data gathered from 2009 to 2019 and found that as little as two minutes of aerobic activity improved "attention, concentration, and learning and memory functions" in individuals aged 18 to 35. So, a quick set of jumping jacks or running in place before a task could help the brain learn and memorize certain things.

虽然多运动有时看起来是好的，但这并不意味着运动一点点就是坏的——尤其是当涉及到运动对大脑的影响时。至少一项发表在《转化运动医学》(Translational Sports Medicine)上的研究表明了这一点。研究人员查看了2009年至2019年收集的数据，发现在18岁至35岁的人群中，只需两分钟的有氧运动就能提高“注意力、注意力、学习和记忆功能”。因此，在一项任务之前进行一组开合跳或原地跑可以帮助大脑学习和记忆某些东西。

But the benefits of exercise for the brain are not limited to the young. A study published in Science Direct revealed how just one 20-minute session of exercise increased cognitive function and memory in adults aged 60 to 80 (per Science Daily). Regular exercise may also increase the volume of the prefrontal and temporal cortex areas of the brain, which are associated with thinking and memory, per Harvard Health.

但是锻炼对大脑的好处并不局限于年轻人。发表在《科学导报》上的一项研究，具体揭示了一次20分钟的锻炼是如何提高60至80岁成年人的认知功能和记忆力的(见每日科学报道)。据《哈佛健康》杂志报道，经常锻炼还可以增加大脑前额叶和颞叶皮层区域的体积，这两个区域与思考和记忆有关。