Are you pulling up your socks to exercise? Thinking that your sweat will pay off in a healthy mind and body? Think again!
A French study has revealed that excessive exercise could tire your brains out. The brain would be too exhausted to be able to function properly.
To emphasize, the French researchers propound that exercise might increase your endurance, but the harm to the brain outweighs it.
Importantly, Study Author Mathias Pessiglione of Hospital de la Pitie-Salpitriere in the Paris States that, “Our findings draw attention to the fact that neural states matter: You don’t make the same decisions when your brain is in a fatigued state.”
Notably,37 male endurance athletes were experimented upon. To enumerate, they were asked to either carry out their normal exercise routine or increase it by 40% per training session over three weeks.
Markedly, functional MRIs showed the overloaded athletes responded at a slower pace in the lateral prefrontal cortex.
The athletes were lethargic in making decisions. Additionally, they acted impulsively while deciding in matters of financial services, choosing the short term beneficial output over long term effort to achieve more reliable and successful outcomes.
Furthermore, the research is published in Current Biology, September 26.
“The lateral prefrontal region that was affected by sport-training overload was exactly the same that had been shown vulnerable to excessive cognitive work in our previous studies,” Pessiglione said in a journal news release.
Also, the lateral prefrontal cortex is responsible for choosing short term rewards over long term benefits. It is also responsible for self-control and behaviour stimulation.
Cognitive control is necessary for both physical and mental endeavours. Besides, fatigue may affect important decision-making powers.
Fatigue leads to frustration and failure in other aspects of life. Conclusively, this is unsavoury. So, one should try to avoid investing so much in exercise.
Therefore, it is necessary that equilibrium is maintained when physical straining oneself in exercises.