Today's NY Times has an article the speculates that exercise was a key element in the development of the human brain and, similarly, that exercise is still a key component in brain health. See: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/1...me&ref=general

The article ends with:
The broad point of this new notion is that if physical activity helped to mold the structure of our brains, then it most likely remains essential to brain health today, says John D. Polk, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and co-author, with Dr. Raichlen, of the new article.
And there is scientific support for that idea. Recent studies have shown, he says, that “regular exercise, even walking,” leads to more robust mental abilities, “beginning in childhood and continuing into old age.”
Of course, the hypothesis that jogging after prey helped to drive human brain evolution is just a hypothesis, Dr. Raichlen says, and almost unprovable.
But it is compelling, says Harvard’s Dr. Lieberman, who has worked with the authors of the new article. “I fundamentally agree that there is a deep evolutionary basis for the relationship between a healthy body and a healthy mind,” he says, a relationship that makes the term “jogging your memory” more literal than most of us might have expected and provides a powerful incentive to be active in 2013.

[BipolarInPublic]

This is absolutely spot on, especially for people with mental illness, who need all the regular brain function they can get. It is well established that regular exercise is one of the most effective tools that a bipolar person can use to remain healthy and stable, and I personally have found this to be true. I imagine the same goes for other mental illnesses - I wonder if anybody has found that this is not true for them?

[Inedible]

Yes, people who mis-use exercise as a symptom of their disorder.

Originally Posted by Inedible

Yes, people who mis-use exercise as a symptom of their disorder.

I guess an example of that would be someone who has anexoria and uses exercise to be super thin. I have met a few people like that.

I have mixed feelings about exercise. I think that social exercise is more beneficial for brain health than individual exercise which can exacerbate feelings of loneliness.

Regardless, any physical exercise will increase blood flow to the brain and that can only be good. Also, exercise will usually make an individual feel better and be healthier physically, which has its emotional benefits. And, if the fitness makes you look better, that will also help with emotional health.

Sadly, I usually exercise alone. I am not certain how to change that given my issues.