EP03: Art Kramer And The Exercise-Brain Connection

I have a little confession to make. Even though I’m a health journalist, and I’ve interviewed countless experts about why exercising is good and important and something we should do every day… I loathe it. Well that is to say, I used to loathe it. 

 What really changed for me was when I started looking at the research showing that not only is exercise good because it can make us stronger, faster, fitter and slimmer; it’s also essential for a healthy mind and brain.

In this episode I speak with Arthur Kramer, who is formerly the Director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, and recently moved to Boston, where he’s now Senior Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education and a Professor of Psychology & Engineering at Northeastern University. 

You’re about learn what Professor Kramer found when he peered into the brain of one of the world’s greatest athletes. You’re also going to learn about how exercise encourages your body to make BDNF, a substance that neuroscientists are calling brain fertiliser because it nurtures the development of new brain cells. And you’re going to discover what one of the world’s leading experts (who’s just as busy as the rest of us) does in his life to make sure he’s getting the best return on his exercise time investment.