Running really does clear your head and give you 'cognitive clarity'

Some say magical things happen when they go for a run.

Runners have reported bursts of clarity, enhanced moods and getting lost in their own thoughts.

Now, experts have revealed how 30 to 40 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise can cure what ails you - by birthing new neurons and increasing blood flow in regions of the brain involved with learning and emotion.

It took about 30 years of work in neuroscience to discover the link between aerobic exercise and subsequent cognitive thinking, reports New York Magazine.

Recent studies discovered that after a run, new neurons are formed in the area of the brain associated with learning and memory – the hippocampus.

'If you are exercising so that you sweat — about 30 to 40 minutes — new brain cells are being born,' said Karen Postal, president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology.

'And it just happens to be in that memory area.'

Other studies have noted an increase of blood flow to the brain's frontal lobe, which is involved with clear thinking, planning ahead, focus and concentration.

But this region is also associated with emotion regulation, which explains a study from Harvard University study that found 'acute aerobic exercise did not prevent an increase in sadness response to a subsequent stressor, results suggest that it may help people recovery.

Researchers showed the final scene of the 1979 film 'The Champ', which has been noted as a 'reliable tear jerker', to a group of 80 participants.

Prior to watching the movie snippet, some of the participants were ask to jog for 30 minutes and the others performed stretching exercises for the same amount of time.

Each subject was given a survey to report how sad the film made them, while the researcher kept them busy for another 15 minutes and then they were asked how they were feeling.

The team found that participants who reported difficulties concentration or felt overwhelmed by their emotions were less affect by their symptoms following 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.

And reported less sadness at the end of the study that those who did not exercise, said researchers.

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