
ランニングは脳を活性化するというNEWSPICKSの記事を読みました。東京大学の脳研究者、池谷裕二さんのインタビュー記事です。もともと、走ることは脳のパフォーマンスを良くするという本を読んだこともあるので、おなじみの説ではあるのですが、その中に面白い記述がありました。
「空間学習というのは、地図の学習だと思ってください。いつも同じコースを走るのは復習のようなものです。
I read an article on NEWSPICK about running to activate brain. It's an interview with a brain researcher at University of Tokyo, Yuji Iketani. I had read a book how running activates brain performance so it's not new to me, but found an interesting part.
"Spatial learning is like map learning. If you run a same course, it's like you are reviewing. Your hippocampus will be activated by that of course, but if you change your running route every time or take a new route, you have new maps in your brain meaning your hippocampus is activated. It's better to run outside instead of on an indoor treadmill, and it's better to take a new path instead of taking the same route all the time."
I like to jog the same route. It feels secure. When I go somewhere, I don't know how many more minutes or how much farther I need to run. But for my hippocampus, I may need to take different routes sometimes.