• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Does Endurance Running Destroy Your Brain Matter?

A recent study showed that ultramarathon runners lost 6% of the gray matter in their brains by the time they completed their race. Are endurance sports bad for your brain health?

Doug Dupont

Written by Doug Dupont Last updated on December 31, 2012

Ever wonder what happens to your brain when you exercise? No? Well that might perhaps be because you exercise too much and it’s killing your brain.

Ever wonder what happens to your brain when you exercise? No? Well that might perhaps be because you exercise too much and it’s killing your brain.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that bit of extreme journalistic sensationalism out of the way, I’ll admit what I know about the effects of exercise on the brain are somewhat limited. Exercise is generally healthy for the brain, this we know. Working out can also strengthen the connections of your nerves, improve your mood, and keep the right kind of nutrients flowing into your brain. In a recent article I wrote about how many sports associated with impact can also be detrimental to your brain, but that’s the only potential problem with exercising and my brain, right? So long as I don’t play football or soccer I should be good.

Well that might not be the whole picture, especially for long distance runners. In a recent study in BMC Medicine, researchers wanted to look at some of the effects of endurance training on the brain. Apparently, it is fairly well documented that exercise induced hyponatremia can cause acute encephalopathy and brain edema. That sounded terrifying to me, but mainly because I needed to look up a few of those words. Basically, low salt in your blood can reduce brain function and cause excessive fluid or swelling in the brain. This can be worsened by taking an NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) such as Ibuprofen which many endurance athletes make a (bad) habit of. In some cases the edema has killed marathon runners. But that’s not all. Embolism and even brain lesions are possible, but less common from endurance exercise. And here I was considering hitting a treadmill later on.

The researchers in this recent study looked at participants in an extreme ultramarathon. This race took two months to complete and was nearing 3,000 miles in length. If brain damage was going to be caused by any kind of race, it would be this one. They then compared the results of the participants’ MRIs with other populations who experience brain volume changes and lesions. The average person loses about 0.2% of their gray matter annually as a byproduct of aging. Those with multiple sclerosis experience about 0.5% loss, and Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with up to 2% gray matter loss per year. The runners of this ultramarathon lost 6%. That’s not a typo. Six percent in two months. Not a year, two months. They also lost about the same amount of body weight incidentally.

This change wasn’t due solely to losses in water, as you may expect. While water loss could account for both changes in the athlete’s body weight and brain volume, they can only account for a fraction of what was shown.

Here’s the silver lining in that cloud. Researchers also looked at brain lesions, and found no new brain lesions at all in any of the athletes studied. Also, after a six-month follow up, the brain volume had returned to normal, so the issue was thankfully reversible. Changes in sodium, catabolism (the breakdown of tissue), and disturbances in proteins were all cited as possible causes of the findings among other things, but nothing conclusive was determined.

Going forward, if you are a marathoner yourself it is wise to ensure proper nutrition while you are running marathon distances. Keep yourself hydrated, keep an intake of sodium and proteins, and stay healthy. Although some of the aspects of the article may sound frightening keep in mind the bottom line: all exercise is ultimately good for the brain. Make sure you are exercising responsibly and keep checking back for follow ups to this study.

References:

1. Wolfgang Freund, et. al., “Substantial and reversible brain gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: experience from the TransEurope-FootRace Project,” BMC Medicine 2012, 10:170

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Doug Dupont

About Doug Dupont

Having grown up at the foot of a forest covered mountain in rural Vermont, Doug was active from a very young age. Hiking, running, and climbing were a part of everyday life in the Green Mountains. This culture of exercise led to dabbling in martial arts as a teen, and also getting work in a local powerlifting focused gym. Doug continued to pursue knowledge and training in exercise, becoming a certified personal trainer while still a teenager. Once in college he began his hand at the business side of fitness, taking a management position at a large local gym. During that time he became a founding member of the UVM Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, and was the first among their competition team. After only a few months he was assisting in coaching, and ran conditioning program for the club.

Out of college Doug set up his own training center. He grew his list of clientele including several professional MMA athletes, eventually going so far as to corner a world title fight. He has continued ­­­to develop his business into today.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

marathon
Running a Marathon Is the Best Thing You Can Do
triathlon training, triathlon prep, pre race check list, pre race triathlon
How to Perfect Your Pre-Race Ritual Before Race Day
Athlete Journal: Julie Warren, Entry 4 – Training For the Great Wall
Racing (to Pay) Forward – An Interview with Kellie Smirnoff, Endurance Athlete

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Chris Bumstead: “All I Want to Do is Win Olympias.” Quashes Any Arnold Classic Rumors

2023 Britain’s Strongest Man Results — Adam Bishop Takes The Crown

Should You Train the Deadlift on Back Day or Leg Day? What to Know for Results and Recovery

Andrew Jacked Looks Shredded as He Seeks First Career Arnold Classic Title

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About