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Researchers at Princeton University made quite a fascinating discovery. They found that when they compared rats that exercise to rats that don't, certain neurons responded differently among the rats that exercised.

Here's what they did.

They put the rats into two groups. One group that was running and exercising, and another one that remained sedentary. After 6 weeks, they made them all swim in cold water, which rats don't like (who does?).

After the rats swam, they tested their brains, and found that while all of their neurons were activated from stress, the NEW neurons, supposedly the ones created recently after the running began, did not get activated in the rats that exercised.

What does this mean? According to the scientists, the new neurons were the ones created during the period of exercise, and didn't get activated because they were molded into becoming "stress resistant." The point being that yes, if humans respond in the same way that the rats do, then exercise does seem to make you stress resistant.

Are the Effects of Exercise Immediate?

The researchers found that among rats, exercise did not begin to affect their stress-resistance until somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks. They still don't know how long it would take a human to achieve the same kind of results. It could be less time, and it could be more time.

What they are taking from this study though is that we should keep exercising, even when we don't feel like we're getting the best results. It might not happen overnight, but over time, there seems to be a significant change for the better in our brains ability to handle stress.

Can Exercise Make You...Braver?

When the scientists put the rats into spaces that they were unfamiliar with, the rats that didn't exercise ran for a dark corner and hid. The rats that had been exercising explored the new territory fearlessly and boldly. Why? Because the rats that had exercised were conditioned against stress, and thus weren't easily frightened by a new place.

While exercise might make rats braver, humans are far more complicated. For one, even if we feel fear, we have the ability not to let it freeze us. After all, isn't bravery not the absense of fear but the ability to overcome it?

That being said, if the rats are any indicator of what's going on in our human brains (and the scientists believe they are). Then exercising can make it that much easier to be brave and fearless by actually causing your brain to develop in a way that it is more resistant to stress. Perhaps this is why every military in the world emphasizes running routinely.

[Speaking of brave. I don't know if the guys in the above video are brave or just plain nuts.]

A Friend Who Already Knew This...Intuitively

Years ago, when I was getting ready for my Israeli army draft, a friend and I were discussing trying to get into special units. I felt that to get into a special unit, it stands to reason you have to be in physically peak condition.

My friend, who ironically was and still is in far better shape than I (he's been working out consistently since 7th grade), assured me that all that mattered was mental stamina. If you had mental stamina, then nothing could stop you.

"If you think all that matters is mental stamina, then why do you train EVERY DAY?" I asked him, feeling positive that I had just handidly won the argument.

"I train to build mental stamina." He replied with the kind of satisfied grin that only an Israeli can successfully pull off.

At the time, I thought he was spewing nonsense. Now I know that he was right.

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Rafi Bar-Lev is a former combat medic and the founder of Passionate Fitness.

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