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We are physical beings, our bodies exist in this 3-dimensional world. Like Clarke says our minds are our bodies; the wet fleshy brain is what organizes all the input that we have and creates who we are in the moment (2001). The autobiographical memory system exists within the brain in relation to its surroundings. The prefrontal cortex is a big player in manipulating these memories. It is also where we make the decisions that are supported by our SMS. Our executive function in this area, and is connected to the SMS in many ways. Executive function is in control of our mental flexibility, how we manage self-control, and how we think creatively, and helps us to manage tasks that are a part of everyday life. When we are under distress this part of the brain does not function correctly. This is a substantial reason why we want to be in the eustress zone. In this zone, we can make the best decisions possible. When we feel distressed the prefrontal cortex gets drowned in a dopamine bath, which confuses signaling, and your executive functioning becomes dyssynchronous.

One way of describing our executive function (EF) under stress is called hot EF. When we are highly emotional, whether that be anger, excitement, sadness, distress we go to our hot EF. We don’t have the same response to things using our Hot EF as we would with our Cool EF. Cool EFs happen when we are in comfortable low stressful situations. When we are calm we can make more rational, comprehensible decisions, or perform more difficult tasks. Keeping our EFs cool can take practice and is part of what we are hoping to tap into when we want to reduce stress and overall health (Kleinknecht, 2021).

Physical health helps executive function. Adele Diamond, a professor of neuroscience, has done extensive research on this topic and maintains that people who are nourishing their executive functions are people who are using their bodies in conjunction with their minds and doing it as part of a group. For example, being part of a team sport, or using an example Diamond gives, being in an orchestra where you have to use quick thinking or planning synchronously with a larger group of people. This bonding and connection support executive functioning by giving people a way to support their whole experience of being human (2014).

There is also evidence that physicality builds a healthy identity. There is a study that surveyed a group of students on their motor competence and on how they viewed themselves. The study showed that there is an indirect effect that students who showed low motor competence had more negative self-views than those who had a high motor competence. High motor competence (HMC) is shown to indirectly affect, “social competence, physical appearance, romantic appeal, behavioral conduct, close friendships and global self-worth on the relationship between motor competence and identity health,” (Timler 2019). The effect can be seen for those who think of HMC as something that will make them better. If they don’t put as much value into having an HMC then they don’t experience the negative effects associated with LMC. Having a high sense of self is more linked with feelings of efficacy ( the feeling of being able to do something, or being capable) and having a support system/ social group.

We must nourish our executive function to reduce stress and build a positive sense of self. This will continue feelings of being capable because we will be able to keep our EFs cool and continuously make good decisions for ourselves. Nourishing our EFs will help us be less stressed. We can nourish this part of ourselves through exercising the mind and the body in tandem. Practicing using our body will make us feel better if only for the physical aspects of it like getting the blood flowing and moving the stagnant lymph in our bodies. Lymph can only move with outside help. If we aren’t moving then our lymph surely isn’t either. We can also move lymph by massage or certain herbs, but free and easy medicine is just to go on a walk. The brain’s main way to flush out toxins is through the lymphatic system (Amitrano, 2020). Exercise is proven to be indirectly responsible for regulating stress. Stress has negative effects on cardiovascular, brain, immune and endocrine, and metabolic systems. Acute stress is what makes us healthy, prolonged stress is what dampens these systems. Because exercise is a stressor, having the same chemical response in the body as a mental stressor, it can counter aspects of stress-induced immune suppression (Spirduso, Poon & Chodzko-Zajko, 2008). Exercise also regulates the endocrine system, in that it helps regulate glucose uptake. Insulin produced by the pancreas is otherwise responsible for this, when the pancreas stops functioning correctly it puts stress on all other endocrine organs and this affects stress levels as well. If we take that knowledge of one way that movement helps the brain we can see a small piece of how the mind is dependent upon the body.

We are also practicing coordinating the mind when we move the body. Walking maybe not as much but doing something physical that you wouldn’t normally do mires synapses in different ways than someone might normally be used to. We use our Executive function for playing, doing a sport may be one way to use exercise and challenge our minds. This is not the only way, however. It could be through cooking, acting, dancing, or drawing. All of these are ways that we can use our bodies to create or explore the world around us in different ways.

This brings me to my last point. Something all of these things can have in common is community. There are ways to take art class, be a part of a team, or go volunteer that allows a person to be a part of a group that supports you doing something healthy for you. Being a part of a group and having a community helps people not feel alone. Isolation can lead to higher stress levels (Mumtaz, et al., 2018). Being in a relationship with others is how we can come to see ourselves and learn about ourselves. Without that, we can’t build identity. It is important to have others be our soundboard and take us out of our heads and encourage us. They can tell us that things will be okay. Human beings evolved as social creatures. Babies could not survive, even if they had food and warmth, and everything else a baby could need, without being able to be helped by someone. Said more plainly, without human contact they would die. This is called failure to thrive (Kleinknecht, 2020). We aren’t babies but we are still human, if a baby can’t live without that there is no way we would have changed so much sense infanthood to no longer require socialization.

We can use our bodies as tools to affect our minds. We know we can use stress to make our minds sharper. Exercise is one way to do that. We have this idea that working on our minds means studying, reading, or talking, those are all good ways of expanding the mind, but they are not the only ways to do that. Sometimes the best thing for your brains is to stop thinking and just walk.