<p>Before giving my gut feeling as an answer in the final paragraph I'll first have to explain why I don't think the question can be answered in absolute terms (at least not without additional restrictions).</p>

<p>To start with I'll remind you that our bodies don't just flick over to exercise mode but instead ramp up and down in response to the demands put on them. As a result to make a proper comparison between bursts and sustained exercise isn't as simple as multiplying there duration.</p>

<p>If we take our [calculated MHR][1] as a basic measure of exercise intensity then say a respectable level is 50% to 70% of MHR, the quickest we are going to be able to get into that heart rate zone is with an all out sprint (a very bad idea without warming up) at which point our heart rate will overshoot the mark (sometimes reaching well over 100% since the MHR calculators are pretty rough without doing a full fitness workup) and then drop and eventually settle on a rate after maybe 2 minutes. </p>

<p>But the more likely and sensible scenario  is that we will start exercising at what we feel is the correct intensity and our heart rate will eventually increase over the space of several minutes so that it may be 5 to 10 minutes before we get in the zone.</p>

<p>So while I completely understand where you are coming from with your question it is one that I see a way of testing experimentally - and so i will just give you my subjective answer in what follows.</p>

<p>Since the physiological changes in the brain ([such as increased blood flow, seratonin, BDNF][2]) would I believe happen toward the start of the exercise session and then your brain would adapt to the new exercise demands and stop producing extras of all those goodies leaving them to begin dissipating before you ended the session and for a duration of time after means you would be better off doing bursts of exercise throughout the day to keep triggering that brain response that re-releases the goods.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-29T10:14:33.073Z
There are a lot of bold claims in your answer without corroborated evidence. We work differently to many SE sites, where we have a strict policy that [all answers should be backed up with reliable references](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/201/7604) so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can be challenged and lead to deletion of your answer.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-14T02:03:06.887Z
2019-01-14T02:03:06.887Z
norlesh
<p>Will my brain benefit from cardio equally if I exercise at the same intensity level for 12 10 minutes sessions as it would for one 120 minute session?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-28T00:30:13.787Z
We know that exercise does benefit our mental health. As a healthy body benefits a healthy mind, then the cautious answer is yes (in the long term) - Norwegian researchers conducted a long term experiment and found that even [short duration high intensity exercises increased the life span](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/well/move/high-intensity-exercise-workouts.html) of the elderly. ([Link to the actual research](https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3485)).
sfxedit
<exercise>
Does total time exercising matter for cognition more than the time exercising continuously?
SpaceRace
# Does total time exercising matter for cognition more than the time exercising continuously?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-13)

Will my brain benefit from cardio equally if I exercise at the same intensity level for 12 10 minutes sessions as it would for one 120 minute session?

**Tags:** exercise

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: We know that exercise does benefit our mental health. As a healthy body benefits a healthy mind, then the cautious answer is yes (in the long term) - Norwegian researchers conducted a long term experiment and found that even [short duration high intensity exercises increased the life span](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/well/move/high-intensity-exercise-workouts.html) of the elderly. ([Link to the actual research](https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3485)).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-01-14. Score: -1

Before giving my gut feeling as an answer in the final paragraph I'll first have to explain why I don't think the question can be answered in absolute terms (at least not without additional restrictions).

To start with I'll remind you that our bodies don't just flick over to exercise mode but instead ramp up and down in response to the demands put on them. As a result to make a proper comparison between bursts and sustained exercise isn't as simple as multiplying there duration.

If we take our [calculated MHR][1] as a basic measure of exercise intensity then say a respectable level is 50% to 70% of MHR, the quickest we are going to be able to get into that heart rate zone is with an all out sprint (a very bad idea without warming up) at which point our heart rate will overshoot the mark (sometimes reaching well over 100% since the MHR calculators are pretty rough without doing a full fitness workup) and then drop and eventually settle on a rate after maybe 2 minutes.

But the more likely and sensible scenario is that we will start exercising at what we feel is the correct intensity and our heart rate will eventually increase over the space of several minutes so that it may be 5 to 10 minutes before we get in the zone.

So while I completely understand where you are coming from with your question it is one that I see a way of testing experimentally - and so i will just give you my subjective answer in what follows.

Since the physiological changes in the brain ([such as increased blood flow, seratonin, BDNF][2]) would I believe happen toward the start of the exercise session and then your brain would adapt to the new exercise demands and stop producing extras of all those goodies leaving them to begin dissipating before you ended the session and for a duration of time after means you would be better off doing bursts of exercise throughout the day to keep triggering that brain response that re-releases the goods.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: There are a lot of bold claims in your answer without corroborated evidence. We work differently to many SE sites, where we have a strict policy that [all answers should be backed up with reliable references](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/201/7604) so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can be challenged and lead to deletion of your answer.  

---

