Working on your six-pack can have a similar effect on your brain as sleep

Summer is right around the corner — and if that alone isn’t enough to get you back in the gym, this just might. 

A new study from Pennsylvania State University suggests that working on your six-pack may strengthen your core and give your brain a boost.

“Our research explains how just moving around might serve as an important physiological mechanism promoting brain health,” corresponding author Patrick Drew, a neuroscientist, said in a press release. 

In the study, Drew and his colleagues advanced imaging techniques to watch the brains of mice as they walked on treadmills with their heads held still.

They observed that just before each step, the animals’ brains subtly shifted inside their skulls. The change appeared to coincide with the moment they tightened their abdominal muscles, which helps initiate movement.

The researchers then took things a step further. They gentle pressed on the abdomens of lightly anesthetized mice and found that even without walking, their brains still shifted.

“Importantly, the brain began moving back to its baseline position immediately upon relief of the abdominal pressure,” Drew said. “This suggests that abdominal pressure can rapidly and significantly alter the position of the brain within the skull.”

That might not sound important, but scientists believe that it could play a role in how the brain cleans itself.

Most of that typically happens while we’re dozing. During deep, non-REM sleep, the brain’s glymphatic system uses cerebrospinal fluid to flush out waste and toxins that build up during the day.

That process is crucial. Without it, harmful proteins such as amyloid-β and tau can accumulate, triggering inflammation, disrupting communication between brain cells and eventually leading to neuron damage.

Over time, that buildup has been linked to cognitive decline, memory loss and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The new findings suggest that everyday movements may also help drive subtle brain motion that supports this fluid flow even while we are awake.

“In this study, we found that when the abdominal muscles contract, they push blood from the abdomen into the spinal cord, just like in a hydraulic system, applying pressure to the brain and making it move,” Drew said.

“Simulations show that this gentle brain movement will drive fluid flow in and around the brain.”

More research is needed to fully understand what this means for humans, but the findings suggest simple exercises may help the brain clear waste more efficiently.

“This kind of motion is so small. It’s what’s generated when you walk or just contract your abdominal muscles, which you do when you engage in any physical behavior,” Drew said. “It could make such a difference for your brain health.”

Taken together, the findings offer yet another reason to get moving.

The federal government recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week — but most Americans aren’t hitting that mark.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found that only 47.2% of US adults met recommended aerobic activity levels in 2024.

Federal guidelines also call for muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week, though research suggests many Americans are skipping that as well.

Experts say the lack of regular movement is a major driver behind the country’s chronic disease crisis, which remains the leading cause of illness, disability and death in the US.

A sedentary lifestyle has been linked to a higher risk of a wide range of health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, dementia and even depression.