If you normally reach for a latte to help you focus when you’re feeling overloaded, put down the coffee and pick up a pair of dumbbells instead. Weight training can improve cognitive function – particularly your executive function, which is involved in planning, organising and focusing on the task at hand.

How does it work?

Boffins are still trying to fully understand the connection between weight-lifting and concentration, but according to UK-based personal trainer Steve Goodacre, weight training forces you to focus on tecnhique.

“Slow, repetitive movements take concentration, so you’re training that part of your brain,” he says.

How often should I do it?

A strength-training session once or twice a week for an hour has a positive effect, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. But if it’s new to you, take it slow.

Two weekly 20-minute sessions are ideal, aiming for 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, or until you struggle to do more.

If you want to run and hide whenever someone mentions meditation, boxing could be just the ticket to tackling your stress levels, as it offers both a physical and psychological release.

How does it work?

Boxing allows you to transfer all your frustration onto an inanimate object (for example, a punchbag) rather than an inanimate object (such as your boss). And because you become totally absorbed in the sport, there’s no room for worrying about anything else.

“If you’re on a treadmill or a bike, your body could be doing one thing, but your focus and attention could be elsewhere,” says Goodacre.

“With boxing you’re using a number of different skills, so you have to pay attention to what’s going on.”

How often should I do it?

It’s a high-intensity workout, so start slowly – one 60-minute class a week is enough for newbies. Don’t fancy hand-to-hand combat? Try Boxercise, which combines boxing drills with aerobic moves.

Looking for a yoga class? Try Iyengar. It involves a series of slow, precise postures to build strength. But research from Boston University School of Medicine found it could also reduce anxiety and increase levels of the neurotransmitter GABA, a brain chemical often found to be deficient in people suffering from depression.

How does it work?

Yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to lower your blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate. It’s believed that when the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated, it also triggers the release of GABA, which all combines to calm you down.

How often should I do it?

Practising lyengar yoga for one hour, three times a week for 12 weeks was shown to boost levels of this key neurotransmitter.

If you suffer from poor sleep, you’ll know counting sheep doesn’t work. Instead, try Pilates. A study in Brazil discovered that sedentary volunteers who took up Pilates experienced considerable improvements in their sleep and quality of life.

How does it work?

“Pilates functions a bit like mindful meditation,” says instructor Katie Bulmer. “The focus on abdominal breathing helps you calm down and relax. You’re really concentrating on what’s going on inside your body, rather than outside.”

How often should I do it?

The researchers found doing two one-hour mat-based Pilates classes a week for 12 weeks improved sleep.

Believe it or not, jumping on an exercise bike could be just the thing when you’re flagging at the end of the day. Just 20 minutes on a bike can significantly raise energy levels.

How does it work?

“Strenuous exercise encourages the release of endorphins, the feedgood hormones in the brain,” says Goodacre. “They have an almost opiate, drug-like effect, leaving you on a high.”

How often should I do it?

Just 20 minutes on a bike is enough for a quick boost, but research at the University of Georgia found three 20-minute sessions a week for six weeks could raise energy levels by 20 per cent and reduce feelings of fatigue by up to 65 per cent.

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Text: bauersyndication.com.au