Exercise can also help your mood by decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. That's because "every single time you exercise, it's like you are giving your brain a bubble bath of mood-enhancing neurochemicals," Wendy Suzuki PhDsays.

Working out can support focus and attention, as well as increase your motor reaction time — all reasons Wendy Suzuki, PhD, professor of neural science and psychology at New York University, personally likes to break a sweat in the morning.

"Exercise has the capacity to change the brain's anatomy, physiology and function for the better," after just one workout, even a walk, Suzuki says.