Excessive Excercise Can Tire Your Brain, Study Finds

(CBS) - Could you be overdoing it with your workout? A new French study finds excessive exercise could cloud your brain.

A large body of evidence shows that regular physical activity is good for the body and the brain, but this study looked specifically at overtraining.

Researchers told 37 male competitive endurance athletes to either continue their normal training or to increase that training by 40 percent over a three week period.

They found that training overload caused mental fatigue, including in areas of the brain important for making decisions and impulsivity.

Previous studies have shown similar effects from excessive intellectual work.

Bottom line, while exercise and endurance training can be good for your health, pushing yourself too hard could be bad for the brain.