Your brain has an amazing ability to create new brain cells throughout your life, especially in a region called the hippocampus that helps with memory and emotions. Scientists have discovered that this process—called adult hippocampal neurogenesis—can be boosted or weakened by things you do every day, like exercise, what you eat, and how stressed you are. This review brings together research showing that lifestyle choices and hormones significantly influence how many new brain cells your brain makes, and that problems with this process may be connected to depression, memory loss, and other brain conditions. Understanding how to support this natural brain-building process could lead to new ways to protect and improve brain health.
The Quick Take
- What they studied: What factors help or hurt your brain’s ability to create new brain cells in the hippocampus (the memory and emotion center), and how this connects to brain health and disease
- Who participated: This is a review article that analyzed findings from many different studies rather than conducting a new experiment with participants
- Key finding: Your lifestyle choices—especially exercise, mental challenges, good nutrition, and managing stress—directly influence how many new brain cells your brain creates. Different parts of the hippocampus respond differently to these factors, with some areas being more sensitive to stress and others responding better to exercise
- What it means for you: You may be able to support your brain’s natural cell-building process through daily habits like physical activity, learning new things, eating a healthy diet, and managing stress. However, this research is still developing, and these strategies work best as part of overall brain health, not as standalone treatments for brain conditions
The Research Details
This is a review article, meaning the researchers didn’t conduct their own experiment. Instead, they carefully read and summarized findings from many different scientific studies about how the brain creates new cells. They organized this information by looking at what factors influence this process—like hormones (chemical messengers in your body), exercise, diet, and stress—and how these factors affect different regions of the hippocampus.
The researchers paid special attention to the fact that the hippocampus has two main regions (dorsal and ventral) that work differently. The upper region (dorsal) naturally creates more new cells, while the lower region (ventral) is more flexible and responds more dramatically to changes in lifestyle and stress. This regional difference is important because it suggests that different brain problems might need different approaches.
By bringing together evidence from many studies, the researchers created a comprehensive picture of how everyday choices and brain chemistry work together to influence brain cell growth, and how problems with this process connect to conditions like depression, memory loss, and addiction.
Understanding what controls brain cell growth is important because this process appears to be fundamental to how your brain maintains memory, processes emotions, and handles stress. By identifying the specific factors that boost or reduce new brain cell creation, scientists can develop better treatments for brain conditions and give people practical advice about lifestyle choices that support brain health. The focus on different regions of the hippocampus is particularly valuable because it suggests that one-size-fits-all treatments might not work—instead, therapies could be tailored to target specific brain areas affected by different conditions.
This is a review article published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, meaning experts checked the work before publication. The strength of this type of article is that it synthesizes information from many studies to show patterns and connections. However, review articles don’t provide new experimental data themselves, so the conclusions are only as strong as the individual studies they’re based on. The field of adult brain cell growth is still relatively new, and some findings are still being debated among scientists. Readers should understand that while the evidence is promising, many of these connections are still being researched and aren’t yet proven in humans as definitively as they are in animal studies.
What the Results Show
The research shows that physical exercise is one of the most powerful ways to boost new brain cell creation, particularly in the upper part of the hippocampus. Mental challenges and learning new things also appear to strengthen this process. These activities seem to work by triggering natural chemicals in your brain that support cell growth.
Stress and stress hormones (particularly cortisol) have the opposite effect, especially in the lower part of the hippocampus. When you experience chronic stress, your brain actually creates fewer new cells in this region. This connection is important because the lower hippocampus is involved in emotional processing and mood regulation, which might explain why chronic stress is linked to depression and anxiety.
Nutrition also plays a significant role. Eating a healthy diet with plenty of vitamins and plant compounds (polyphenols) appears to support brain cell growth, while high-fat diets may reduce it. Interestingly, eating fewer calories (caloric restriction) in some studies showed benefits for brain cell creation, though this effect is complex and not fully understood.
The research also reveals that positive experiences and rewarding activities boost brain cell growth, suggesting that enjoyment and engagement are important for brain health, not just survival.
The review identifies connections between problems with brain cell growth and several serious conditions: depression appears linked to reduced cell growth in the lower hippocampus; Alzheimer’s disease shows decreased brain cell creation; schizophrenia involves abnormalities in this process; and addiction may involve disrupted brain cell growth patterns. These connections suggest that supporting healthy brain cell growth might help prevent or manage these conditions, though much more research is needed to confirm this.
The research also highlights that hormones beyond stress hormones—including sex hormones and growth factors—influence brain cell creation, which might explain why some brain conditions affect men and women differently.
This review builds on decades of research showing that the brain can create new cells throughout life, overturning the old belief that brain cell creation only happens in childhood. Previous studies in animals clearly demonstrated that exercise and enriched environments boost brain cell growth. This review confirms those findings and extends them by showing how different lifestyle factors work together and how they affect different brain regions differently. It also connects this basic science to human brain conditions in new ways, suggesting that brain cell growth might be a common pathway affected in multiple psychiatric and neurological diseases.
The biggest limitation is that most of this research comes from animal studies, particularly in mice and rats. While animal brains work similarly to human brains in many ways, we can’t be completely certain that all these findings apply to humans in the same way. Brain cell growth in humans is harder to study directly because we can’t easily examine living human brains. Additionally, many of the studies reviewed were done in controlled laboratory settings that don’t perfectly match real-world conditions. The review also notes that the field is still debating exactly how important brain cell growth is for human cognition and emotion—while it clearly matters in animals, its precise role in human brain function remains somewhat unclear. Finally, most research has focused on young adult brains, so we know less about how these processes work in older adults.
The Bottom Line
Based on this research, consider incorporating these evidence-supported practices into your routine: (1) Regular physical activity—this has strong evidence for boosting brain cell growth; (2) Mental challenges and learning—engaging your brain with new information or skills appears beneficial; (3) Stress management—practices like meditation, deep breathing, or counseling may protect brain cell growth; (4) Healthy diet—emphasizing whole foods, vegetables, fruits, and limiting high-fat processed foods; (5) Positive experiences—making time for enjoyable, rewarding activities. These recommendations have moderate to strong evidence, though they work best as part of overall brain health rather than as treatments for existing brain conditions. If you have concerns about memory, mood, or cognitive function, consult a healthcare provider.
Everyone can benefit from understanding these findings, as they support general brain health practices. This research is particularly relevant for people concerned about memory loss, those with depression or anxiety, people managing stress, and anyone interested in preventive brain health. However, these findings should not replace professional treatment for diagnosed brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, or major depression. If you have a diagnosed condition, discuss these lifestyle strategies with your healthcare provider as additions to, not replacements for, prescribed treatments.
Realistic expectations matter here. If you start exercising regularly or making dietary changes, you might notice improvements in mood, energy, and mental clarity within weeks to a few months. However, the actual growth of new brain cells is a slower process, likely taking months to show measurable effects on memory or cognitive function. For people managing depression or anxiety, these lifestyle changes typically work best when combined with other treatments and may take 2-3 months to show noticeable benefits. For long-term brain health and disease prevention, these practices are most effective when maintained consistently over years.
Want to Apply This Research?
- Track weekly exercise minutes (aim for 150+ minutes), daily stress levels (1-10 scale), sleep quality, and mood. Also note cognitive activities (learning, puzzles, reading) and diet quality. Over 8-12 weeks, look for patterns between these activities and your reported mood, energy, and mental clarity.
- Start with one manageable change: commit to 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times per week, or dedicate 15 minutes daily to a new learning activity (language app, online course, puzzle games). Log these activities and rate your mood and energy before and after to see personal patterns.
- Create a monthly brain health scorecard tracking: exercise frequency, stress management practice, diet quality (servings of vegetables/fruits), sleep consistency, cognitive engagement, and subjective measures like mood stability and mental clarity. Review trends quarterly to identify which activities most improve your personal brain health markers.
This review summarizes scientific research about how the brain creates new cells and factors that influence this process. While the findings are promising, most research comes from animal studies, and the exact importance of this process in human brain health is still being studied. This information is for educational purposes and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. If you have concerns about memory loss, mood changes, or cognitive function, please consult a qualified healthcare provider. These lifestyle recommendations are intended to support overall brain health and should not replace professional medical treatment for diagnosed neurological or psychiatric conditions.