His approach to fitness emphasizes the integration of Strength Training and sustainable lifestyle modifications to promote overall well-being to his diverse clients either online or in-person. He is a strong advocate of promoting mental health care through exercise interventions and above all by talking about it openly! He can be at sardalamit@gmail.com for personal training enquiries or consultations.
Chances are you scrolling this on your phone. Take a breather, sit down and get ready to absorb the article. As you sit down you perform the most basic of the human body movements: the Squat! Let's explore the exercise beyond only muscles and explore its relationship with the brain and overall wellbeing.
Did you know that squatting is one of humanity's oldest movement patterns?
Long before sophisticated furniture and fixtures came along, people squatted to eat, rest, work, socialise and simply get on with life. Observe a toddler squatting, and you will notice how naturally the movement comes. Nobody needs to teach the child the basic movement pattern! Yet somewhere along the way, we have reduced the squat to just another exercise for the legs, glutes and core.
The squat deserves considerably more attention and respect. It represents a conversation between the brain, nervous system and muscles. And increasingly, research is exploring the relationship between lower-body strength, brain health and cognitive functioning.
Your Brain Is Involved in Every Squat
A squat requires balance, coordination, proprioception (the body's sense of positioning in space), motor control and concentration. Your brain is constantly communicating with your muscles: brace, lower, stabilise, drive and stand. The nervous system coordinates muscle recruitment, joint movement and postural adjustments while continuously processing sensory feedback. As strength and technique improve, the body also undergoes neurological adaptations.
This relationship is not merely theoretical. Researchers have investigated everything from brief squat breaks during prolonged sitting to the relationship between leg power and cognitive ageing.
Strong Legs, Sharper Brain?
This connection has also attracted attention from medical professionals.
Dr. Arun L. Naik, a Bengaluru-based neurosurgeon trained at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and a senior consultant heading Neurosurgery at Sagar Brain and Spine Institute, has spoken publicly about the relationship between lower-limb strength and cognitive health.
In an October 2025 report carried by The Economic Times, Dr. Naik warned that weakness and inactivity in the lower limbs may be associated with accelerated cognitive decline. His memorable observation was that "dementia can start in your legs." His broader message concerned the consequences of inactivity, age-related muscle loss or sarcopenia, and the importance of keeping the lower limbs active and strong.
While this statement is best understood as a metaphor rather than a literal explanation of where dementia begins, it reinforces an important point: maintaining muscular fitness is relevant to much more than mobility and appearance.
And the squat, by engaging some of the body's largest muscle groups, offers one practical way of training the lower body.
What Does the Research Tell Us?
The relationship between muscular fitness and brain health has attracted considerable scientific attention. Some studies examine actual squat movements, others investigate leg strength and power, while broader research evaluates the effects of resistance training on cognition and mental health.
Consider the following findings:
· Horiuchi et al. (2023) Journal of Applied Physiology
In a randomised crossover study involving 20 young adults, performing one minute of half-squats every 20 minutes during three hours of sitting helped preserve executive-function performance, concentration and aspects of cerebral blood flow compared with uninterrupted sitting.
· Mavros et al. (2017) Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
A randomised trial involving 100 older adults with mild cognitive impairment investigated progressive resistance training over six months and improvements in muscular strength along with cognitive performance were recorded.
· Adami et al. (2018) Frontiers in Neuroscience
Researchers studying mice found that prolonged hindlimb unloading, which substantially reduces normal weight-bearing activity, altered neural stem-cell characteristics and reduced their proliferation. The findings suggest a possible relationship between lower-limb activity and nervous-system biology, although they cannot directly establish the effects of squatting in humans.
· Simão et al. (2019) Frontiers in Physiology
A small randomised trial involving 15 older women with knee osteoarthritis compared squat training with and without whole-body vibration. The group combining squats with vibration demonstrated greater improvements in quadriceps strength and circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein involved in neuronal maintenance and plasticity. Cognitive outcomes were not assessed.
· Jensen, Marstrand and Nielsen (2005) Journal of Applied Physiology
Involving 24 adults, this study demonstrated that four weeks of strength training and motor-skill learning produced different adaptations in corticospinal excitability. This supports the idea that learning movement skills and developing strength involve neurological adaptations, although it does not demonstrate that lifting weights creates new brain cells.
· Gordon et al. (2018) JAMA Psychiatry
A meta-analysis covering 33 randomised clinical trials and 1,877 participants found that resistance training was associated with a moderate reduction in depressive symptoms. The benefits were observed across different participant populations and were not dependent on measurable improvements in muscular strength.
· Noetel et al. (2024) The BMJ
A systematic review and network meta-analysis covering 218 studies and 14,170 participants investigated exercise interventions for depression. Strength training was among the exercise modalities associated with moderate reductions in depressive symptoms.
These studies investigate different outcomes, populations and interventions. They should not be interpreted as proof that squats alone prevent dementia or treat mental-health conditions. Nevertheless, the collective evidence makes a compelling case for examining the relationship between physical strength, neurological functioning and psychological well-being.
“I Can't” Becomes “I Can”
But there is another aspect to strength training that deserves attention. Not every benefit needs to be explained through hormones, neurotransmitters or brain-derived proteins. Sometimes, the psychological benefit is considerably more straightforward.
A person struggling to complete even one squat eventually manages three. Three become five. Bodyweight becomes external resistance. The individual who once needed assistance to rise from a chair can now perform the movement independently. This progression creates an experience of mastery.
Strength training offers measurable evidence of improvement. What was difficult yesterday becomes manageable today. The individual develops confidence, competence and a sense of self-efficacy.
For someone experiencing low mood, anxiety, reduced motivation or poor self-esteem, successfully completing a physical task can represent a meaningful personal achievement. The psychological value of this process should not be underestimated, even though individual experiences and responses differ.
Beyond the Squat: The Bigger Picture Is Strength Training
Although this article has focused on the squat, the objective is considerably broader. The squat is merely the metaphor. Strength training is the larger conversation. Squatting is one fundamental movement pattern.
Rather, the research suggests that maintaining muscular strength, developing physical capacity and engaging in regular resistance training can contribute to physical health, cognitive functioning and psychological well-being.
The World Health Organization recognises regular physical activity as beneficial for brain health and for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. So perhaps the next time you squat, think beyond the repetitions and the muscles being trained. Think of the communication between your brain and body. Think of the neurological adaptations, the physical strength being developed and the psychological confidence that may follow.
A note on mental health: Exercise is not a substitute for professional assessment or treatment for depression, anxiety, panic disorder or other mental-health conditions. When appropriately prescribed and supervised, strength training can form a valuable component of a broader mental-health and well-being strategy. Individuals experiencing symptoms should consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
