Exercise is good for the brain, promoting healthy circulation and the growth of brain tissue and small blood vessels.
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Imagine, if you will, a demonstration: This is your brain [show human brain with normal folds, ridges and furrows]. And this is your brain on exercise [same brain but vibrant and healthy with blood flowing freely through arteries and capillaries].
Exercise is good for you. It’s good for your heart and blood vessels, protecting you from heart disease. It’s good for your metabolism, helping head off obesity and type 2 diabetes. And it’s good for your brain, helping you stay smart and better able to handle tasks requiring both mental and physical dexterity.
Because it helps control blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, exercise keeps blood vessels healthy and maintains strong circulation to the brain, which consumes up to 25 percent of oxygen processed by the lungs. Narrowing of the carotid arteries, the major vessels carrying blood and oxygen to the brain, is a major cause of stroke.
But in addition to preventing damage to the brain, exercise also has a direct, positive effect, promoting the growth of brain tissue and tiny blood vessels known as capillaries.
Laboratory rats who keep their exercise wheels spinning have been shown to have larger, healthier brains than their sedentary counterparts. They also are better able to work their way through mazes. An Oregon Health and Science University study of 24 monkeys found that those who exercised on treadmills five days a week for 20 weeks had a higher brain capillary volume and were more aroused, alert and engaged than monkeys who did not exercise.
In human subjects, researchers at the University of Illinois recently used brain scans to determine that subjects with the highest level of physical fitness (as measured by treadmill testing) had larger brains than less fit subjects, exhibiting less age-related shrinkage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed clear differences in the size of the frontal, temporal and parietal regions of the brain–areas crucial to memory, learning and communication between cells.
A companion report, analyzing data from 18 earlier studies, concluded that exercise had a positive effect on the mental abilities of men and women, ages 55 to 80. The greatest benefit was seen with executive control functions such as attention, organization and planning.
The researchers concluded that:
· the brains of older persons benefitted more from exercise than those of younger persons,
· a combination of aerobic activities (such as walking, running or biking) and strength training was more beneficial than either type of exercise by itself, and
· the benefits occurred mainly with exercise sessions totaling 30 minutes or more.
These are principles that apply to the physical benefits of exercise as well.
Pumping Up Your Brain
For the brain as well as the body, aging starts exhibiting its effects as early as age 30. The brain gradually begins to shrink, with resulting declines in memory, reaction time, coordinating several tasks at once and other mental processes. After age 50, these deficits become increasingly more noticeable.
Just as it can pump new vigor into muscles, exercise has the capacity to prevent or reverse age-related shrinkage of the brain.
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Just as it can pump new vigor into muscles, exercise also has the capacity to prevent or reverse shrinkage of the brain, increasing the number of cells in the hippocampus, the area of the brain most involved in learning and memory.
When 100 previously sedentary older adults (ages 60 to 75) were placed on a six-month program of walking three days a week, they showed a significant increase in mental reaction time–an improvement averaging 25 percent more than subjects who followed a program of low intensity stretching and toning.
After training, university cross country runners scored an average of two points higher on an intelligence test.
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Physically active persons are two to three times less likely than sedentary ones to develop Alzheimer’s disease and 40 percent less likely to have other signs of mental decline. Regular workouts also have a positive effect on mood and self esteem, increasing a person’s odds of remaining independent and socially engaged.
Young People Gain Too
If older adults show more exercise-related gains in mental capacity, it’s probably because they are more vulnerable to losses associated with aging. But exercise is also good for the brains of young people.
In addition to a healthy supply of blood and oxygen, physical activity delivers substances such as neurotrophins that promote the growth of nerve and brain cells. In laboratory studies, rats running on wheels or treadmills had more neurotrophins than sedentary rats. And when they were asked to maneuver complex courses involving ropes and narrow bridges, they also developed more connections between brain cells. These connections appeared to increase learning ability in not just one but a number of areas.
Hence, an accomplished dancer or basketball player may become increasingly skilled not only for dance or basketball moves but for other activities requiring dexterity and coordination...and for academic challenges as well.
One study of 19 university cross country runners, averaging 30 plus miles a week in their training, found that they scored an average of two points higher on standard intelligence tests at the conclusion of their season.
Physical education was once a staple of the curriculum for middle school and high school students, but in recent years many schools have eliminated or reduced the P.E. requirement, purportedly to make room for more academic pursuits. The result has been an increase in childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes and early symptoms of heart disease–all conditions associated with poor regulation of blood glucose. Uncontrolled blood sugar is also believed to play a major role in memory and learning deficits and, over the long term, in shrinkage of brain cells.
Students are better able to concentrate on their studies when they are also allowed to exercise their bodies, and their overall education is enhanced by the self esteem that usually accompanies physical fitness and the development of athletic skills.
Americans are prone to make distinctions between mind and body, scholars and athletes. Most recent research suggests that such differences are artificial. A strong body is necessary to keep the mind vital and healthy.
REFERENCES:
Brandon L. Alderman and Daniel M. Landers, “The Relationship between Exercise and Enhancement of Brain Function and Maze Learning in Animals,” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, March, 2003.
Stanley J. Colcombe, Kirk I. Erickson, Naftali Raz, Andrew G. Webb, Neal J. Cohen, Edward Mcauley and Arthur F. Kramer, “Aerobic Fitness Reduces Brain Tissue Loss in Aging Humans,” The Journals of Gerontology, Series A, February, 2003.
Shelley Drozd, “How Exercise Builds Your Brain...and Reverses Memory Loss,” Prevention, October, 2003.
Ana Navarro, Carmen Gomez, Jose M. Lopez-Cepero and Alberto Boveris, “Beneficial Effects of Moderate Exercise on Mice Aging: Survival, Behavior, Oxidative Stress, and Mitochondrial Electron Transfer,” The American journal of Physiology, March, 2004.
Terri Needels and Toby Bilanow, “Power Up Your Brain: Scientists Are Fast Amassing Evidence That Cognitive and Physical Exercise Are Key To Fighting Alzheimer’s and Living Longer,” Psychology Today, July-August, 2002.
Tamra Orr, “Pumping Up Your Brain: Exercise Conditions Your Muscles–and Your Brain!” Current Health 2, November, 2003.
“Researchers Study Physical and Mental Impacts of Exercise on the Brain,” Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, December 6, 2003.
Justin S. Rhodes, et al, “Exercise Increases Hippocampal Neurogenesis to High Levels But Does Not Improve Spatial Learning in Mice Bred for Increased Voluntary Wheel Running,” Behavioral Neuroscience, October, 2003.
Shanti Sosienski, “Exercise & Your Brain: Workouts Don’t Just Pump Up Your Muscles but Your Mood, Too,” Muscle & Fitness, December, 2002.
Michele Stanten and Selene Yeager, “Get Moving for Healthy Brain Cells: Alzheimer’s Protection Is Just a Few Steps Away,” Prevention, January, 2002.
“Study Is First To Confirm Link between Exercise and Changes in Brain,” Pain & Central Nervous System Week, February 17, 2003.
“Sustained High Blood Sugar Levels May Damage Brain’s Key Memory Center,” Pain & Central Nervous System Week, February 24, 2003.
“10 Ways To Keep Your Brain in Top Shape,” Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, February, 2003.
Sean White, “Study Confirms Brain Benefits of Exercise,” IDEA Personal Trainer, April, 2003.
