Boost Your Brain Power with Exercise
Increasing evidence suggests another reason to get moving
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What's good for our hearts and waistlines also appears to be good for our minds. |
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Updated: 6:34 a.m. PT Feb 20, 2007 article byJacqueline Stenson Contributing editor MSNBC
Q: What is the relationship between physical and mental fitness? Does exercise enhance our brain power?
A: Mounting scientific evidence on the effects of exercise suggests that what's good for our hearts and waistlines also is good for our minds.
"Exercise in many ways optimizes your brain to learn," says Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston who's at work on a book about exercise and the brain.
Exercise improves circulation throughout the body, including the brain, Ratey explains. Exercise also boosts metabolism, decreases stress and improves mood and attention, all of which help the brain perform better, he says.
"The brain cells actually become more resilient and more pliable and are more ready to link up," he says. It's this linking up that allows us to retain new information.
Much of the research on the specific effects of exercise on neurons has been done in the lab. But studies in people also are backing physical activity as a way to keep the brain healthy and our minds sharp.
For instance, a study published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that older people who exercised at least three times a week were about a third less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia than people who exercised less. Even walking helped.
It's well known that exercise helps prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and stroke, all of which can contribute to dementia.
Research also has found that workers who exercise during the workday feel more productive and seem to handle job stress better than their sedentary colleagues.
Yet while studies suggest that exercise enhances cognitive skills such as reasoning and concentration, it's not clear that a lunchtime trip to the gym will make you immediately and dramatically smarter, says Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging and author of "The Longevity Bible: 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young.”
It's also not known how much physical activity confers the optimal brain benefits, but researchers do know that even brisk walking a few times a week helps. You do not have to become a triathlete
