No exercise creates pea-brains?
Does not exercising create pea-brains? Well, not exactly!
But, according to this article and study, exercising, or not exercising, will
have an influence on the size of your brain and how quickly your brain shrinks
as you become older.
The study in this article took a look at over 1,500 people
around the age of 40 that didn’t currently struggle with any kind of heart
diseases. The study had all participants take an MRI scan and also a physical
test. The physical test consisted of running on a treadmill until their heart
rate reached a certain point. Their exercise score was measured by how long
they could run for without their heart rate reaching the certain point.
After waiting twenty years the researchers went back out to
gather data and re-test participants. All participants were given the same
physical test and MRI scan again. What the researchers found was that the
participants that scored highly on the physical test both times actually had
slower brain aging/shrinkage compared to those that scored low. Those that
scored low on the physical test actually had smaller brains, higher blood
pressure, and also had their heart rate increase more quickly due to easy levels of exercise.
One of the reasons that researchers thought exercise might
help cognitive health would be because of the improved blood flow and healthy
oxygenation to the brain; and although it is low amounts, after 20 years even
that low amount can make a tremendous difference.
This data wasn’t really surprising to me. After working at a
gym for several years and getting to know several of the older people that went
there for many years it became obvious to me(from talking and communicating
with them) that they seemed more healthy, both physically and cognitively, than
those that didn’t take part in any physical exercises.
After reading the blog post concerning how maintaining physical exercise at middle age causes individuals to possess slower shrinking brains compared to individuals who did not engage in regular physical exercise, I decided to delve deeper into how physical exercise affects an individuals’ brain. I read an interesting article from Psychology Today which explained that consistent exercise allows individuals to experience increased blood flow leading to improved cardiovascular health. I also learned that maintaining physical exercise on a weekly basis causes a release of neurotropic factors which leads to the growth of new neurons within the brain. Additionally, the brain benefits from physical exercise due to an increase in glucose and lipid metabolism leading to enhanced nourishment to the brain. I also uncovered a research study which stated that weekly physical exercise can improve the white matter integrity of physically fit individuals of both young and old ages. Maintaining physical activity on a weekly basis causes an increased improvement in the microstructures of white matter in the brain leading to decrease risks of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease among physically fit individuals. I also learned that physically fit and active individuals who posses enhanced white matter integrity can possess quicker neural transference between brain regions and heightened cognitive performance. Additionally, I found out that scientists believe that physical exercise can enhance white matter integrity because effective physical activity activates blood to pump throughout the brain and increases the vascularization of myelin capillaries which in turn could help lead to an improvement in myelination. I discovered a research study which states that physically active children posses more proficient white matter tracts in the brain which contribute to effective memory and learning than their less physically fit peers. I was surprised by this research study because I would not assume that individuals who work out all the time would not have higher cognitive functioning in memory and learning compared to physically inactive individuals. However, I learned that researchers have discovered a positive correlation between physical exercise, enhanced white matter integrity, and improved academic performance which makes sense. A healthier body, leads to a healthier mind.
ReplyDeleteThis blog as well as the article was very interesting to read. I can say that I have also noticed that active senior citizens appear to be healthier physically and cognitively compared to their peers that are not active. However, I never would have imagined that a person’s activeness had a relationship to the size of their brain! The article emphasizes that brains shrink with age and the lack of exercise can cause deterioration and cognitive decline. Before his passing, my grandfather was diagnosed with having dementia and I had always believed that it was because of genetic factors, but now I wonder if it was more than genetics but a matter of him not being physically active. I found this to be very informative and has made me consider trying to become more physically active again!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who doesn't engage in a lot of exercise in the sense that a lot of people may think but does walk about 8 miles a week, I found this article to be extremely fascinating. As everyone else said, it’s common sense to think that cognitive and physical functioning go hand-in-hand, but not to such an extent that these researchers suggested. People always argue for the importance of exercise as it promotes a healthier body, a stronger physique, and better circulation, but very rarely have I ever heard that you should exercise for the purposes of being cognitively healthier down the road. I feel that if this was something that got more attention in the media and just in general, more individuals would exercise in fear of losing their ability to think clearly as they grew older. Then again, even knowing the physical health risks from not exercising, very few people take this knowledge as gospel and change their lifestyle. Perhaps one day there will be a better way to communicate why exercise is so important, however until then, individuals are not going to change until they have to, not when they want to.
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