The Link Between Exercise And Boosting Brainpower

By -
Summary: One of the key components people mention for a good health is nutrition, sleep, and exercise. The Department of Health and Human Services recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. Exercise is usually only thought to be beneficial to the physical part of the body for example helping maintain a healthy weight. Exercise does not only benefit the psychical aspect of the health but also the mental health. In the article “The Link Between Exercise and Boosting Brainpower” by Christine Comaford a study was conducted to see the correlation between aerobic exercise and how the brain benefits such as working memory task-evoked brain activity, and how well they performed tasks. They found that moderate acute aerobic exercise increased both working memory and cortical hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex. As well other areas such as behavioral performance and the right frontopolar area were activated followed by a short session of aerobic exercise. Exercise also grows new brain cells, the process in which neurons are generated from neural stem cells and progenitor cells is called Neurogenesis. One of the areas where Neurogenesis occurs is in the hippocampus activated by running exercise. Other benefits mentioned in the article is how the release of norepinephrine improves attention, perception, and motivation. Exercise does not only benefit your psychical health but your mental health too which is why it is heavily pushed and recommended.

Reflection: I feel like this relates and ties back to the brain rules book when they talked about the benefits of exercise. They mention the mental aspects of it such as helping with Alzheimer’s mental illnesses and anxiety/depression. Tying the article “The Link Between Exercise and Boosting Brainpower” by Christine Comaford and the information of the book brain rules they both back up the founding of how exercise helps with memories since Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects the memory.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2016/11/20/boost-brainpower-increase-leadership-excellence-in-30-minutes-a-day/#589101f447bc


Comments

  1. Kayla GomezApril 26, 2018 at 10:15 PM

    In my personal opinion I feel like social medias are really emphasizing the positive effects of exercising. I agree with your statement of this article being tied with the book. In the book there was a study conducted where researchers found that exercise reduced the chances in developing Alzheimer's by 60% and reduced the stroke chances in elders by 50%. It is fascinating to see data and studies that show just how much an hour or two of exercise a week can help us in the long run.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 27, 2018 at 12:00 AM

    The body and the mind need to work together in order for us to be and feel our best. Studies from Harvard Medical school show that benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 27, 2018 at 7:45 AM

    As the article about "Rhythm of breathing affects Memory and fear". We know that the breathing in provides the oxygen that gets into our brains, witch helps people with these fears and memories. With the exercises we breath more often and provide the energy for our brains. That is why scientists say that the best studying method is when we take a lot of 20 min breaks and walk around and do some stretching. Also that is why a lot of athletes are "living" in the gyms, they are feeling the brain rest from the problems and overthinking. The exercises makes them think more clearer and have more focused mind.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sniffing Pleasant Odors may Decrease Cigarette Cravings

By -
https://neurosciencenews.com/olfaction-cigarette-craving-11085/ Smoking today is known to be an addictive habit. In fact, a significant group of people who want to quit smoking will relapse after roughly two weeks of not smoking. However, a new study from the APA has shown that smokers who sniff a pleasant smell prior to smoking will have an easier time resisting the urge to smoke. In this study, the researchers selected 232 smokers from the ages of 18-55. First, the participants were exposed to multiple different smells and asked to identify the most pleasant smell to them. Then, participants were asked to light a cigarette and rate (from 1-100) their desire to smoke that cigarette. After the participants gave a rating, they were given a container to sniff the odor that each participant said was most pleasant. The results suggest that sniffing the pleasant odor while a cigarette was lit caused the craving of smoking the cigarette to decrease. The researchers believe that the ple
Read more

Holding hands can sync brainwaves, ease pain, study shows

By -
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180301094822.htm Summary: Pain researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Haifa did a studying showing just how far-reaching the simple act of touch can be. They have been studying a phenomenon known as “interpersonal synchronization”, which is the idea that people physiologically sync with those they are with. Pavel Goldstein is the first to look at brain wave synchronization and its relation to pain. He was compelled to do so after the birth of his daughter because it was through that experience he realized holding his wife’s hand helped to eased her pain. He decided to take this idea to the lab in hopes to unveil the science behind a healing touch. They found through their study that “…pain totally interrupts this interpersonal synchronization between couples and touch brings it back.” Touch is powerful and it may even activate pain-killing reward mechanisms in the brain. So if ever you find yourself i
Read more

Music Therapy

By Laurel McNeal -
http:/ /www.brainfacts.org/Diseases-and-Disorders/Neurodegenerative-Disorders/2019/Music-as-Therapy-011719 Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia that effects memory, thinking, and behavior. In the U.S it is estimated that about 5.7 million people have Alzheimer’s and there is not a cure available. Leading caregivers to look for new ways to help their loved ones have a better day to day life. The article talks about how music therapy could help to manage symptoms like depression, anger, and agitation. Helping to improve patients mood and behavior, while decreasing the amount of medication they must take. The music does not cure the disease but does help to stimulate the brain. Music uses many different areas of the brain at one time. The brain must hear and process sounds, language, emotions, and if singing or dancing plan movements. In one research study scientist scanned the brains of dementia patients while they listened to music. One area the supplementa
Read more