By Alan Knight
You don’t have to look too far to find information on the
benefits of exercising regularly. In fact, some of them will be discussed right
here. But it’s not all about toned abs and firm glutes. How about sweating to
boost your brain function?
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| Courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org |
For years scientists
have pondered how exercising can boost your brainpower. Harvard based
psychiatrist, John J. Ratey, MD, authored a fascinating investigation into the
transformative effects of exercise on the brain. In his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise
and the Brain, he states, “Exercise is the single best thing you can do for
your brain in terms of mood, memory and learning.” He continues, “Even 10
minutes of activity changes your brain.” Get inspired to exercise by reading up
on how working out can benefit your mental and physical health, and lead to a
happier and healthier life overall. Are you ready to work up a sweat?
SAY GOODBYE
TO STRESS
Stress can be a real bummer on your body all the way down
to the cellular level. Chronic stress leads to headaches, insomnia and heart
attacks. There’s also an association between stress and memory loss. Cortisol
is released into your body when you’re under stress which interferes with the
neurotransmitters that enable brain cells to communicate with each other. This in turn leads to difficulty with memory
retrieval.
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| Courtesy of public-domain-image.com |
Jumping on the treadmill, taking a vigorous hike or playing
a rousing game of tennis will blow off tension by increasing the “happy”
chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. It gets even better. According
to research at UCSF, physical activity can reduce the effects of cell aging
brought on by chronic stress. Let’s get a little scientific for a moment so I
can explain. A telomere is a component of DNA that sits atop our chromosomes
like a plastic tip on the edge of a shoe lace. Essentially they keep the
chromosome ends from fraying. They lose their effectiveness as they get shorter
and the cells they protect are no longer able to divide. This leads to inactive
cells which eventually die. A dead cell is not a good cell. This leads to
aging, cancer, diabetes and early death.
The findings of the UCSF study links exercise with longer
telomeres. To make a long study short, they compared stressed-out active people
and stressed-out inactive people and guess who had the longer telomeres? Yep,
you got it. The active people had longer telomeres even though they were under
stress. And longer telomeres are linked to younger-looking and healthier
people. (https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/09/108886/lifestyle-changes-may-lengthen-telomeres-measure-cell-aging)
EXERCISE
IMPROVES LEARNING
It sure does and the kids at Naperville High School (in
Illinois) can prove it. A physical education teacher named Phil Lawler got the
idea to get the kids moving when he saw a lot of inactivity in the school gym.
He decided to insist all the students run one mile a week. He stuck by his guns
despite the flack.
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| Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org |
The program began to evolve and soon he added cardio
equipment and heart monitors. Kids were graded on how many times during the
week they hit their target heart rate. Over time, the kids’ reading scores
doubled and their math scores were up by a factor of 20. Other teachers at
Naperville High began to give “brain breaks” during class by allowing a short
burst of physical activity. This helped the students to focus longer and even
increased their problem solving skills.
Research shows that more complicated activities like
playing tennis or taking a dance class provides the biggest brain boost because
complicated movement stimulates thinking. "All their brain cells are working," according
to Dr. Ratey, "And when their brain cells work, they pour out neurotransmitters. They also pour out these
brain growth factors which help our brain cells knit together."
It turns
out that working out boosts the brain in adults too. A general rule of thumb;
if it’s good for the heart, it’s good for the brain. Lace up your sneakers, hit
the gym and improve your memory. I like the sound of that.
EXERCISE HELPS WITH
DEPRESSION
There is
mounting evidence showing that exercise may be one of the best treatments for
mild to moderate depression. According to Dr. Raley, “There are very good
placebo control studies comparing antidepressants and exercise, and the effect
on mood is the same.” It may be because exercise appears to stimulate growth in
neurons in regions of the brain damaged by depression. Don’t worry if you’re
not a gym rat. Some form of physical activity for 30 minutes a few times a
week, will boost overall mood and put more pep in your step.
NEED A LITTLE MORE
SELF-ESTEEM? IT BUILDS CONFIDENCE
Don your
sneakers, grab a towel and hit the treadmill for a confidence boost. You don’t
have to see a radical change to get a burst of confidence. Simply put, improved
physical fitness can boost self-esteem and improve positive self-image.
EXERCISE HELPS WITH ANXIETY
Feeling
anxious? The “happy” chemicals that are released during exercise can help
people with anxiety disorders calm down. Hop on the treadmill for some
high-intensity cardio and watch your anxiety melt away. One vigorous exercise
session can help alleviate symptoms for hours and regularly scheduled workouts
can significantly reduce them over time.
EXERCISE HELPS YOU SLEEP
BETTER
Studies
show that exercise can significantly improve the sleep of those with chronic
insomnia. Exercise triggers an increase in body temperature. A few hours later
when the temperature drops back to normal, it signals the body that it’s time
to sleep.
THE FUN PART
You’ve
just had a great workout and feel like you’re on top of the world. You feel
strong and invincible. This is your new lifestyle and you love it. There is
nothing better for your body after exercise than a nice long soak.
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| Courtesy of TubKing.com |
You
deserve it, don’t you think?
In this
article, I discussed the many brain-boosting benefits of exercise and why
physicians suggest regular physical activity to promote a healthy lifestyle. It
is also important to rejuvenate sore muscles after a workout. A cool soak in
the tub is just what the doctor ordered.
If you learned
anything from this article, please make a comment or pass it along.
Until the
next time.
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| At TubKing.com |
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| Visit TubKing.com for current specials |
Alan Knight is the
owner of Tub
King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville,
Florida. He has many
years of experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. His
companies not only provide superior products, the company is also multiple time
award winner, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award” four years
running. If you would like to contact him, call (800) 409-3375 or (800)
843-4231; or email them at alan@tubking.com.
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