Exercise Improves Brain Function

Researchers Art Kramer and Laura Chaddock, from the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, have found that children that are aerobically fitter perform better at memory tests than their less fit peers. The improvement in brain function is linked to an increased hippocampal volume. The hippocampus is a structure deep within the brain that is involved with learning and memory. This would suggest that exercise plays a crucial role in the brain development of children.

As we age, there is a natural decline in our mental function. However, studies have shown that this process can be slowed or even reversed! Dr Kirk Erickson conducted a 9 year follow-up study that demonstrated that increased exercise, in the form of walking, was associated with greater grey matter volume and less cognitive impairment. This can have dramatic effects on our ability to lead normal independent lives well into our old age.

The reason for the beneficial influence of exercise on brain growth and function may be due to a protein called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). It supports the survival of existing nerve cells and promotes the growth of new ones and increases the levels of circulating BDNF.

These findings support the promotion of life-long exercise. I guess this sheds new light on the old Roman adage: “a healthy mind in a healthy body”!

“Prevention is better than cure”

Desiderius Erasmus

Exercise Encourages Healthy Eating

Researchers have recently postulated that exercise may help encourage healthy eating! How? By changing the structure and function of the brain! The result of which is an enhanced inhibitory control. What this means in layman’s terms is that we no longer have to succumb to the temptation or lack of restraint that causes our over indulgence in food.

So, in addition to increasing our metabolism and burning more calories, exercise also improves our diet. What are you waiting for?

Feeling Sad? (Part 2)

Here are some tips to help reduce the winter blues:

• open the blinds and curtains and sit near windows
• take long walks and sit outside during your lunch break
• exercise regularly…it helps relieve stress and anxiety and lifts our mood
• get a light therapy box…it’s effective in 85% of cases when a light source 10x as strong as domestic lighting is used for 1-2 hrs/day…higher intensity light boxes can decrease exposure time to about 30 mins…the treatment can start working in as little as 2-4 days…and is just as effective as antidepressants…why not use it in the morning whilst having breakfast?
• psychotherapy can assist by identifying negative thoughts and behaviours that lower mood…it can also help manage stress
• antidepressants can be prescribed by your doctor if they see fit

Feeling Sad?

Have you been experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Feeling down or depressed
• Less interested in doing things or procrastinating
• Loss of libido
• Over eating
• Waking up in the night
• Waking up too early
• More tired than usual, heavy limbs, aching muscles or headaches
• Stomach problems, sweating, cramps, having to urinate frequently, dry mouth, sighing, heart palpitations, hyperventilating
• Feeling tense, irritable, worrying too much about little things
• Slow thoughts or speech
• Fidgety, restless, difficulty concentrating
• Paranoid and suspicious

If you have, you’re not alone. About 25% of the population is affected each year, particularly during the months of December, January and February. For 7% of people the symptoms can actually become debilitating. It’s like a form of winter depression called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). A reduction in daylight hours and a lack of sunlight disrupt our body clocks and may lead to an imbalance in the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin.

Winter is characterised by a relative scarcity of food and some animals take the opportunity to hibernate. Their metabolism decreases in order to conserve energy. Although we’ve never hibernated, before the advent of electricity and in particular the light bulb in the 1800s, our activity and sleep was dictated by sunlight. As the number of sunlight hours decreased during the winter months, so did our activity. Our body clocks followed a marked seasonal rhythm.

The artificial light produced by electricity has allowed us to become more productive by helping us keep the same working hours throughout the year. Even though artificial lighting is strong enough to allow us to work and live, it’s much weaker than natural sunlight. As a result, it lacks the strength to regulate our body clocks in the same way that natural sunlight does. We’re now forcing our bodies to awaken when they would naturally be asleep. This burden hasn’t been tolerated well.

Read my next post for some useful tips to help you beat the winter blues.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

Siddhartha Guatama Buddha

I Wouldn’t Sit For That (Part 2)

Here are my tips to help prevent back pain, obesity, heart disease, cancer and death from over sitting:

• Stand whilst on public transport…there’ll be more than enough time to sit when you get to work
• Get up from your desk at least 1-2 times an hour (less than 5 minutes standing and walking around is sufficient)
• Drink more often, you’ll have to get up more frequently…to get a drink…and to go to the toilet
• Rather than send an email, why not walk over and speak to someone? (research has shown that walking at a leisurely pace is enough to reverse the metabolic changes caused by prolonged sitting)
• Don’t have lunch at your desk…go for a short walk…get some fresh air
• Organise your work tasks so that they involve frequent movement
• Here’s a little exercise you can do when you stand (breath in whilst you reach upwards and hold the position for about 5 seconds)…it will help your back

• Don’t use your car when your feet will do just as well

The clear message is that health can be maintained by including frequent short periods of standing and walking in our normal daily activity…little and often is the way forward!

I Wouldn’t Sit For That

Most of us spend the overwhelming majority of our waking hours seated. We sit down to have breakfast. Then we sit in our cars or on the train or bus on the way to work. When we arrive at work, we sit at our desks until lunch and then sit a little more to enjoy lunch. After work, we once again sit in our cars or on the train or bus. As soon as we get home we rush in to “take the load off” and collapse into our sofas, from where we surreptitiously pretend to read the paper…until dinner is ready! We then sit down to savour our meal, after which we promptly return to our sofas to digest…whilst watching a little TV…sound familiar?

Unfortunately for us, sitting is a major risk factor in the development of low back pain and it has even been associated with disc herniation. I naïvely assumed that was the worst of it until I stumbled upon a thought-provoking article…

Can sitting too much kill you? Wow, talk about getting your attention! Research has shown that spending excessive periods of time sitting can lead to obesity, heart disease and cancer. This can happen even if we take part in regular exercise. As Dr Marc Hamilton says, “sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little”. One of the culprits may be an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. It allows muscles to uptake fat thereby decreasing the levels of fat circulating in the blood stream…and preventing arteries from becoming clogged up. Sitting markedly decreases the secretion of lipoprotein lipase. A large study conducted by Dr Peter Katzmarzyk found those who sit more are at higher risk of death than those who sit less.

Shocking isn’t it? I bet you won’t complain the next time you don’t get a seat on the train or underground! Before you sell your sofa and chairs or hand in your notice in search of that coveted job as a parking attendant or postman…things may not be as bleak as they seem…check out my next post for some life saving tips!

Water Works

Drink 1.6 litres (women) to 2 litres (men) of water a day

Our bodies are 50-60% water. Water is the most essential of all nutrients. It plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature. It is crucial for digestion and it cushions and lubricates the brain and joints.

Two to three litres of water are lost every day through breathing, urinating, defecating and perspiring. Naturally, the quantity of water loss will depend on temperature, humidity, clothing, exercise, etc. A water loss of more than 1% of our body weight is accompanied by a decrease in physical and mental performance. The signs of mild dehydration are: thirst, headache, weakness, dizziness and fatigue. Moderate dehydration leads to a dry mouth, decreased urination, sluggishness, a rapid heartbeat and a lack of skin elasticity.

Although our sensation of thirst usually keeps us normally hydrated, the declining ability to detect thirst with age makes dehydration more common in the elderly. I remember telling my grandfather that he needed to drink more and his response was that he didn’t like it because it made him have to get up…and walk to the toilet! The colour of our urine is one of the best indicators of hydration. Straw coloured urine is ideal. The darker the urine, the more we need to drink.

It is recommended that we take in 2 litres (women) to 2.5 litres (men) of water a day (80% of the replacement water comes from what we drink and the remaining 20% comes from our food). Obviously our intake should be increased if we exercise vigorously.

Most of the information used in this article came from the European Hydration Institute. They are truly a one stop shop on hydration…and they even have a tool that allows you to compare the colour of your urine! Just in case you were wondering…

Yoga and Stretching Ease Back Pain

Something I read with interest in the news this week. A large randomised controlled trial in the US has shown that both yoga and stretching can lead to better function and decreased symptoms from chronic low back pain. Although this was no surprise to me, it’s always good to have evidence to back up our practice…I believe they call it evidence based practice…

If you would like to read the entire article, please follow the link below:

Largest US Yoga Study to Date Finds Yoga Eases Back Pain