Post by John A. Casler on Nov 18, 2007 13:25:23 GMT -8
The article below was posted by Jamie Carruthers on another list, and is very apllicable to those interested in retaining health and fitness as you age.
============================
By SANDRA AAMODT and SAM WANG
Published: November 8, 2007
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/opinion/08aamodt.htm?
_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
FEELING a little less mentally quick than you did a few years ago?
Maybe you are among the many people who do "brain exercises" like
sudoku to slow the cognitive decline associated with aging. We've got a
better suggestion.........
One form of training, however, has been shown to maintain and improve
brain health - physical exercise. In humans, exercise improves what
scientists call "executive function," the set of abilities that allows
you to select behavior that's appropriate to the situation, inhibit
inappropriate behavior and focus on the job at hand in spite of
distractions. Executive function includes basic functions like
processing speed, response speed and working memory, the type used to
remember a house number while walking from the car to a party.
Executive function starts to decline when people reach their 70s. But
elderly people who have been athletic all their lives have much better
executive function than sedentary people of the same age. This
relationship might occur because people who are healthier tend to be
more active, but that's not the whole story. When inactive people get
more exercise, even starting in their 70s, their executive function
improves, as shown in a recent meta-analysis of 18 studies. One
effective training program involves just 30 to 60 minutes of fast
walking several times a week.
Exercise is also strongly associated with a reduced risk of dementia
late in life. People who exercise regularly in middle age are one-third
as likely to get Alzheimer's disease in their 70s as those who did not
exercise. Even people who begin exercising in their 60s have their risk
reduced by half.
How might exercise help the brain? In people, fitness training slows
the age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex, which is important for
executive function. In rodents, exercise increases the number of
capillaries in the brain, which should improve blood flow, and
therefore the availability of energy, to neurons. Exercise may also
help the brain by improving cardiovascular health, preventing heart
attacks and strokes that can cause brain damage. Finally, exercise
causes the release of growth factors, proteins that increase the number
of connections between neurons, and the birth of neurons in the
hippocampus, a brain region important for memory. Any of these effects
might improve cognitive performance, though it's not known which ones
are most important.
So instead of spending money on computer games or puzzles to improve
your brain's health, invest in a gym membership. Or just turn off the
computer and go for a brisk walk.
Sandra Aamodt is the editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience. Sam Wang
is an associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at
Princeton. They are the authors of the forthcoming "Welcome to Your
Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and
Other Puzzles of Everyday Life."
================
Jamie Carruthers
Wakefield, UK
============================
By SANDRA AAMODT and SAM WANG
Published: November 8, 2007
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/opinion/08aamodt.htm?
_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
FEELING a little less mentally quick than you did a few years ago?
Maybe you are among the many people who do "brain exercises" like
sudoku to slow the cognitive decline associated with aging. We've got a
better suggestion.........
One form of training, however, has been shown to maintain and improve
brain health - physical exercise. In humans, exercise improves what
scientists call "executive function," the set of abilities that allows
you to select behavior that's appropriate to the situation, inhibit
inappropriate behavior and focus on the job at hand in spite of
distractions. Executive function includes basic functions like
processing speed, response speed and working memory, the type used to
remember a house number while walking from the car to a party.
Executive function starts to decline when people reach their 70s. But
elderly people who have been athletic all their lives have much better
executive function than sedentary people of the same age. This
relationship might occur because people who are healthier tend to be
more active, but that's not the whole story. When inactive people get
more exercise, even starting in their 70s, their executive function
improves, as shown in a recent meta-analysis of 18 studies. One
effective training program involves just 30 to 60 minutes of fast
walking several times a week.
Exercise is also strongly associated with a reduced risk of dementia
late in life. People who exercise regularly in middle age are one-third
as likely to get Alzheimer's disease in their 70s as those who did not
exercise. Even people who begin exercising in their 60s have their risk
reduced by half.
How might exercise help the brain? In people, fitness training slows
the age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex, which is important for
executive function. In rodents, exercise increases the number of
capillaries in the brain, which should improve blood flow, and
therefore the availability of energy, to neurons. Exercise may also
help the brain by improving cardiovascular health, preventing heart
attacks and strokes that can cause brain damage. Finally, exercise
causes the release of growth factors, proteins that increase the number
of connections between neurons, and the birth of neurons in the
hippocampus, a brain region important for memory. Any of these effects
might improve cognitive performance, though it's not known which ones
are most important.
So instead of spending money on computer games or puzzles to improve
your brain's health, invest in a gym membership. Or just turn off the
computer and go for a brisk walk.
Sandra Aamodt is the editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience. Sam Wang
is an associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at
Princeton. They are the authors of the forthcoming "Welcome to Your
Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and
Other Puzzles of Everyday Life."
================
Jamie Carruthers
Wakefield, UK