Openmindagile

Physical Fitness and Brain Health

You may have wondered about actual fitness exercises. Does being physically fit help the brain?

Definitely, says the Harvard article published for Women’s Health Watch. In laboratories using rodents for experiments, scientists have discovered that rodents who spend most of their time running on exercise wheels have better brains than their more sedentary mates. Similar studies in the past have not found any conclusive evidence that fitness improves brain functions, but a breakthrough study – the first of its kind – was conducted by the University of
Illinois (Urbana-Champaign campus) wherein 55 subjects aged 55-79 were measured for their aerobic capacity during walking and treadmill tests.

The subjects were a mixture of sedentary and physically active individuals. The conclusion, published in the Journal of Gerontology three years ago, revealed that “physically fit subjects had less age-related brain tissue shrinkage than less active subjects.” With the use of an MRI machine, researchers spotted distinct differences in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions of the brain – where tissues in these regions were vital for memory, learning and cell communication functions.

A related experiment also showed that aerobic fitness training largely influenced the cognitive abilities of women and men aged 55-80. It was learned that exercise benefited human abilities such as attention, organization and planning, and that a combined program of aerobics and strength training were more effective than aerobics alone. Finally, it was also discovered that exercising for less than 30 minutes per session did not have any significant impact on cognitive functions.[15]

In the next Chapter, we will discuss…er…hmmm….oh yes, memory!

Look at these green lines and move your head. Do they move?