HOW DO I KEEP MY 100 MILLION BRAIN NERVE CELLS in harmony? Last week, a fellow physician asked me how I keep my brain so sharp. While I don’t always do well with compliments, she got me thinking. This essay explores exercise and your brain.
I always worry that my mind will not be as vigorous as I age. Do you also need to remember appointments or a friend’s name from long ago?
Fortunately, we can exercise our brains. Let’s start with three approaches I use to optimize my brain function.
These tactics include the following:
- Getting physical exercise.
- Being social.
- Having strong interests. Explore new things and embrace novel challenges.
- Learning new things and not holding back from new challenges.
Today, I will focus on the first: the relationship between physical activity and brain function.
Famous Quotes on the Mind
I love a good quote and cannot resist giving you a couple:
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
Naturally, the Bard has some interesting thoughts on the workings of the mind:
“Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit.”
― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Let’s move on to the physical and psychological benefits of physical activity.
Physical Activity and My Overall Health
There are numerous reasons I choose to do physical activity. Among the most important ones are the following:
- Physical activity reduces my odds of developing heart disease.
- Physical activity reduces my odds of suffering from a stroke.
- Physical activity improves my mood.
- Physical activity drops my cancer risk.
- I lower my blood pressure.
Oh, I should add two more, including one vain one. I look better when I exercise.
Lastly, exercise changes my brain in ways that help protect my memory and thinking skills.
Dropping Insulin Resistance to Improve Brain Health
Exercise promotes my memory and thinking. It does so in two primary ways. Physical activity has direct effects, including a reduction in insulin resistance. It also has indirect effects.
Exercise, whether in aerobic or resistance forms, is linked with improvements in the responsiveness of our cells to blood sugar absorption. Here is Duke University (USA) Assistant Professor Kathryn Starr, PhD:
“Evidence consistently indicates that 8 weeks of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week leads to improvements in insulin sensitivity, and the combination of both aerobic and resistance exercise may lead to even greater improvements.”
I do a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training. I walk several times daily, get resistance training at least three days per week, and jog or bike occasionally.
Dropping Inflammation to Improve Brain Health
Exercise’s protection against chronic inflammation-associated disease may be mediated through drops in visceral fat.
This improvement can lower the release of adipokines from adipose (fat) tissue.
Adipokines (or adipocytokines) are cell-signaling molecules (cytokines) the adipose tissue makes.
These substances play functional roles in the body’s metabolic status, inflammation, obesity, etc.
Examples of adipokines include leptin, adiponectin, resistin, interleukin-6, and tissue necrosis factor.
Finally, exercise stimulates brain chemicals (growth factors), impacting brain cell health, new blood vessel growth, and survival of new brain cells (neurons).
Dropping Stress to Improve Brain Health
Physical activity also has indirect effects. For example, improvements in my sleep and mood reduce my stress levels.
When I am stressed or anxious, my cognitive abilities pay a price.
Did you know those with elevated stress levels are more likely to experience cognitive decline?
Stress out and may drop your capacity to concentrate, learn new things, and remember.
A cohort study of 24 448 Black and White participants aged 45 years or older discovered this:
There was an independent association between perceived stress and prevalent and incident cognitive impairment.
In addition, stress can raise my risk of suffering a stroke, having a poor immune response, and more. Some individuals take up unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking) in response to stress.
The study found that participants with elevated stress levels were likelier to have uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors and poor lifestyle factors.
But even after adjusting for many of these physical risk factors, the researchers found that people with elevated stress levels were nearly 1.4 times more likely to have poor cognition.
I tried Vinyasa Flow Yoga, but it was not a good fit. Now, I aim to get in ten minutes of meditation daily.
9 Tips to Dropping Stress to Improve Brain Health
While stress is ubiquitous, we have tools that help us manage it. For me, mindfulness meditation for ten minutes daily reduces my stress.
What’s your approach? Here are some suggestions:
- Get active. Any physical movement can serve as a stress reliever. Need to be up for that 10K race? Fine, walking is a great way to reduce stress. Bike, vacuum, swim, or lift weights. Just move and get your endorphins and other natural feel-good neural chemicals to work for you.
- Eat a healthy diet. I am trying to up my fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
- Meditate. Mindfulness meditation gives me a sense of balance, calm, and peace. Do you do meditation? Yoga? Breathing practices?
- Avoid unhealthy habits. These may include smoking and consuming too much alcohol or caffeine. Some eat too much or use illegal substances.
- Connect with others. Renew connections with friends or family.
- Laugh. We underestimate the power of humor to make us feel better. Laughter can ignite and then cool down your stress response. Consider a comedy club, or checking out George Carlin online.
- Get sufficient sleep. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep.
- Get musical. This is a go-to activity for me to reduce stress. Give me my piano and some Bach Preludes and Fugues, and my body breathes.
- Get counseling. Are you having trouble coping? Are self-care maneuvers not relieving your stress? Feeling overwhelmed or trapped? Reaching out to a mental health professional can be a good first step to healing.
Summary: Exercise and Your Brain
You may consider several tactics to keep your mind sharp. These approaches include the following:
- Getting physical exercise.
- Being social.
- Having strong interests. Explore new things and embrace novel challenges.
- Learning new things and not holding back from new challenges.
Whatever your approach, commit to establishing it as a habit. Exercise, mindfulness, eating well, and getting sufficient sleep are all ways you can
Whatever exercise and motivators you choose, commit to establishing exercise as a habit, almost like prescription medication. After all, exercise is medicine. That can go to the top of your list of reasons to work out.
Get an email whenever Dr. Michael Hunter publishes.
drmichaelhunter.medium.com.
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice.
Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
Thank you for reading “Exercise and Your Brain.”
