Physical Exercise And Mental Exercise Essay

In the book Spark, written by Dr. John J. Ratey, he discusses how exercise can positively affect how your brain works. He provides studies and personal experiences to support the claims he makes. I always knew exercise would improve your life but never could have imagined how much it can affect your brain health as well. The chapter I thought spoke the most to me was chapter two, Learning: Grow Your Brain Cells.

During the normal aging process cerebral blood flow decreases almost 50%, this decrease reflects an overall decrease in global perfusion, which leads to cerebral atrophy. Cognitive impairment most commonly occurs in patients with cardiovascular disease; individuals with a sedentary lifestyle show a decrease in neuronal plasticity and learning. Subsequently aerobic exercise actually reduces the amount of brain tissue loss, increases memory function and increases gray matter volume in prefrontal areas. In another study men who participated in endurance exercise had increased cerebral blood flow of the middle cerebral artery, which results in lower cerebrovascular risk factors in physically active elderly individuals, providing a protective mechanism against cerebral atrophy (Wiggens, Simovance).

Research has proven that physical activity improves cognitive function and can also improve brain function throughout a lifespan. Moreover, staying physically active has so many benefits as well. For example, doing exercise and fitness activities help build cells and natural pathways to help reduce changes in memory loss or dementia. Also, it has so many health benefits including long-term improvements to the cognitive function as the young adult reaching mid

The hypothesis of the effect of exercise training on hippocampal volume in humans: A pilot study was compared to aerobic fitness with older humans to examining if the earlier study was correct. The study was to find out if aerobic exercise training can increases hippocampal volume with older adult. (Parker, Beth A; Thompson, Paul D; Jordan, Kathryn C; Grimaldi, Adam S; Assaf, Michal; et al. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 82.3 (Sep 2011): 585-91.) Hippocampal volume is a brain structure below the cerebral cortex of the brain. Hippocampal volume is important because it process information and formed memories, organizing information and concentration. (What Is Hippocampal Volume?, 2017). The sample chosen for this study adequate was animal. The reason why animal was used in this study because studied have shown there is convincing evidence that exercise training increases hippocampal volume.

“ A new government study estimates that nearly 80 percent of adult Americans do not get the recommended amounts of exercise each week, potentially setting themselves up for years of health problems” (Ryan Jaslow). This states that if people don’t get enough exercise then they are going to have health problems. Getting enough exercise also helps your brain health and memory. “ Exercise can improve brain function and protect memory and thinking skills” ( Arlene Semeco). This proves that exercise is a solution to improve your memory, brain function, and weight loss.

“If it’s safe for you, engage in cardiovascular exercise to elevate your heart rate. This will increase the blood flow to your brain and body, providing additional nourishment while reducing potential dementia risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol” (Alzheimer's Association 1). There have been many claims about exercise being correlated to better work and brain productivity. To prove these claims, one must perform an experiment through the scientific method. In this particular instance, the scientific method starts with one asking the question, “Do people who exercise have better brain performance than those who don’t?” Afterwards, a hypothesis is made. One theory states that there is a strong correlation between

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain result in neurogenesis. Studies showed that older men who exercised four times a week grew new cells in their dentate gyrus, the main region in the brain associated with memory and awareness. One can feel the brain improvement from exercises because it doesn't rely on one's age or fitness. One of the important aspects to prevent AD is by keeping the brain sharp and active. There are lots of strategies to keep one's mind active such as reading, brain-aerobic activities,

Some hypothesize that moderate levels of exercise will decrease the symptoms of mental health conditions (Blumenthal et al., 2007; Diaz & Motta, 2008; Motta, Kuligowski, & Marino, 2010; Rosenbaum, Nguyen, Lenehan, Tiedemann, van der Ploeg, & Sherrington, 2011) and therefore be used as an alternative or complimentary treatment option for mental health (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012).

Exercise is reported to up-regulate protein synthesis, which in turn can improve cellular ability to remove damaged protein by free radicals. Rats exposed to physical environments consisting aerobic activities exhibit significant increases in cortical thickness, cortical weight, and AChE levels. These changes then thus improved brain function in both rats and humans. Physical activity also stimulates further expression of nerve growth factors (NGF) in the hippocampus.

I am naturally an active person and enjoy exercising outdoors whenever I have time. I grew up in countryside where I had walk long distances to get around. I always felt good whenever I sweat and workout, even though I do not know much about the relationship between exercising and the brain’s function. The reason I chose the book Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain is because I want to know more about the benefits of exercising with up to date scientific data. And after reading the book I learned that exercising is beneficial to cope with stress and improve the immune system.

The benefits of physical exercise in humans far outweighs the harmful effects associated with exercise. A prescription of physical activity has been known to delay the onset or prevention of many chronic diseases. An improvement in heart function, lower blood pressure and improve functional capacity is noticed after just a few weeks of exercising. Physical activity will also result in an increase of lean muscle mass, promote weight maintenance, increased flexibility, and a generally stronger more fit individual. Conversely, exercise when preformed strenuously or obsessively can counteract such positive effects, bringing up some issues like oxidative stresses, injuries, and

The human brain is constantly changing where many new neurons are formed while others neurons die and new synapses are created while other synapses are removed (Spalding et al., 2013). Some dendrites will withdraw while other dendrites continue branching (Killgore et al., 2013). The processes driving the reshaping of the brain are neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s lifelong ability to rewire neural connections to compensate for diseases and injuries or in response to changes in the environment, whereas neurogenesis is the ability to create new neurons and neural connections. This dynamic process of remodeling gray matter is determined mainly by a person’s genetics and can slow down due to age (Denes, 2016). However, recent scientific evidence demonstrates other non-genetic factors that can significantly improve the development of the brain and slow down neurodegeneration (Kays et al., 2012). Physical exercise has always been linked to a person’s physical health, but many recent scientific studies shows physical exercise can also keep a person’s brain sharp. Exercise affects the brain in numerous ways by creating a flourishing environment for brain growth, aiding the release of numerous hormones, and fighting against depression, stress, and anxiety.

Exercise is one of the most important factors in a persons’ life. Physical activity, or the lack of it, can result in a person having a healthy life or cause them to have diabetes. The benefits of exercise are countless. The positive health results, the improvement in attitude, even better academic performance are all factors which make not exercising inexcusable.

Physical Activity is undeniably good for everyone, not only does it keep you fit and healthy but when started at a young age, it can set up good habits for life. Sometimes however, people do not take care of their physical wellbeing, resulting in obesity and other eating disorders which can be detrimental to their health.

Most of the time when exercise is being performed it is perceived that it’s because we need to get healthy, or stay healthy. When the word healthy comes to mind the first instinct is to think of the health of the body, to lose weight, tone the muscles, increase strength. Today there is a big focus on exercise for its many benefits that have been found in recent years. Focuses are on weight, diet, and reducing the risk of disease in the future. This is true, we need exercise too keep the body systems healthy. It keeps weight off, blood pressure down, reduces the risk of many diseases, and helps us lead a long healthy lifestyle. What most people don’t know however is that not only does exercise help with body composition and reduction of risk, but it can also help to increase the cognitive function of the brain. Exercise is food for the brain. “Studies in ageing humans show that endurance exercise is protective against cognitive decline, especially executive planning and working memory. In both humans and primates, exercise increases attention and performance on cognitive tasks” (Ploughman). Exercise is a must not only for the benefits to the body systems but most importantly for the brain. Most individuals exercise for reduction of disease risk to in turn have a healthier and a better body composition. Now we can add that exercise helps to increase brain functionality. If exercise can increase the cognitive function of the brain, why aren’t more individuals partaking in