The Benefits Of Aerobic Exercise

The article was written based on a study conducted by Smith J., et al. The article describes how the hippocampus deterioration leads to Alzheimer’s – the disease usually targets the memory of the individual, a function of the hippocampus. Physical activity has been shown to preserve the hippocampus, therefore preserving the memory of the individual. If individuals at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s (individuals that carry the genetic marker, ApoE4, for Alzheimer’s) participate in physical exercise, they can lower their risk of developing the disease. Additionally, the article provided viewers with the information about the sample, method and the results. There were 4 groups of participants who were older adults with normal cognitive functioning, aged 65-89. The groups were classified by low/high Alzheimer’s risk and low/high physical activity rates. The sample’s hippocampus and physical activity levels were tracked over the course of 18 months. Furthermore, Science Daily provided an interview with one of the authors, Smith J. and a professor at University of Pittsburgh. The interviews gave insight into the mind of the author, lending a better perspective on the article and providing direct information to

A study conducted by Harvard Medical School regarding on how could exercise help your brain and what kind of exercise will help your brain to have a better result. In this article, we learn that exercises can help your brain and can also help your memory. The researchers examined different people to try to understand what exercises could help your brain using 30 minutes section. In this study, the researchers randomly evaluate people doing exercises like cardio and compared their memory and their productivity with those that didn’t any type of exercises.

Sub-Point a:According to CDC.gov in there June, 2015 issue on physical activity, Regular physical activity can help you keep your thinking and judge mental skills sharp. Research shows that doing aerobic exercises can give you great mental benefits. Some scientific evidence also have shown even if you were to do lower levels of exercise it still will be beneficial to you.

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

Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2015) state that there is research showing how brain plasticity can be enhanced through aerobic exercise (p.51). It is important that adults be active in their lives. A 30-minute walk or some type of physical activity will benefit them as the age. The text mentions a study done by Erickson and his colleagues in 2009 where they studied the effect of aerobic exercise on the hippocampus. They found that due to aerobic exercise it produced greater volume in the hippocampus. This is significant because the hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for memory, emotions, and spatial functioning. The body does not only need physical activities to produce healthier cognitive functioning but also nutrients. The text identifies three nutrient biomarker patterns that are significant on the aging brain. These nutrients are vitamin B, C,D, and E, omega-3, and trans fat. the foods that belong to these nutrients are beneficial to the brain. Older adults should make an effort to include these nutrients into their diets. positive impacts these nutrients make are better cognitive functioning and greater brain

In the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain by Dr. John J. Ratey, MD (2008), Ratey discuses how exercise can help treat many mood disorders and how it can help strengthen our brains. This book is divided into ten chapters all with five to ten subsections in them. The chapters include: Welcome to the revolution: A Case Study on Exercise and the brain, Learning, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit, Addiction, Hormonal Changers, Aging, and the Regimen.

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.

Godman, H. (2016). Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills. Harvard Health Publications. Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110.

Smith et al. (2013) took a less studied approach to improving cognitive decline by testing the effects of aerobic exercise on adults (60-88 years old) already suffering from cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks of moderate exercise there was an improvement of memory and neural efficiency across all subjects.

Most of the time when exercise is being performed, it is perceived that there is a need or want to become 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 from research in recent years. With great focus on weight, diet, and reducing the risk of disease in the future. This is proven, we need exercise to keep the body systems healthy. It helps reduces weight, blood pressure, the risk of many diseases, and helps us lead a long healthy lifestyle. What most are blind to 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 the 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, 2008). Exercise is a must, not only for the benefits for the body systems, but most importantly for the brain. Most individuals exercise for reduction of disease risk to in turn

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.

Blakemore (1988) defines memory as the ability to retain information from past experiences. According to a study done by Brown-Peterson, the average person’s short-term memory is 60% accurate (Gross et al., 2015). According to a research experiment, conducted by Stroth et al. (2011), a possible way of increasing memory is through aerobic exercise. Stroth et al. (2011), concluded that aerobic exercise improves the visual memory by 25%. According to a study done Leavitt et al. (2014), aerobic exercise can increase the volume of the hippocampus, which has been linked to memory formation and short-term memory, by 16.5 %. Previous studies have revealed that there is a causal relationship between aerobic exercise and memory; however, previous studies have not looked into ways that improve short-term memory (Holt et al., 2015). This study tests the hypothesis, that aerobic exercise has a positive correlation with short-term memory, and that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise can increase the accuracy of a person’s short-term memory by 10-20 %.

Having a “Brain Healthy Lifestyle” (Bend, 2014) is made up of several different categories that include “physical health, brain fitness, and vitality” (Bend, 2014) as well as “balanced nutrition, stress management, and mental stimulation” (Sharpbrains, 2014). Our physical health plays a major part in brain function. Exercising our bodies, eating well, and getting the proper amount of sleep has a huge impact on our physical health. “Our brain requires 25% of the blood that is pumped by your heart. The healthier your heart is, the healthier your brain will be” (Bend, 2014). Cognitive fitness is demonstrated by uses of vocabulary, thinking, perception, and attention. It is crucial to make it a normal everyday practice to challenge our brains through new activities. Taking part in a cooking class or learning to

CrossFit is a program created to provide a full body workout to prepare the body for everyday activities and the unexpected. CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at a high intensity. Millions of people across the globe participate in this high intensity fitness regimen every day. CrossFit exercises consists of performing many simple movements that make up one complex movement. These movements are based on movements that we perform in our everyday lives. The base of all of the complex movements is the core, so it is important to have good core stability. To achieve a successful workout and improve one’s physical well-being, one must train under the ten major fitness domains: cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Crossfit is a very intense fitness program that results in many benefits from functional exercising, and nutrition.

The articles by Erikson et al., Gatz, Korol et al., and Draganski et al. explore the concept of increased physical activity and/or mental activity having effects on the cognitive function and development or deterioration of the brain as we age. Although I agree that physical exercise is critical in increasing cognitive function because of the health benefits it provides, as well as the increased blood flow and circulation throughout the body, I ultimately believe that a healthy brain is not achieved solely by physical exercise or mental exercise, but both. I think there is a link between physical and mental exercise, and that the combination of these two activities creates higher cognitive functioning of the mind as well as the body. The mind and body come together and meet to make an overall healthy individual.