The Effects Of Physical Exercise On The Brain Essay

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).

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.

Have you ever been depressed or need to rev up your memory and you do not know how to fix it? There is a way to fix this. Just go out and do a hard exercise frequently and it may work.The article “Exercise builds brawns and brains,” by Esther Landhuis is about how 20 min of exercise can rev up your memory. Passage two “Strong body helps the mind,” by Stephen Ornes is about how exercising for longer periods of time can rev up your memory and keep away depression.

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.

Consistent with the idea of learning and the brain’s interaction with the environment, neuroplasticity is the idea that the human brain can change and grow, that it can modify itself to compensate for weak spots and expand limits (Cockrell, 2007). For example, it was once thought that neuron production slows down exponentially in adulthood, but research reveals that this is not the case. Research has found that the brains of aging cancer patients were still able to produce new neurons (Cockrell, 2007). The human brain is an extremely complex organ. Inside the average human brain, there are 200 billion neurons. These neurons allow for trillions of connections (Arrowsmith, 2013). Arrowsmith (2013) discussed Mark Rosenshwag, a neuroscientist who conducted an experiment with rats. Rosenswag placed the rats in a stimulating environment and found that rats were better learners because of the stimulation. More importantly, he noted that the brains of the rats being studied changed

The book I chose to read was Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey, MD. I chose this book because I am very interested in this topic. I enjoy working out, running and playing sports regularly, not only because of the physical benefits, but the mental benefits as well. I believe that John Ratey wrote this book to shed light on the fact that exercise is even more important than society already thinks. Everyone knows that exercise is healthy for the muscles, bones and heart; but, however, generally speaking, most people are unaware of the extreme mental profits that can occur as a result of exercise.

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that through the normal ageing process alterations to the brain in structure and function are directly related to cognitive changes (Glisky, 2007). With an increasing ageing population strategies for prevention of disease and age related cognitive decline are necessary to improve quality of life and reduce the associated healthcare costs (Australian Government Productivity Commission [AGPC], 2013). Physical exercise is known to be crucial in maintaining physiological health; it can also be used as a means of neuroprotection and assist in modifiable risk factors for improved brain health and subsequent cognitive function. This review will critically analyse current research into the effects of exercise

However, some scientific studies show that Alzheimer disease occurs when nerve cells in numerous key areas of the brain are destroyed or damaged. The damaged or destruction of these nerve cells in the brain disrupts the information flow between the body and the brain. This disruption leads to a stable decline of both mental and physical functions. Scientists say that the destruction of the brain is most likely to be caused by the development of senile plaques (clumps) and neurofibrillary tangles (knots). These plaques and knots are usually found on the brain of a diseased person during after death biopsy. They are mostly found on the part of the brain that is associated with the memory and retention of information (National Institute Of health 10).

Neurodegeneration is a name used for a variety of conditions that have an effect on neurons that are within the brain. Neurons are a major component of the nervous system which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. If the neurons become damaged the body can not replace them.

The term neurodegeneration is a combination of two words neuro and degeneration - "neuro," referring to nerve cells and "degeneration," referring to progressive loss or damage. Then "neurodegeneration" is the loss of nerve structure and function. Neurodegenerative diseases are the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons. Many neurodegenerative diseases they are Parkinson's, Alzheimer's etc. Neurodegenerative diseases occur as a result of neurodegenerative processes of neurons. These diseases are incurable, resulting in progressive degeneration and/or death of neuron cells. Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure and function of the nervous

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

In recent years brain training games have become a topic of interest among both researchers and common people alike. Researchers are interested in the healing properties of brain training while normal people are looking to brain training as a way to improve their performance and get a leg up on the competition in school, work, and life. Up until recently, it was believed that the brain was unchangeable in terms of memory capacity. Researchers were well aware of the fact that the brain can change and form new connections when brain damage occurs. However, the idea that humans can train their brains to be more efficient and stronger seemed like a far-fetched cry from reality up until the late 1990’s (Weicker, Villringer & Thöne-Otto, 2016). As time went on and more research was conducted in the field of brain training, it became clear that brain training is not an exact science but, it does have real cognitive benefits.

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.