Page 46 - Inspire Health September/October 2015
P. 46
IS EXERCISE
betterTHE KEY TO
MEMORY?
By Patrick O’Donnell
Do you frequently forget aerobic exercise “appears to boost the size PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
where you put your car keys? of the hippocampus, the brain area involved
Are you tying strings on your in verbal memory and learning.” Walker says some small studies have
fingers to remind you to pick up milk and even produced evidence that exercise can
eggs after work? Relying on a smartphone Baker concurs: “The alteration in help to curb symptoms of Alzheimer’s
app more than your brain? brain chemistry also appears to have an disease — though he notes that “most
Then maybe you need to hit the gym. effect on the physical structure of the of the studies have focused on physical
Scientists and doctors are reporting brain as well, causing certain sections of exercise before the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
that even a moderate amount of exercise the brain to remodel by creating new
can help boost not only your physical brain cells, altering the shape of the brain.” “We see multiple causes of
health, but your mental health as well. Alzheimer’s and dementia. We know
Memory, cognition and even mood all That doesn’t mean you can hit the that Alzheimer’s is a sum total of a
benefit from getting your heart rate up. weight machine in the morning and number of insults to the brain, including
expect to memorize the dictionary low blood flow and not receiving
GET YOUR BLOOD MOVING that night. The studies have found that enough oxygen to the brain,” Walker
resistance training and muscle-building
How does it work, though? Most of exercises don’t do the trick — the
the time when we hear about exercises workouts need to be aerobic to benefit
that aid the brain, they’re linked to your brain.
problem-solving or thought process:
doing a crossword or Sudoku puzzle, for You also won’t see much, if any, gain
instance, or even brushing your teeth from fair-weather fitness. The best
with your non-dominant hand. results are achieved through frequency
and consistency.
Jeffrey Baker, exercise specialist with
St. Luke’s Fitness & Sports Performance, “I think the issue has been clarified by
says it’s all about getting your blood the National Institutes of Health, which
moving. “Aerobic exercise increases the show that 150 minutes a week — or 30
heart rate, causing the cardiovascular minutes five times a week — is effective
system to adjust by increasing blood in conditioning and preventing some age-
flow to the brain. This increase in related maladies,” says Dr. Stanley Walker,
brain blood flow causes changes to the board certified geriatrician and internist
chemistry of the brain.” with Easton Hospital.
A University of British Columbia study, “They really don’t specify the type of
published in the British Journal of Sports exercise other than the fact that it should
Medicine, goes so far as to state that regular be continuous, not stop-and-go,” he says. “It
should increase your heart rate to about 70
or 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.”
46 INSPIRE HEALTH September § October 2015
betterTHE KEY TO
MEMORY?
By Patrick O’Donnell
Do you frequently forget aerobic exercise “appears to boost the size PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
where you put your car keys? of the hippocampus, the brain area involved
Are you tying strings on your in verbal memory and learning.” Walker says some small studies have
fingers to remind you to pick up milk and even produced evidence that exercise can
eggs after work? Relying on a smartphone Baker concurs: “The alteration in help to curb symptoms of Alzheimer’s
app more than your brain? brain chemistry also appears to have an disease — though he notes that “most
Then maybe you need to hit the gym. effect on the physical structure of the of the studies have focused on physical
Scientists and doctors are reporting brain as well, causing certain sections of exercise before the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
that even a moderate amount of exercise the brain to remodel by creating new
can help boost not only your physical brain cells, altering the shape of the brain.” “We see multiple causes of
health, but your mental health as well. Alzheimer’s and dementia. We know
Memory, cognition and even mood all That doesn’t mean you can hit the that Alzheimer’s is a sum total of a
benefit from getting your heart rate up. weight machine in the morning and number of insults to the brain, including
expect to memorize the dictionary low blood flow and not receiving
GET YOUR BLOOD MOVING that night. The studies have found that enough oxygen to the brain,” Walker
resistance training and muscle-building
How does it work, though? Most of exercises don’t do the trick — the
the time when we hear about exercises workouts need to be aerobic to benefit
that aid the brain, they’re linked to your brain.
problem-solving or thought process:
doing a crossword or Sudoku puzzle, for You also won’t see much, if any, gain
instance, or even brushing your teeth from fair-weather fitness. The best
with your non-dominant hand. results are achieved through frequency
and consistency.
Jeffrey Baker, exercise specialist with
St. Luke’s Fitness & Sports Performance, “I think the issue has been clarified by
says it’s all about getting your blood the National Institutes of Health, which
moving. “Aerobic exercise increases the show that 150 minutes a week — or 30
heart rate, causing the cardiovascular minutes five times a week — is effective
system to adjust by increasing blood in conditioning and preventing some age-
flow to the brain. This increase in related maladies,” says Dr. Stanley Walker,
brain blood flow causes changes to the board certified geriatrician and internist
chemistry of the brain.” with Easton Hospital.
A University of British Columbia study, “They really don’t specify the type of
published in the British Journal of Sports exercise other than the fact that it should
Medicine, goes so far as to state that regular be continuous, not stop-and-go,” he says. “It
should increase your heart rate to about 70
or 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.”
46 INSPIRE HEALTH September § October 2015
