Exercise Your Brain

Exercise Your Brain.

According to Michael Merzenich, chief scientific officer with Posit Science in San Francisco, the key to memory longevity is lifelong learning. (Exercising your brain.)

“Often, as people age, they engage in less and less learning,” Merzenich told United Press International. “They rest on their laurels, and their environments, even if stimulating (such as a job or hobbies), do not drive new learning.” Apparently, their brains become weak and in need of exercising.

Merzenich’s company is pioneering brain-training exercises for aging adults that, like calisthenics, keep the organ flexible, in good physical shape and functioning well into the golden years. The company’s computer-guided exercises—which are being marketing to assisted-living and retirement communities—aim at augmenting memory and improving visual acuity and hearing. The memory exercises should be practiced five days a week for an hour a day for eight weeks—a demanding regimen, but one that researchers think may mitigate memory loss.
“As the brain gets into ruts, it is not challenged with new learning, and without crucial stimulation, the brain’s function can gradually erode over time, leading to decreased memory and cognitive function,” Merzenich explained.

Undertaking a rigorous “brain fitness” program later in life may be only part of the answer, said Dr. Thomas Crook, former chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Geriatric Psychopharmacology Program. Diet plays an absolutely key role in determining brain function later in life, he said, and establishing healthy eating habits early on can deliver dividends in old age.

“Diet is very important. A generalization would be that those things that are good for the heart are good for the brain as well,” Crook told UPI.

Likewise, exercise appears to contribute to better brain health, he said. A lot of research is showing that aerobic exercise is particularly helpful. Even 30 minutes of walking per day can help. Apparently, vascular changes in the heart also apply to the brain, and exercise benefits both. The worst thing you can do for your brain is to sit on the couch watching TV for hours.
According to a 2005 study by Harvard University researchers, fruit and vegetable intake is inversely related to cognitive decline—the more fresh foods you eat, the better your chances of maintaining brain health.

The Harvard group followed a cohort of female subjects from 1976 to 2001 and tracked their eating habits along with mental function over four decades. They found that the women who ate the highest amounts of green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, greens and spinach) had the slowest mental decline.

“The finding with cruciferous vegetables, we believe, may be because they are nutrient dense—good source of vitamin C, beta carotene, B vitamins, which have all been found in some studies to be associated with better cognition,” said Jae Hee Kang, lead author of the Harvard study.
So— now that you’ve finished reading this don’t you want to go for a jog around the block and finish it off with an extra large glass of carrot juice. After all, you’re investing in the health of your brain.