For Young and Old

Hippocampus

The Brain

     Researchers have long known about the relationship between being physically fit and the health of the brain. Particularly, in children aged 9 to 10 years of age. Children in this range are not known for their solid emotional regulation and powerful long-term memories. Studies from the University of Illinois have confirmed that children in this range who are physically fit, more physically active, have larger hippocampi than their cohorts. What, exactly, does this mean? The hippocampus is the primary seat of emotional regulation. It also plays a large role in forming long-term memories. Among its other duties, spatial navigation is handled by the hippocampus. Clearly, this is an important little organ in the brain.

     This particular study from the University of Illinois as among the first to use MRIs to measure and evaluate the differences between the brains of fit and unfit children, as pointed out by Art Kraemer, the director of the University psychology professor and Beckman Institute Director, Laura Chaddock, a Doctoral student, Professor Charles Hillman, Kinesiology and Community Health.

     The primary focus of this study was the hippocampus due to its significance in learning and memory. Older studies only focused on older adults and how exercise changed the hippocampus. Those results show that a larger and healthier hippocampus in adults is also key to strong performance in spatial performance, memory tests, and other cognitive tasks.

     The results from this study found that the fit children performed far better than their unfit piers. They scored higher in spatial relationship tests, relational memory, and emotional regulation.

Clearly, being physically active in youth benefits the brain. Maintaining our physical fitness into our middle-age and beyond is also important. Growing up, I saw far too many people hit a certain point in life and sit down. They hardly got up again after that. Their lifespan was not very long after that.

On the other end of that spectrum, there were many older adults I knew when I was younger who are still about today. How is this? They were playing tennis and volleyball back then. Some of them still play tennis in their 90s. Most of them are happy to walk several miles a day and swim as often as possible. A few of them are taking Tai Chi classes. What are they getting from this?

•      Keeping Strength
•      Maintaining joint mobility
•      Improved balance
•      Tai Chi increases growth and density in at least eight areas of gray matter in the brain
•      Improved mood
•      Lower depression

      These activities have also kept their minds active, which is also a highly important part of mental acuity. Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals known as growth factors, which help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn. Interestingly, complicated activities, like playing tennis or taking a dance class, provide the biggest brain boost. Similar to our muscles, our brain cells need to be stressed and stimulated for optimal health. Playing checkers, chess, doing word puzzles, and other complex activities that force your brain to operate in multiple directions at one time are going to be the most beneficial. Such activities build and reinforce our ability to focus and pay attention to detail. These tasks will also keep up our mental stamina.

     Even mild activity like a leisurely walk can help keep your brain fit and active, fending off memory loss and keeping skills like vocabulary retrieval strong. In a 2011 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Canadian researchers analyzed the energy expenditure and cognitive functioning of elderly adults over the course of two to five years. Most of the participants did not work out; their activities revolved around short walks, cooking, gardening, and cleaning. Still, compared with their sedentary peers, the most active participants scored significantly better on tests of cognitive function, and they showed the least amount of cognitive decline. By the study's end, roughly 90 percent of them could think and remember just as well as they could when the study began.

It May Slow Alzheimer's  

     The Alzheimer's Research Center touts exercise as one of the best weapons against the disease. Exercise appears to protect the hippocampus, which governs memory and spatial navigation, and is one of the first brain regions to succumb to Alzheimer's-related damage. A recent study published in the Archives of Neurology suggests that a daily walk or jog could lower the risk of Alzheimer's—or blunt its impact once it has begun. In 2000, Dutch researchers found that inactive men who were genetically prone to Alzheimer's were four times more likely to develop the disease than those who carried the trait but worked out regularly.

Exercise & Fitness

     Exercising regularly, every day if possible, is the single most important thing you can do for your health. In the short term, exercise helps to control appetite, boost mood, and improve sleep. In the long term, it reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and many cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following:

For adults of all ages at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise like brisk walking or 75 minutes of rigorous exercise like running (or an equivalent mix of both) every week. It’s fine to break up exercise into smaller sessions as long as each one lasts at least 10 minutes.

     Strength-training that works all major muscle groups—legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms—at least two days a week. Strength training may involve lifting weights, using resistance bands, or exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, in which your body weight furnishes the resistance.

     For pregnant women the guidelines for aerobic exercise are considered safe for most pregnant women. The CDC makes no recommendation for strength training. It’s a good idea to review your exercise plan with your doctor.

For Children

     At least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, most of which should be devoted to aerobic exercise. Children should do vigorous exercise and strength training, such as push-ups or gymnastics, on at least three days every week.

     Stephen C. Putnam, MEd, took up canoeing. This was to combat adult ADHD. He later wrote Nature's Ritalin for the Marathon Mind. This book is about the benefits of exercise and the unfocused troubled brain.
     Putnam cites studies in which children who ran around for 15 to 20-minutes prior to class had a decrease in their “ants-in-the-pants behavior.” These results were found to last for up to two hours, a good period of time.

     In a previous article, we discussed how exercise releases several feel-good hormones. Through exercise, we see positive feelings, calming sensations, increases in cortical matter in the brain, clearer thinking, easier learning, more focused students. 

     Albert Einstein was known for using exercise to find answers to his questions and problems. He would say that he would spend hours with calculations, looking for the answer making no progress. But, after several laps in the local pool, the answers he sought would find him.

     I know that I am not alone when I recall similar events from college or early days in the military. Problems had mounted up and time had gotten away so I’d go for some PT (Physical Training) it a good long run. Somewhere on the obstacle course, in the gym, or out on the jogging trail was that epiphany. Just waiting for me to step in it. I’m sure several of you have similar recollections. 

      Stay Strong.

      Stay healthy.