Exercise helps the brain

I found an interesting article in the NY Times yesterday that studies how exercise can benefit the brain and increase its function. 

To learn more about how exercise affects the brain, scientists in Ireland recently asked a group of male college students who are mostly sitting during their average day, to take part in a memory test followed by strenuous exercise.

First, the young men watched a rapid-fire lineup of photos with the faces and names of strangers. After a break, they tried to recall the names they had just seen as the photos again zipped across a computer screen.Afterward, half of the students rode a stationary bicycle, at an increasingly strenuous pace, until they were exhausted. The others sat quietly for 30 minutes. Then both groups took the brain-teaser test again.

Notably, the exercised volunteers performed significantly better on the memory test than they had on their first try, while the volunteers who had rested did not improve.

Meanwhile, blood samples taken throughout the experiment offered a biological explanation for the boost in memory among the exercisers. Immediately after the strenuous activity, the cyclists had significantly higher levels of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which is known to promote the health of nerve cells. The men who had sat quietly showed no comparable change in BDNF levels.

So it goes to show you that people who exercise are smart than those who don't ............... JUST KIDDING. On many levels I am sure that is not true but research does show that if you exercise, it gets your brain moving and working as oppose to doing nothing and not motivating brain flow. So you can now tell your parents your going to the gym to get smarter!

Keep Sweating It!

Tina