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Fitness & Exercise for Senior Citizens
Exercise Makes People Smarter, Slows Alzheimers,
Reduces Stress
Newsweek focuses on Health for Life Exercise and
the Brain
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No matter your age, it seems, a strong, active
body is crucial for building a strong, active mind. |
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March 19, 2007 - A recent and rapidly growing
movement in science is showing that exercise can make people smarter,
Newsweek reports in the current issue. Last week, in a landmark paper,
researchers announced that they had coaxed the human brain into growing
new nerve cells, a process that for decades had been thought impossible,
simply by putting subjects on a three-month aerobic-workout regimen.
Other scientists have found that vigorous exercise
can cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make
the brain run faster and more efficiently.
And there are clues that physical activity can
stave off the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease, ADHD and other
cognitive disorders. General Editor Mary Carmichael, with Harvard
Medical School, examine the latest research and findings about how an
active body is crucial for building a strong, active mind in the March
26 cover "Exercise and the Brain" (on newsstands Monday, March 19).
"People have been slow to grasp that exercise can
really affect cognition," says University of Illinois neuroscientist
Charles Hillman, "just as it affects muscles." Armed with brain-scanning
tools and a sophisticated understanding of biochemistry, researchers are
realizing that the mental effects of exercise are far more profound and
complex than they once thought, Carmichael reports.
Also in the cover package:
● Researchers are learning more about how
exercise affects mood: it decreases anxiety, improves sleep, improves
resilience in the face of stress and raises self-esteem. All these
benefits don't come because you notice what you've lost around your
waist. Rather, they come from exercise-induced alterations inside your
head, writes Michael Craig Miller, M.D., editor in chief of the Harvard
Mental Health Letter.
● If you are a couch potato, have couch-potato
tendencies or just plain dislike working out, there are more
opportunities to exercise than many people realize. Find the time with
"exercise snacks" that last as little as 10 minutes at a time.
Examples are pacing in your office while you're on
the phone, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, trekking up the
stairs at home during a TV commercial break. Or break up the day with
two-minute walks -- to the mailbox, for example, or in a loop around
your office corridor.
● General Editor Anna Kuchment reports that while
moderate exercise is good for you, vigorous exercise is even better.
Specifically, it's more effective at lowering blood pressure, improving
insulin sensitivity (which can reduce the risk of developing diabetes)
and raising one's aerobic capacity.
And one way to stick to a high-intensity routine is
to participate in a competitive sport. Joining a team forces you to do
things that you might not otherwise do. Not only is it fun, but you have
an obligation to show up for practices and events. There are teammates
to work out with, and there's usually a coach on hand to keep track of
your progress, help set new goals.
● Reams of research suggest that exercise -- an
activity as old as the human race -- substantially reduces the odds of
ever getting breast cancer, lengthens survival and considerably enhances
quality of life for women with the disease. Scientists don't completely
understand why exercise is so important, but they're actively looking
for answers.
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