Whilst it is not my aim to review books here I was so impressed with one that I read recently because of what the author wrote about exercise that I just had to pass the message on.
The tagline for my website Exercising for Life takes on real meaning in the context of a wonderful book called “brain rules” by John Medina, I recommend that you all read it. The author organises his views into 12 rules that are all based on known facts about the brain and then proceeds to explain how each one can help us with our home and work environments.
As an exercise professional the first rule is and I quote “Exercise boosts brain power” really had me jumping from the onset, why ? well we sort of know that exercise refreshes and helps you think better but to read about it in simple terms really gets the blood flowing. We know that one of the main benefits from exercise is that it improves cardiovascular fitness and as such helps us reduce the risks of diseases such as heart attacks and stroke. Furthermore it has been found through a number of experiments that exercise can also be associated with an improvement in our cognitive abilities.
Essentially exercise helps improve blood flow to all parts of the body and the brain in particular needs the nutrients and oxygen that comes with it. Medina points out that even though the brain which generally is only about 2 percent of your body weight needs a lot of energy, it accounts for 20 percent of the body’s total energy expenditure. In fact as an example John Medina sights that when the brain is fully working it uses more energy per unit of tissue weight than do your fully exercising quadriceps (thigh muscles). So the blood brings with it glucose and oxygen, the former used up in energy requirements and the oxygen acts as a sponge transporting away all the toxic electrons that are a by product of the fierce activity that takes place as your cells chemicals rip apart the glucose to extract the energy.
In a nutshell the more you exercise the more of your bodies tissues you can supply with nutrients and the more toxic waste you can remove from your body. Exercise also stimulates the protein that keeps neurons healthy as well as helps in the process of neurogenesis, which is the formation of new cells in the brain. Moreover exercise has also been shown to help reduce the risk of dementia and also cut the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 60 percent.
In this context, particularly in light of our increasing longevity, exercising for life sounds like a great idea. Don’t forget though if you are new to exercise don’t go rushing of into it before first consulting your health professional. By the way the rest of John Medina’s book is also rich in facts about the brain that we can apply to our daily lives so as I mentioned earlier well worth a read.
Zol
Fitness Moves