Walking is fine, too!
No excuses now…
The research is in: Physical activity enhances cognition.
It can’t be denied any longer…
Time to get off the couch y’all.
University of Illinois psychology professor Art Kramer, a nationally recognized expert on the role of physical fitness on cognition, discussed these brain-changing outcomes at a session of the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on Feb. 16, as reported here.
Kramer is the director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I.
“Populations throughout the industrialized world are becoming increasing sedentary as a result of the changing nature of work and leisure activities,” Kramer said. “As a result of these societal changes, increases in diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers are increasing. Physical activity serves to reduce susceptibility to these diseases.”
“Increased physical activity also has direct, and relatively rapid effects on cognition and brain health,” he said. “Such results have now been reported, over the course of several decades, in animal studies of physical activity.”
Walking is fine, too!
Studies in humans, many conducted in Kramer’s lab, also show that regular exercise, such as walking three times per week, also increases brain power. Kramer presented research from his own lab and others that demonstrates that older adults who participate in fitness training and physical activity benefit from significant improvements in their brain structure and function.
He detailed how scientists use both behavioral measures and non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, event-related brain potential, and event-related optical signals to assess cognition. He concluded his presentation with a dissection of the gaps present in human and animal cognitive and brain health literature and described how future research can remedy this.
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-physical-cognition.html#jCp
So here’s the take home bit
See you on the streets!
Impressive words to drop into the morning coffee chat
Cognition
What do you think?
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I always knew it… does cognition continue to improve with the intensity of exercise?
Law of diminishing returns, but the threshold must vary across people, and I don’t know how you’d place it!