Exercise to remember

Exercise has a positive impact on one of your most important muscles: the brain. Lifting weights and performing cardiovascular activity flex your brainpower. Exercise packs a double whammy by both helping you generate new brain cells and strengthening the connections between the cells that exist.

Scientists have known for some time that exercise can help relieve depression. Recently, they discovered how it does this. A researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden investigated rats and depression. The researcher found that rats performing exercise actually increased the number of neurons in the hippocampus region of the brain. This region is connected to learning and memory. In addition, the exercise showed similar benefits to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These are antidepressants commonly prescribed to combat depression.

How does exercise fare against chemical antidepressants? In 2000, James A. Blumenthal, Ph.D., and his colleagues studied over 100 adults with major depression. What they found surprised many people. The patients were divided into three groups. One group received Zoloft but did not exercise, one group exercised for 30 minutes three times per week, and the last group did both (took Zoloft and exercised). The initial study showed that the group who exercised but did not take Zoloft fared just as well as the other groups. A follow-up study conducted six months later demonstrated that the exercise-only group actually fared better than both other groups. Exercise without Zoloft improved the depression better than exercise with Zoloft!

In 1999 at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, researchers conducted a different type of experiment. They studied healthy mice and how quickly they could learn and remember mazes. The groups of mice that exercised more were able to learn the mazes and discover hidden platforms faster than their non-exercising counterparts. The mice were tested after the experiments and it was found that the connections between their neurons had strengthened significantly in the exercising group.

The researchers believe that the responsible agent is brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This protein not only helps build new neurons and strengthen their connections, but also triggers the release of other chemicals beneficial to the brain. Exercise appears to prompt the release of BDNF, which in turn helps the brain grow new cells and strengthen their connections.

These results aren't just isolated to mice and rats. The Annals of Internal Medicine reported that memory tests given to almost 2,000 people 65 years or older during a 6-year project showed that exercise reduced the risk of dementia. Another study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed over 2,000 men between 71 and 93 years of age. One group walked less than a quarter mile per day, while the other group walked more than two miles every day. The less active group was twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as the group who walked several miles a day.

Of course, physical exercise isn't the only activity that will benefit the mind. Research has also shown that mental exercise, such as solving puzzles, memorizing words and learning new languages, can also reinforce connections, improve memory, and reduce risk of dementia. It appears that strengthening the mind requires both mental and physical workouts.

This research shows that nutrition alone is not the key to optimal health. You must also integrate exercise. In addition to improving cardiovascular health and strengthening muscles, joints, and bones, physical exercise will benefit the mind as well. To increase your brain cells, reduce risk of dementia, and strengthen the connections between the cells in your brain, don't just remember to exercise. You must also exercise to remember.