Tracking Health and Wellness Applications of Brain Science

Physical-Exercise

Studies find growing evidence linking weight, physical activity, neuroplasticity and depression

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Being over­weight can cause depres­sion — and exer­cise is an anti­dote, dual stud­ies con­firm (Run­ner’s World):

A large-scale study from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Exeter has found ‘robust evi­dence’ that being over­weight hikes up your risk of devel­op­ing depres­sion – but as fresh evi­dence con­firms, log­ging your morn­ing miles is one of the most effec­tive ways to fight back. Exer­cise jolts your brain into action, and not just because of the endor­phin high … ‘Obe­si­ty and depres­sion are both major glob­al health chal­lenges, and our study pro­vides the most robust evi­dence to date that high­er BMI caus­es depres­sion,’ said lead author Jess O’Lough­lin. ‘Under­stand­ing whether phys­i­cal or social fac­tors are respon­si­ble for this rela­tion­ship can help inform effec­tive strate­gies to improve men­tal health and well­be­ing.’ [Read more…] about Stud­ies find grow­ing evi­dence link­ing weight, phys­i­cal activ­i­ty, neu­ro­plas­tic­i­ty and depression

Five profound ways physical exercise shapes your brain and mind

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We’ve all heard that exer­cise is good for us—how it strength­ens our hearts and lungs, and helps us pre­vent dis­eases like dia­betes. That’s why so many of us like to make New Year’s res­o­lu­tions to move more, know­ing it will make us health­i­er and live longer.

But many peo­ple don’t know about the oth­er impor­tant ben­e­fits of exercise—how it can help us find hap­pi­ness, hope, con­nec­tion, and courage.

Around the world, peo­ple who are phys­i­cal­ly active are hap­pi­er and more sat­is­fied with their lives. They have a stronger sense of pur­pose and expe­ri­ence more grat­i­tude, love, and hope. They feel more con­nect­ed to their com­mu­ni­ties, and are less like­ly to suf­fer from lone­li­ness or become depressed.

These ben­e­fits are seen through­out the lifes­pan, includ­ing [Read more…] about Five pro­found ways phys­i­cal exer­cise shapes your brain and mind

Study: Strenuous physical exercise may lead to cognitive –not just physical– fatigue

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Too Much Exer­cise Can Tire Our Brains Out, Too (Dis­cov­er Mag­a­zine D‑brief):

“For years, the Nation­al Insti­tute of Sports, Exer­cise and Per­for­mance (INSEP) in France had been study­ing an unusu­al phe­nom­e­non. If an athlete’s work­out reg­i­ments were ramped up, it didn’t always lead to a bet­ter per­for­mance — even if that ath­lete felt like they were work­ing hard­er than before.

The orga­ni­za­tion called this phe­nom­e­non over­reach­ing, and knew what the phys­i­cal symp­toms were. But the orga­ni­za­tion want­ed to know if any symp­toms of fatigue were appear­ing in the brain, too. New research says yes. [Read more…] about Study: Stren­u­ous phys­i­cal exer­cise may lead to cog­ni­tive –not just phys­i­cal– fatigue

Great news: The New York Times acknowledges that (as clearly documented for 10+ years) Exercise and Brain Training are BOTH crucial for Lifelong Brain Fitness

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Exer­cise May Enhance the Effects of Brain Train­ing (The New York Times):

“..an inter­est­ing new study pub­lished in the Jour­nal of Cog­ni­tive Neu­ro­science sug­gests that com­bin­ing intense exer­cise and brain train­ing might, over time, ampli­fy the ben­e­fits of both for the brain, even in peo­ple whose minds already are work­ing well…scientists at McMas­ter Uni­ver­si­ty in Hamil­ton, Ontario, began to won­der recent­ly whether brain train­ing and exer­cise train­ing might be com­ple­men­tary, with exer­cise prompt­ing the cre­ation of baby neu­rons that brain train­ing would then strengthen…the study’s find­ings sug­gest that exer­cis­ing both our bod­ies and minds may pro­vide the great­est boost to our mem­o­ries…” [Read more…] about Great news: The New York Times acknowl­edges that (as clear­ly doc­u­ment­ed for 10+ years) Exer­cise and Brain Train­ing are BOTH cru­cial for Life­long Brain Fitness

20 Must-Know Facts to Harness Neuroplasticity and Improve Brain Health

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holdingbrain——-

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Aware­ness Month, so let me share these 20 Must-Know Facts to Har­ness Neu­ro­plas­tic­i­ty & Improve Brain Health that come from the hun­dreds of sci­en­tif­ic and med­ical stud­ies we ana­lyzed  [Read more…] about 20 Must-Know Facts to Har­ness Neu­ro­plas­tic­i­ty and Improve Brain Health

Study: Physical exercise can enhance neuroplasticity in adult brains, accelerating neural repair

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Group_stretching_exercisesPhys­i­cal activ­i­ty may leave the brain more open to change (EurekAlert)

“Learn­ing, mem­o­ry, and brain repair depend on the abil­i­ty of our neu­rons to change with expe­ri­ence. Now, researchers report­ing in the Cell Press jour­nal Cur­rent Biol­o­gy on Decem­ber 7 have evi­dence from a small study in peo­ple that exer­cise may enhance this essen­tial plas­tic­i­ty of the adult brain. [Read more…] about Study: Phys­i­cal exer­cise can enhance neu­ro­plas­tic­i­ty in adult brains, accel­er­at­ing neur­al repair