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Why Exercise Boosts Brainpower

aditi sends us a report from Reuters on research indicating that exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss. Quoting: "Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging scans to help document the process in mice — and then used MRIs to look at the brains of people before and after exercise. They found the same patterns, which suggests that people also grow new brain cells when they exercise."

10 of 331 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Ballonee by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Informative
    Ok...I'm off to the gym this afternoon after work!!

    Now....I gotta try to remember where the hell the gym is??

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    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. Stallone isn't dumb by gatorflux · · Score: 5, Informative

    Stallone is an accomplished script writer and a damned good businessman. Take a look at the deal he struck when he wrote and sold Rocky to the studio (he basically retained the rights to future sequels). Stallone has been able to fly under the radar because he sounds uneducated when he talks (due to an injury sustained at birth, if I remember correctly).

    1. Re:Stallone isn't dumb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Something to do with forceps during delivery at birth. It paralyzed one side of his face.

  3. Re:Next Week by RockModeNick · · Score: 3, Informative

    But man, work up to 5 miles a day. You'll burn out and die if you go right to that, start with half a mile, and increase over a few months. As someone that went from a tech school background to running 3 miles every day(until sciatic nerve problems stopped me), I can say for sure your atrophied legs will want time to get started.

  4. Re:Next Week by EinZweiDrei · · Score: 2, Informative

    Bravo, and hear-hear.

    TFA doesn't strike me as terribly new. "Healthy body, healthy mind" is as old as the hills. If one has the discipline or talent to become truly -- truly -- outstanding in one thing, be it marathon-running or chess, that tendency towards success will cross over into other areas of their life. There is a sort of halo effect at work here. Be fucking exceptional at one thing, and start being pretty good at everything else.

    Leonardo da Vinci could purportedly bend horseshoes, a feat considered a mark of skill among strongmen. Incidentally, most of the great 'golden-age' strongmen -- Sandow, Inch, Saxon, etc. -- were extremely aristocratic and well-spoken.

    I absolutely aspire towards perfecting both mind and body. The further I bring the one, the more I seem to pull the other with it. Fritz Zwicky, the first physicist to theorize dark matter, would often intimidate his colleagues by doing one-arm push-ups. I'll never rock the science world as did Fritz, but in learning to do one-arm push-ups myself [a point of pride], I've learned a lot as a Physics student.

    Go figure.

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    Perhaps life really is full of possibilities.
  5. Um, How about this one by Blappo · · Score: 2, Informative

    He seemed pretty smart.

    Edwin Hubble

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    Why are so many posts with factual errors modded up?
  6. Re:Next Week by AzureWrathHal · · Score: 3, Informative

    "For instance, cut yourself off from high sugar, caffeine and soda, eat salads and run 5 miles a day for a month and see how much your productivity increases. You'll find that you can do more, you sleep better and feel a lot healthier."

    I don't know about you, but five miles a day eating salads and I'd feel a lot like killing myself.

    I don't spend a few hours every day exercising so I can eat rabbit food.

  7. Re:Ya, I'm not so sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    To have all three, you are now at 1/1500, and that is assuming that good looking, smart, and strong are completely evenly distributed and they don't interfere with each other.

    One in 125,000,000 (500 * 500 * 500)

  8. Re:Next Week by EastCoastSurfer · · Score: 2, Informative

    Good point. 5 miles day on salads is a recipe for disaster. Even if you're trying to lose weight you don't want to put yourself into that high of a caloric deficit. A better idea is just start eating healthier foods. No more fast food, cookies, chips, etc... Instead eat lots of veggies, unprocessed meats, unprocessed carbs, and some good fats. You'd be surprised how much of the good food you can eat before you hit your calorie target.

    Also, 5 miles/day isn't required to lose weight. In fact, if losing weight is your primary goal sprints are far more effective both in weight loss and time (although taking someone who truly is sedentary and moving them straight to sprints is dumb too). Add in some resistance training and you're on the path to looking and feeling healthy.

  9. Re:Next Week by metlin · · Score: 2, Informative

    I merely mentioned salads as an example of healthy food. You could eat grilled chicken salad for lunch and other lean foods which are rich in protein but are not calorie and fat heavy and stay healthy. In fact, you'd be amazed at the variety of salads that are available that are quite healthy and can sustain your body's needs. Hitting that calorie mark would be surprisingly hard.

    Secondly, I was mentioning 5 miles/day not to lose weight but to stay in shape - I run to improve my stamina (I'm a climber) and to me, running helps improve my endurance. And running is just one example. Quite obviously, just running is not going to do everything (and if you have bad joints, might even be a bad thing for you). A combination of weights-training, running and aerobic sports is usually a good idea.

    But for someone who fit the bill that the OP described, eating salads and running regularly is a good way to get the body started on the fitness path (eating good food is healthy for you and running regularly and will tire you out, helping you sleep better and feel fresher). Cutting down on sugar (Splenda is your friend!) and caffeine usually makes your body feel a lot healthier, too (you can always pamper yourself to the one cup in the morning, which will wake you up a lot more than if you are always hooked on coffee). And I won't go into the kind of harmful stuff that sodas contain.

    I was merely describing where I'm at - I run about 5 miles a day and for the most part eat salads (I also happen to be a vegetarian, so it's a lot easier for me).