Slashdot Mirror
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."
I nevar work out and my brane wurks as well as ne1 elses!
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
That explains Schwartzenegger! (Doesn't explain Stallone though).
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Wow, who would have thought that exersize actually improves your body in some way?
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
So here we are, once again, with Locke's ideal of a sound mind in a sound body.
The challenge for computer geeks: finding a way to merge exercise with mostly-sedentary hobbies and jobs. Perhaps it's a job for mobile computing: Set a tablet PC in front of a treadmill, and read Slashdot while running?
I will develop some mouse cells in my brain?
What's the catch? Have I missed something?
Do I need more jogging?
"Exercise generated blood flow to the dentate gyrus of the people, and the more fit a person got, the more blood flow the MRI detected, the researchers found."
However, if your gym looks like this one shown in the article, I think the blood will flow elsewhere
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
They're not "dumb", but they're also not necessarily the intellectual type. From what I've seen, the reason for that is that your intellectual spends too much time in an introverted state to worry about the world around them. Regular exercise is not engaging to their internal senses, so they tend to find it "boring". The more extroverted types get their engagement from the world around them, and thus find pleasure in physical activity.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
That explains all those pro-quarterback particle theorists! "Gauge bosons are like running backs right? They gotta take the elemental forces of the universe to the end zone."
crazy dynamite monkey
...Stephen Hawking benchpresses bulldozers when no one is watching!
So if I couple the above article with this one then I can only assume that I am supposed to exercise and smoke a whole lot of pot while I do it.
My Computer Music Tutorial Videos
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).
I walk my virtual dog around Second Life every day you insensitive clod!
I'm in between insightful sigs right now...
High performance sporting is not healthy. Repeat: NOT healthy. I've been training for marathons with an Olympic athlete who consistently runs 42K in under 2 hours 15 minutes. He needs to take a continuos stream of dietary supplements and run 25 kilometers daily, use special cushioning on all his footwear to compensate for the deformation that the impact of running produces, and keep an extremely strict dietary regimen, not to mention constant sports massages to keep himself from cramping as well as a myriad of other things.
Being a professional means pushing your body to extremes it was not meant to take. We're not built to run such distances at those speeds.
Remember though, that only applies to the 0.001% of the population that plays professionally and has masochistic tendencies. Your average slashdotter should get off its ass and at the very least walk a half hour daily. I know that ever since I started running in the morning my day feels much better than before, and indeed I do feel sharper.
There aren't any nobel prize winning boxers because they are devoting their time to boxing and not to science. I'd suspect you could find some nobel prize winners that work out.
Really?
Funny, 99% of the really smart people I know play sports in some form or the other (adventure sports, martial arts, traditional sports, running etc) and don't really believe in sitting down and spending every waking hour doing something related to their area of expertise.
In fact, the *really* smart people I know tend to have a life (family, friends, sports, parties) and usually, it is the wannabes that I know who tend to fit the profile that you describe.
And I have found out that a combination of good workout and good diet often helps me concentrate better and sleep better.
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.
Besides, sports are a great way to get rid of your frustration. For instance, I do a lot of rock-climbing, and nothing to make you feel better than an eight hour straight climbing session out there.
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.
Actually, I remember reading about a study that indicated genius level processing in peak performing athletes. For example, an NFL quarterback can identify 3 - 5 potential receivers, track their viability, and decide how to execute a play in under a second--while avoiding defenders.
I would argue that such ability takes a level of intelligence that, if applied to other pursuits, would be widely recognized as remarkable.
"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.