It's often thought that as folks age, they lose much of their sharpness and thinking power. While it's true that folks over 55 are unlikely to change into innovative giants such as Steve Jobs, the loss of memory retention and deductive reasoning power can be slowed down or prevented by one simple practice: exercise.
You probably already know that exercise is healthy for the heart and lungs as well as the physical shape of the body, but did you know it affects the brain as well? Harvard Medical School quotes a study done at the University of British Columbia as concluding "researchers found that regular aerobic exercise ... appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. Resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results."
One of the reasons aerobic exercise helps keep the brain from diminishing over time is that humans are an oxygen-based species. The physical stresses of running, jumping rope, dancing and so on, require the body to use more energy, so oxygen is used up at a faster rate. Thus, the heart begins to beat harder and you begin to breathe harder to take in more oxygen. If this is done on a regular continuous basis, the body actually builds more blood vessels. Custom capillaries are created to provide the extra oxygen now required and remove extra waste products of metabolism.
The extra capillaries grow everywhere, not just at the sites used in the exercises. So while your thighs are using much of the energy in aerobic work, the capillaries also go to your hands, your face - and your brain. The brain requires more oxygen than any other organ or muscle in the human body, according to reams of scientific studies, including the University World News, which states, " ... the brain is our most energy consuming organ. Representing only 2 percent of the weight of an adult, the brain consumes 20 percent of the energy produced by the body."
When extra capillaries bring extra oxygen to the brain and help remove waste material more quickly, it provides a stronger environment for brain cells. To see this for yourself, look at people you know. As you hit your mid-50's, your collection of friends and acquaintances usually includes some who are active and some who spend most of their time in front of the television set. Take two who are the same age, and compare their mental acuity. The one who sits most of the day, every day, will not have the capillaries that provide extra oxygen to the brain. They often will not seem as alert or 'on the ball' as someone active, whose brain is continuously fed a higher amount of oxygen.
You won't build these new capillaries overnight. Think about how long it takes for a resistance program to begin showing muscle and body toning - six months to a year of regular workouts. Expect to be an active exerciser for at least six months before the creation of new capillaries begins showing up in a more alert brain and more physical prowess.
John Fauber of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel wrote an article about capillaries in which he quoted a study done by Feraz Rahman of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Rahman says his study and, "Other studies have shown that exercise prevents cognitive decline in the elderly. Aerobic exercise is a vital part of healthy aging."
Wina Sturgeon is an active 55+ based in Salt Lake City, who offers news on the science of anti-aging and staying youthful at: adventuresportsweekly.com. She skates, bikes and lifts weights to stay in shape.
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