Boost Your Heart Rate, Boost Your Brain

The news has been in for a long time about how important exercise is to keep your body healthy. We know that getting regular exercise reduces cardiac disease and reduces the risk for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The newest news about exercise, though, is its tremendous impact on the brain. For those of you who "hate to exercise," this may teach you to like it! If you aren't currently exercising or fit, there's good news for you at the end.

There are many ways that exercise helps your brain. First, when physical demands are placed on the body, the body signals that it needs help to respond. This help comes in the form of a variety of hormonal responses, some of which are so beneficial that researchers call them "fertilizer" for the brain. For example, some hormones increase the growth of new neurons, grow and strengthen the connections, help with cellular repair, and improve the synaptic connection between the cells, which improves your ability to think. Some of the hormones trigger the growth of new capillaries, so your brain is able to get more nutrients and oxygen. So exercise increases the vitality of the functions that build and maintain your brain function.

If you are a mid-lifer, do you want some good news? Exercise stimulates the growth and vitality of the part of the brain responsible for memory, the hippocampus! John Ratey, author of SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, says, "The more fit you are, the better the learner you will be." For example, fit kids did 15% better on cognitive tests than unfit kids. A school system in Illinois instituted a fitness program and math scores soared! These same positive effects on memory show up at all ages.

And it's not just the vitality of the brain cells that exercise helps. A study at Duke University tested 100 people with depression. One-third of the participants were given Zoloft, a prescription antidepressant; one-third were put on an exercise program; one-third did both. Two weeks later all were less depressed and four weeks later those on the antidepressant were able to get off. Those who had simply exercised, though, did just as well as those who took the prescription medication, without the chemical side effects.

The really good news is that even walking can help boost brain health and prevent cognitive decline. For example, in one study, men who walked the least had almost double the risk for dementia as those who walked over two miles per day! Even a little bit of cardio exercise, consistently done, helps your brain.

And finally, exercise helps maintain body weight, and this is where some of the most startling results are showing up. In a 27-year study done of about 10,000 people (more details here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC558283/), researchers found that people who were obese in mid-life were 74% more likely to have dementia, while overweight people were 35% more likely to have dementia, compared with those of normal weight in mid-life (adjusted for other lifestyle factors affecting dementia). Women are dramatically more at risk than men, but all obese people are significantly more at risk (Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater). As if this statistic wasn't frightening enough, add to it that the adult obesity rate in the U.S. is about 35%, and more than 65% are overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk for dementia! Other smaller studies have confirmed this same result, but actually show the increased risk as even greater. Some have shown that being overweight at mid-life increases the risk of dementia later in life as much as 200%!

So what can you do? If you're overweight and hate to exercise, are you just doomed? NO! The great news is that the body and brain are highly resilient. Anything you can do to increase movement will help. Our bodies and brains evolved for exercise - it's just a law of nature. At a minimum, start walking, or add distance or intensity if you are fit enough. If you are too heavy or have physical limitations, strength training can be a place to start. I totally believe in personal trainers. For a small amount of money, they can teach you how to prevent injury, help you define a program that allows you to feel successful, and give you the encouragement and accountability to keep going. Many community centers and YMCA facilities offer very reasonable rates to work with trainers. I've been exercising most of my life and I still benefit from a kick in the #%^*@ that a good trainer can give me!

My other suggestion is to get support to make your exercise consistent. Studies have shown that if you exercise for a while, then drop it, you start to lose the brain benefits. So it's important to find something you enjoy enough to keep going with it. Join a community, get a coach or trainer, enroll your family, anything you can do. You are worth it! Whatever the cost, your health, vitality, and long-term brain health are worth it! I hope this has inspired you to take a walk around the block, and maybe even help a friend or family member do the same.

Just remember, if you want to boost your brain, you have to move your feet.