How A Neuroscientist Changed My Idea Of Brain Health And Will Change Yours Too
Housekeeping
Juggling work responsibilities, family commitments, and personal pursuits. I used to suffer from the same exhaustion until I discovered some key habits that transformed my energy levels.
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"If I had to choose one thing that will keep your brain sharp and healthy until old age, it is....."
Drumrolls.
EXERCISE.
This sentence stood out for me.
In 2016, when I was working my second job as an occupational health manager. Together with colleagues, we attended a lecture by a neuroscientist from a German university.
"Great, yet another expert with suboptimal presentation skills
Zero emotion, zero inspiration, pure info."
My expectation was wrong, because this professor knew storytelling.
He talked in metaphors.
His main research subject, brain health, came to life.
I leaned forward, my focus was there, on him, 100%
Why?
His slides had a few important bullet points and an occasional graphic.
Not more.
Let me ask you how many presentations you have seen in your life?
And how many stand out?
A handful of them, maximum.
From the very beginning, his ability to explain complex matters in simple language stood out.
I felt like brain health is the hottest topic out there.
If average speakers inform, above average motivate and extraordinary inspire, then he belonged to the category of being inspiring.
But this article is not about presentation skills.
I told so many people about it.
Exercise makes you a smarter person.
So stop wrecking your brain if you should exercise.
Science has made this decision for you.
Maybe you just didn`t listen.
This Is Why Your Brain Wants You To Exercise
I`m 42, I take good care of my health. I even started wearing a helmet when I ride my bike.
That is protection from the outside, but you should also protect from the inside.
To be honest, I don`t think about my brain health too often.
There are no known cases of Alzheimer's disease running in my family.
Does that mean I won`t get it?
Of course not, I might, but it is just too far away to be a concern for me.
Which means?
There are more relevant aspects that affect my brain health because I feel them every week.
I don`t know about you, but stress gets me.
Deadlines cause a good dose of stress in me, and so do workload or work interruptions.
Any time that happens over a few days, I see my average heart rate go up by 3-5 beats.
I know what you think...uhm, why watch it when it adds to the stress?
Good question, maybe because I know what I need to do then.
Stress, anxiety, and depression make us feel bad about ourselves and they are bad for our overall health.
Unhealthy for your brain too.
The natural remedy for me?
Exercise.
A walk is great in many aspects, but it is not enough for me to bring the cortisol down.
It`s great to know that regular exercise is one of the best things you can do.
I feel so much better after exercise.
It´s crazy so many people underestimate this.
If my word is not enough, listen to science.
In a study researching the causal relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning, this effect was proven.
Prolonged exposure to stress hormones, such as corticosteroids, can negatively impact neuronal health and survival, particularly in the hippocampus. Stress can lead to morphological changes in neurons, including dendritic atrophy and spine reduction, which adversely affect brain plasticity.
But if you exercise
Exercise is commonly viewed as a behavioral strategy to alleviate stress. It has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in humans.1
We all have a nice little voice in our head, sometimes it's encouraging, and sometimes it's looking down on us.
This inner monologue switches between the past and the future. That voice that judges and protects or fights against your ego.
Sometimes I want it to shut the fuck up.
Silence. Peace of mind. Just presence.
Do you remember when you were physically exhausted the last time? From moving all day I mean.
How much at peace you felt with yourself? Tired, but in a great mood.
But there is so much more.
If I leave stress unattended, it gets worse.
I feel like a ball of tension. I get nervous, sometimes even scared.
Thus, it is no surprise that exercise is used in the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression.
Before I had a healthy dose of self-confidence, exercise was my only cure for anxiety.
So my natural preparation for a potentially stressful event was exercise, cardio to be precise.
Science can give proof of the effects.
Engaging in exercise before experiencing a stressful event can prevent the downregulation of hippocampal BDNF mRNA and improve behavioral responses to stress.2
The effects of exercise on brain health are far-reaching.
I don`t want to go into detail on everyone, but here is one more thing that I have used strategically over the last few weeks.
Ever sit at your laptop and you need to come up with a solution to a problem or you need to be creative?
The longer you stare at the screen, the more uncomfortable it gets.
"I need a solution now. Come on."
Results? Zero.
Then I close my laptop and go out.
Maybe after 15 or 20 minutes, my brain is happy to reveal answers.
For instance, I have been writing on X for a year.
More than 10000 times.
Let's put it that way: Ideas don't sprinkle from my brain every day.
But during a run…
Holy cow, how many times have I wished I had my cell phone with me to type in ideas?
I return with no less than 3-5 ideas.
At home, I need to write them down immediately.
So what does science say about this?
Brain Plasticity: Physical activity promotes brain plasticity, which is the brain's ability to adapt and reorganize itself. This is crucial for learning and memory processes.3
But it doesn`t end there.
Exercise cannot solve your problems or challenges in life, but you act from a better starting point.
If you have a better mood, more energy, less anxiety, and better focus, guess what happens?
Your problem-solving and decision-making skills improve.
Bingo. I want that. You too?
Oh, before I forget.
Your sleep gets better too.
This is where you foster what you learned before.
Now you wonder what research has found on the effect of regular exercise and certain cognitive impairments.
Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment: Extensive research has shown that regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults. Engaging in exercise can help maintain cognitive function as individuals age.
Impact on Alzheimer's Disease: Studies suggest that individuals with Alzheimer's disease have reduced levels of physical activity in midlife compared to healthy controls. This implies that maintaining an active lifestyle may be protective against the development of Alzheimer's.
In a nutshell
Practical Implications For Intensity And Duration
Our brain needs exercise, so which kind of and how much?
There are mixed results.
Some studies point in the direction of moderate intensity, while others underscore that vigorous exercise is the best way to foster brain health.
"What these results suggest is that exercising longer, or particularly harder, may maximize benefits"4
That means you cannot go wrong by doing both.
What does moderate mean then?
Do you know the Recommendations from the WHO on physical activity for health?
This week I asked a group of trainees in my 9 to 5 when I ran a workshop on exercise and sustainability.
The answers were anywhere between 90 minutes per day and 90 minutes per week.
The correct answer is 150 minutes per week. That is what moderate in terms of duration means.
150 minutes per week is the minimum for health maintenance, but more is better.
https://ifmst.org/2023/11/03/world-health-organization-recommendation-for-physical-activity/
In terms of intensity it means a tempo that allows you to hold a conversation.
That means that walking will yield tremendous overall health benefits, but for brain health, we need higher intensities.
A) In other words, Zone 2 or 60 to 70% of your maximum heartrate.
B) Vigorous refers to a higher intensity. 70-85% of HR max.
There is no way you can hold a conversation at this pace.
The best thing?
The effects are long-lasting, if you invest a fraction of your time into exercise regularly.
I highly recommend you watch this TED talk from Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki.
She became her own case study by undergoing a personal transformation.
Periods of isolation were followed by going to the gym regularly.
Besides her mood, attention, and memory, her productivity also improved a lot.
She was able to write better than ever before.
Here`s what she found out and teaches people ever since.
Let's start with my favorite brain area, the hippocampus.
The hippocampus –or exercise actually produces brand new brain cells,
new brain cells in the hippocampus, that actually increase its volume,
as well as improve your long-term memory, OK? And that including in you and me.
The most common finding in neuroscience studies, looking at effects of long-term exercise, is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex.
You not only get better focus and attention, but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well.
And finally, you not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise
but those last for a long time.
But really, the most transformative thing that exercise will do is its protective effects on your brain.
Here you can think about the brain like a muscle.o with increased exercise over your lifetime, you're not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but what you're going to do is you're going to create the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect.
You can think of exercise, therefore, as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK?
And it's even better, because it's free.
Exercise is a no-brainer.
See you next week.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12086747/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12086747/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37002254/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/04/05/exercise-brain-thinking-bdnf/