Previous Issue - August, 2004
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most privileged individuals. There were no cars, no computer, and no phones, therefore walking, running, riding horseback and doing heavy lifting was the normal par of the day. A sedentary lifestyle that has become common is actually going against the basic nature of our species. Therefore, when you begin to increase your activity, the mind as well as the body perks up and recognizes that its basic nature is being used again. Therefore, it is very happy. The blood flow increases to the brain so clarity of thought is improved. Endorphins are released in exercise and these create a mood shift to a more positive state, often referred to as a "runners high".  We see the impact of endorphins every day at the club, as people come in from work tired and stressed out from the day. By the time they leave after exercising, the difference in their mood is amazing. They are usually smiling, and re-energized, and their tiredness is now the "good tired" that comes from exercise rather than the "beat tired" of getting stressed out mentally with no physical release all day.

The University of Illinois recently completed a study of the impact on the brain that exercise. Here is what the leader of that study, Alexander Kramer, had to say. "What our data show is that you can actually enhance cognition and brain structure and function. Exercise helps build the brain." The same study showed that even seniors aged 59 to 78 showed a more than 10% increase in memory and brain function after walking 45 minutes per day three times a week for 3 months.

A recent study conducted at UCLA and reported in the June 1 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that regular exercise has proven to help regenerate the brain synapses that have been destroyed by injuries. This is just a first step to potentially proving that exercise can help all sorts of brain related maladies, perhaps even Alzheimer¹s and other diseases of the brain. We know that exercise has long been a major focus of the treatment for Parkinson¹s disease and other brain diseases.

Recent studies have shown how important exercise is to pregnant women and their babies. Pregnancy exercise has a growing number of studies stating its benefits including:

-- Smarter Babies: One study found that the children of the 20 women who continued to exercise through pregnancy all had significantly higher scores on oral language and general intelligence tests (Journal of Pediatrics, 1996).

-- Shorter Labors, Fewer C-sections: The same study also discovered that the exercising women's active labor was two hours shorter and the incidence of operative delivery was reduced from 48 to 14 percent.

-- Happier Moms: Women who exercised regularly during their pregnancies reported less depression, daily hassles and pregnancy-specific stress in the first and second trimesters (Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetric and Gynecology, 2003). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists add that return to physical activity after pregnancy has been associated with decreased incidence of postpartum depression.

-- Quicker Recoveries: Exercising during pregnancy can not only lead to a quicker recovery, but a quicker return to pre-pregnancy weight as well according to studies by James Clapp III, M.D. of Case Western Reserve University.

These are just some examples of the research that is being done in this area of exercise and the brain. I urge you to do your own research. Just go out and start exercising in whatever way you find most enjoyable. Then test yourself and see for yourself how much your mood improves and how well your brain functions.

Please click here  for additional information or if you would like to contact the author of this article, Ted Murray. Thank you!
 

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