Brain Power Exercise You Can Do Now

Want to lose 3 pounds right now?  Stop using your brain power.   Your mind weighs approximately 3 pounds and if you don’t use it, you lose it. Well maybe not the weight, but its amazing ability to help you move, to think and remember. Most of us have it backwards.  We age and therefore stop moving. It’s more like, stop exercising and you age.  If you could hear your body-mind talk, the conversation would go something like this, “Get a move on and stimulate my brain power cells to grow, connect and keep me young.”

Contrary to age old beliefs, aging does not have to come with loss of memory, mental decline and decreased brain power.  Scientists now believe that decreased mental capacity comes from diminished stimulation to the brain. 

A healthy neuron is linked to literally tens of thousands of other neurons, creating a  hundred trillion connections – each with the ability to perform 200 calculations per second! But neurons don’t only connect with other neurons, they connect with muscles at a little meeting place called the neuromuscular junction and this is vital to your ability to move.  The great news is you can stimulate fresh neurons in old age because brains have what is called ‘plasticity,’ the ability to change, to grow and to adapt to the challenges you feed it.  Mental decline due to age usually is often a result of physical inactivity and a lack of mental stimulation.

The word exercise means to ward off.  How appropriate:  because when you exercise, your blood circulation increases: sending more oxygen and brain feeding blood sugar (glucose) to your brain. This results in a domino effect of increasing blood vessels in your brain. Your choice of exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous.  Although one that is specifically designed for the brain will give you better results.  Studies have shown that people who are reasonably active have a significant advantage regarding memory over people who are sedentary.  Occupational therapists (therapists who specialize in improving people’s function) have also studied specific exercises to find that certain type of exercises increased both brain functioning and decreased brain attack by 57%. 

Specific exercises have even shown to be successful as a preventative measure to Alzheimer’s. Even more interesting is that couch potatoes are twice as likely to develop dementia.  In order to reap the benefits of increased brain power, mental alertness, and neuron growth, you need to unlock the door to exercise - period.  Open your mind and give yourself the opportunity.  You are what you believe to yourself to be.  No matter what your age or your fitness level.   Whether you are 40 or 70:   prevention is the doorway to a healthy mind. I just gave you the key.  Take Charge and be Healthwise, Exercise.

Scientists Reveal Exercise Protects Brain Cells

[caption id="attachment_39" align="aligncenter" width="298" caption="How Exercise Affects Brain Cells"][/caption]

Carl W. Cotman and Nicole C. Berchtold of The University of California, Irvine are among numerous researchers who found evidence that exercise helps you protect the brain cells you have, and it even spurs the growth of new ones. In their 2007 study, Exercise: A Behavioral Intervention to Enhance Brain Health and Plasticity, they report that using your muscles kicks off a remarkable process that allows your body to make more of a chemical called Brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This is a substance that actually makes more gray matter.  So what exactly does that have to do with exercise habits, and our mind? It means that when we exercise, we can improve memory, concentration, and thinking skills. Moderate exercise helps our body make the special kind of brain cells that store memory and then get information back when you need it. These cells are found in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that was discovered to be larger in people who exercise regularly. The hippocampus keeps you oriented. It helps you find what you're looking for--everything from your car keys to the roadmap to that highway exit that got by you the first time around.  If you've ever felt more alert during or after some aerobic exercise, it was most likely because your brain got another benefit.

Rehab professional and producer of Functional Fitness Brain Power DVD, Suzanne Andrews states, " we need to approach people living with dimentia differently and focus on helping people achieve to the best of their ability instead of focusing on their disability.   Although it's also best practice to start an anti dementia program as early as age 40,it's never too late to begin."

Suzanne Andrews, host of Functional Fitness on PBS TV and producer of Brain Power DVD  



instructs you with specially formulated cognition enhancing movements  designed to enhance the right side and left side of your brain and get your blood circulating quickly. The faster your heart pumps it, the faster it gets to your brain. That means both oxygen and glucose arrive right when you need them. Your brain is fueled up, so you get a little jolt.   Brain Power is, in fact, so effective in improving mental focus that it is often part of a treatment plan for people who have attention deficit disorder, dementia, memory loss and alzheimer's.  Brain Power DVD is most valuable to mental function because of its effect upon the frontal and pre-frontal lobes. These areas of the brain help you to solve problems, prioritize tasks, and react to situations quickly. By doing this 25 minute session, you can even protect your pre-frontal cells from threats like environmental toxins or injury. These findings are especially promising for elderly people striving to maintain their independent living skills, and to those affected by dementia.

What are your thoughts, concerns on memory loss?   Email us your question or comment in the box below.