Exercise for More Brain Power and Better Concentration

Hello everyone,

Apparently there was a glitch with our motivational letter this past Friday...it didn't seem to go through our system! So, I'm re-sending it today in hopes that you all receive it. Thanks for understanding - hope everyone has a fantastic Canada Day!

Dr. Doug

Exercise for More Brain Power and Better Concentration

All of us come up with excuses not to exercise... "No time”..."No energy”..."Too busy”..."It's boring”..."I've never exercised”. ..Or the most common, "I've exercised before but I never lose weight, so I stopped”.

I just returned from the 23rd Annual Obesity Conference at Harvard University in Boston. One of the speakers was Dr. John Ratey, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard's continuing Medical Education Program. (He has written several books.)

The title of one of his talks was "Exercise and the Brain.” If you ever have excuses not to exercise, then you might dwell on some of his observations. In a publication in 2006 they examined the I.Q. of morbidly obese children and found their I.Q. 25 points below the average (78 for the obese, 106 for the average). These children died at a young age and when they did autopsies they found brain changes (at age 12) similar to the changes we see in Alzheimer's disease of the elderly.

When you exercise, there is a rise in a hormone in the brain called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). The purpose of BDNF is to support the survival of existing neurons, and encourage growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses. It is active in the hippocampus, cortex, and basal forebrain so it is vital to learning, memory and higher thinking. BDNF is important for long-term memory. Exercise raises BDNF levels in the brain and in the muscles.

Dr. Ratey and others have found that significant increases in neurotransmitters can help depression, anxiety stress, ADHD, Addictions, Cognitive Decline and other brain diseases.

For instance they did a 4 month study comparing Zoloft (a common anti-depressant) and exercise. (Treadmill 4 times a week for 40 minutes.) They found that exercise had an equal benefit as Zoloft for depression.

Further, researchers have discovered the release of other hormones (IGF-2, FGF-2, VEGF, and ANP). These stand for Insulin like growth factor, Fibroblast growth factor, vascular endothelial factor and Atrial Naturetic Factor. All of these come from muscle contraction and travel to the brain; they have an effect on learning, brain cell health and growth. ANF comes from the heart and is an important hormone for stimulation of neuronal (brain cell) health and growth but more importantly it decreases anxiety... VEGF can stimulate new blood vessel growth. Formerly we felt that it acted primarily in the muscle, but now know it crosses the blood brain barrier to promote blood vessel growth in the brain also.

Lastly, exercise releases endorphins and endocannabinoids. These hormones will give us a sense of well being if we exercise regularly. (Why smoke marijuana when you can make it naturally?)

So, try not to think of exercise as a laborious task to ‘burn a certain amount of calories.' While you're exercising, you're improving brain functions (intelligence), reducing stress and promoting the release of factors that will lessen the risk of Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression and ADHD.

It is really important to get our bodies away from the couch and outdoors or to the gym. Dance, run, walk, swim, bike...whatever...just move. You may feel uncomfortable starting, but I guarantee you'll feel much better when you're finished.

Keep on trying. You can do it. Just don't ever give up.

Dr.Doug