All Exercise Benefits Your Brain
The stimulation to the brain, created by exercise directly effects the brain function in the several ways, for example, it reduces cortisol in the brain, the stress hormone, letting you think more clearly. ln addition, it produces dopamine, an active neurotransmitter that affects your movement control and your state of well being. Exercise creates new neurons in the motor cortex and cerebellum and generates new connections between different parts of the brain.
Any exercise that you do improves your brain in one sense or another. If possible, we recommend they try both new and more complex exercises. The more the brain perceives the exercise as complex and new, the more brain activity is stimulated.
The idea is to consistently create coordination and concentration through the execution of body exercises. Also recommended is both aerobic and strength training.
Any exercise benefits your brain. But SBSB exercises have been specially targeted to improve your brain at the same time that your body.
Super Body Super Brain (SBSB) is a body exercise program created by Michael Gonzalez Wallace, whose objective is to get you in shape and, at the same time, enhance your brain. It is based on the concept that surprise keeps the brain at peak efficiency.
Generally speaking, the stimulation that movement performs in the brain, affects brain function in the following terms:
- It reduces cortisol in the brain, the stress hormone, letting you think more clearly.
- It produces dopamine, an active neurotransmitter that affects your movement control and your state of well being.
- Exercise creates new neurons in the motor cortex and cerebellum.
- It generates new connections between different parts of the brain.
Summarizing, by doing exercise, you can actually get smarter.
Any exercise that you do improves your brain in one sense or another. That is why I recommend to my clients that they perform the exercise that suits them the better. However, if possible, I recommend them to try new and more complex exercises. The more the brain perceives the exercise as complex and new, the more brain activity is stimulated.
That is exactly the focus of the SBSB method: to create a continuous demand of balance, coordination and concentration through the execution of body exercises. Furthermore, Michael’s exercises include aerobic and strength-training moves to rev up your metabolism and make your muscles lean and strong.
The result is a set of exercises that if done for 10 minutes daily, lead you to a better body and a more intelligent brain.
If you want to know more about the complete exercise plan, you may prefer to read the book that explains the whole technique and contains a detailed weekly training plan.
Prevention News
Exercise And Mental Stimulation Prevent Dementia
Smart New Strategies To Ward Off Dementia
Do ’em every day, keep memory loss at bay
A daily walk, a good book, a game of checkers. They’re more than mere simple pleasures, finds new research: These everyday activities might be your best defense against age-related mental decline, according to two new studies presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
In one study, a team from Rush University Medical Center and the Illinois Institute of Technology recruited 152 older adults and measured the structural integrity of each participant’s brain. The researchers then examined how much time each senior spent on mentally stimulating activities, including reading, writing, attending the theater, or playing games like chess.
People who regularly partook in the stimulating activities showed healthier densities of “white matter”-the parts of the brain that transmit information-than those who didn’t. In other words: if you don’t use it, you lose it, says study author Konstantinos Arfanakis, PhD, with the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center, though he adds that it’s difficult to speculate the precise brain mechanisms responsible for the connection. (Want to use your noggin right now?
In a separate study, a UCLA team recruited nearly 900 older adults and measured the volume of gray matter-the part of the brain that manages muscle control, memory, speech, and senses-of each participant. The most active men and women were significantly more likely to have healthy volumes of gray matter, according to study author Cyrus Raji, MD, PhD, a radiology resident at UCLA. They were also more likely to have dodged dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other forms of age-related mental decline.
In fact, those who burned more than 3,000 calories per week during the 20 year study span retained 5% more gray matter than their sedentary peers, which Raji describes as a “tremendous” difference. Why? Exercise increases blood flow, delivering oxygen and glucose to the brain while simultaneously reducing the build-up of harmful plaques, he explains.
So what’s the formula for optimal brain health? Reading a newspaper or book for an hour, writing a letter, attending a play, sitting down for a game of chess or checkers-Arfanakis recommends at least two of these activities every day.
And when it comes to exercise, almost any type of physical activity will do the trick, Raji says. Swimming, biking, hiking, dancing-even mowing the lawn-will help ward of dementia.
Neuroplasticity: how the brain is capable of change
Scientists have historically believed that once a person reaches adulthood, their cognitive abilities are immutable. But beginning in the early twentieth century, that theory has been contested by evidence suggesting that the brain’s abilities are in fact malleable and plastic. According to this principle of neuroplasticity, the brain is constantly changing in response to various experiences. New behaviors, new learnings, and even environmental changes or physical injuries may all stimulate the brain to create new neural pathways or reorganize existing ones, fundamentally altering how information is processed.
The information provided is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice or a substitute for professional health care. You should consult an appropriate health care professional for your specific needs and to determine whether making a lifestyle change or decision based on this information is appropriate for you.
