by Maria Teresa L. Ungson
RUN run run! Running may do more than improve your cardiovascular fitness and overall physique. It might actually make you smarter.
Scientists reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences say that running has a profound impact on the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Adult mice that voluntarily used running wheels increased their number of brain cells and performed better at spatial learning tests than non-exercising mice, they discovered.
Spatial learning refers to the ability to navigate through or discriminate between the unfamiliar — such as telling the difference between two patterns, or finding your way around a new city. Spatial memory refers to how you remember the location or layout of the objects in the space around you. You record spatial memories after processing key sensory information, such as what you see and hear. Animals use spatial memory to remember where their food bowl is located. Mice, for example, learn this by scrambling through a maze to find the food at the end.
In the latest spatial learning experiment, researchers learned that the running mice were better able to tell the difference between the locations of two adjacent identical stimuli. This ability was closely linked to an increase in new brain cell growth in the hippocampus. Ongoing mice experiments have repeatedly shown that running boosts the number of new brain cells in this area. Until the late 1990s, neuroscientists believed that we did not grow new brain cells after birth.
Today, mounting evidence continues to reveal that exercise triggers significant physiological and structural changes in the brain that are beneficial to cognitive function.
There’s no denying it! Exercise is not only good for our body and general health but it also boosts our brain power! Can you believe that we can still grow new brain cells by just merely running or exercising?! Exercise together with a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle is a productive and great way to prolong our life! That means more time with our God, our loved ones, more happy moments, more bright ideas, more strength to see world and to share our time and talents with others! There is so much more we can contribute to the world and in this lifetime. So, let’s keep fit and healthy! Let’s keep positive and hopeful always! Keep smiling!
