I go to therapy to manage my depression. I don't have a severe case, but it's bad enough that it affects my productivity at times. Once a year or so I'll have a bout where I am almost completely unable to function.
The tools I use to manage depression are (wait for it) diet, exercise and prayer (or meditation, if you want to keep it secular).
Exercise is particularly useful. Depression affects the mind, so it's difficult to be self-aware about it. But I've found that when I start to have those thoughts of hopelessness, going out and running 1-3 miles at a pace that pushes my physical limits (I use a Nike Sportwatch for measurements) eradicates my depression.
On a semi-daily basis, 30 minutes of prayer, 30 minutes exercise and at least one meal with ~90g of raw spinach seems to do the trick for me.
I don't have any difficulties myself with being self-aware about it at all, on the contrary. The major difficulty for me is using that knowledge to do something with it. Not sure what is worse: being depressed, or being depressed and knowing that you are and realizing all your thoughts are going downwards into the wrong spiral and not being able to do shit about it. Well, except hard exercise or meditation or long walks etc, but pure mindcontrol doesn't work :]
This is actually a fairly old idea and hinges on the role of leg muscles in general circulation and brain irrigation. I don't have the other papers on hand, but I recall there being studies relating sitting time with cognitive performance, the idea being that there's a bit of hypoxia associated with immobility.
Edit: An anecdote which I think will resonate with many. Very often I start getting drowsy in front of my computer and decide to get a cup of coffee. By the time I make it to the coffee machine, I'm no longer drowsy ...
Its also humorous to note that the in many schools of Chinese Yoga (Qi-Gong) and Tai Chi, the first pose given is a horse stance. Where you simply stand and relax into the bone structure of your body, then continue for hours on end, (for sometimes many years with this single pose depending on the student).
Just started to read the book "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School".
It basically starts with this "For starters, we are not used to sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out, walking as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves that experience, especially in sedentary populations like our own. That’s why exercise boosts brain power (Brain Rule #1) in such populations. Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem-solving tasks. I am convinced that integrating exercise into our eight hours at work or school would only be normal."
> Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem-solving tasks
I'm pretty sure the cause/effect is reversed here. It's more likely that people who are smart and have better focus/are less impulsive are more likely to take care of their health and exercise.
Anecdotal confirmation: Bill Gates, who is widely believed to have a very healthy brain, in more youthful years used to perform silly jumping feats, like jumping out of garbage cans.
Unfortunately, the abstract says nothing about how "leg power" is measured or what exercise regimens were used.
Lifting and sprinting will utilize different fibers (and fuels) than cardio.
I'd also want to see how they corrected for other effects, e.g. sleep. I sleep a lot faster and better a couple of hours after lifting, and that will have other benefits like hGH release.
Or just an overblown observation that smart people do more exercise. Similar to the massive bullshitstorm over the observation that people who are healthy sit less.
You can build aerobic power (at least to some extent) using anaerobic exercise like sprints / intervals. I would assume a combination of aerobic & anaerobic exercise is probably the healthiest because that way all energy pathways and muscle fibres get activated.
I always think it's crazy to expect humans to function properly without exercise. We see the problems in all other animals when they become sedentary below the level that they would historically be expected to do. Yet somehow some people seem to think we are an exception to this rule.
Why so? Surely, if the correlation is explicitly with leg power rather than endurance or general fitness, then anaerobic exercise (squats, deadlifts, lunges, leg-presses, as well as running/bike sprints etc) would be the a better driver for building that power rather than aerobic exercise?
Certain types of physical exercise have been shown to markedly (threefold) increase BDNF synthesis in the human brain, a phenomenon which is partly responsible for exercise-induced neurogenesis and improvements in cognitive function
People who regularly participate in aerobic exercise have greater scores on neuropsychological function and performance tests. Examples of aerobic exercise that produce these changes are running, jogging, brisk walking, swimming, and cycling. Exercise intensity and duration are positively correlated with the release of neurotrophic factors and the magnitude of nearly all forms of exercise-induced behavioral and neural plasticity; consequently, more pronounced improvements in measures of neuropsychological performance are observed in endurance athletes as compared with recreational athletes or sedentary individuals. Aerobic exercise is also a potent long-term antidepressant and a short-term euphoriant; consequently, consistent exercise has also been shown to produce general improvements in mood and self-esteem in all individuals.
There is probably a correlation between overall health -> leg strength & overall health => brain health / power. Not as revolutionary as I would like it to be.
What I'd like to know is how this boils down wrt work.
If an increase in mental ability represent a greater work-done-per hour; But the cost is time spent exercising -> less time working (maybe somewhat compensated for other positive non-work benefits), Then what would be the perfect amount of exercise to boost productivity?
i.e. would an hour spent exercising pay for itself in productivity boost?
The whole causation / correlation thing is a big part of this, I think. Many will likely read this and think that there's brain power in your legs, when in fact it's most likely saying that leg health -> physical activity in general -> brain health.
I think the writing about the study should be more clear about this, as I'm sure the original work is.
Leg strength was tested by "Leg Extensor Power Rig," a custom-built instrument in one of these medical school labs (Nottingham Med School). It's important to remember that for all of these strength tests on average citizens you want an exercise that doesn't require coaching or good form, so no squats, sadly....
I wonder if this would be yet another advantage of using stand-up desks, which are now quite well-known to be stellar for cardiovascular health, but if they also improve leg muscles, could be a boost to one's thinking power? After a day of standing up at a desk, my legs are super tired, so obviously there is serious muscle development going on there.
This is an appealing result. I like exercise and I want to think it's doing good things for my brain, but as with all studies on the mind-body link, it's going to take a great deal more evidence to make it convincing. It's especially premature to conclude anything about exercising the legs in particular.
The study controls for genetics and upbringing. So somewhere among food, fitness, and the entire rest of the world is a contributor to brain health. How helpful is that?
[+] [-] padobson|10 years ago|reply
The tools I use to manage depression are (wait for it) diet, exercise and prayer (or meditation, if you want to keep it secular).
Exercise is particularly useful. Depression affects the mind, so it's difficult to be self-aware about it. But I've found that when I start to have those thoughts of hopelessness, going out and running 1-3 miles at a pace that pushes my physical limits (I use a Nike Sportwatch for measurements) eradicates my depression.
On a semi-daily basis, 30 minutes of prayer, 30 minutes exercise and at least one meal with ~90g of raw spinach seems to do the trick for me.
[+] [-] andor|10 years ago|reply
https://thomasmcgregor.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/cure-depress...
[+] [-] stinos|10 years ago|reply
I don't have any difficulties myself with being self-aware about it at all, on the contrary. The major difficulty for me is using that knowledge to do something with it. Not sure what is worse: being depressed, or being depressed and knowing that you are and realizing all your thoughts are going downwards into the wrong spiral and not being able to do shit about it. Well, except hard exercise or meditation or long walks etc, but pure mindcontrol doesn't work :]
[+] [-] samstave|10 years ago|reply
I haven't been doing either recently, and my depression is really bad right now.
I was biking a lot, until my bike was stolen recently. That added to my depression...
But I walk an average of four miles a day, and take average of 10,000 steps a day and climb an average of ten flights of stairs a day.
My legs are still incredibly strong - but I need to do more about my depression. The last few weeks have been as much as I can take.
[+] [-] amelius|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Axsuul|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] T-zex|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] omginternets|10 years ago|reply
Edit: An anecdote which I think will resonate with many. Very often I start getting drowsy in front of my computer and decide to get a cup of coffee. By the time I make it to the coffee machine, I'm no longer drowsy ...
[+] [-] abledon|10 years ago|reply
Its also humorous to note that the in many schools of Chinese Yoga (Qi-Gong) and Tai Chi, the first pose given is a horse stance. Where you simply stand and relax into the bone structure of your body, then continue for hours on end, (for sometimes many years with this single pose depending on the student).
[+] [-] shas3|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] esseti|10 years ago|reply
It basically starts with this "For starters, we are not used to sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out, walking as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves that experience, especially in sedentary populations like our own. That’s why exercise boosts brain power (Brain Rule #1) in such populations. Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem-solving tasks. I am convinced that integrating exercise into our eight hours at work or school would only be normal."
[+] [-] tomp|10 years ago|reply
I'm pretty sure the cause/effect is reversed here. It's more likely that people who are smart and have better focus/are less impulsive are more likely to take care of their health and exercise.
[+] [-] LoSboccacc|10 years ago|reply
now, school scores aren't comparable, but I guess researchers can figure out a metric for brain fitness.
[+] [-] cronjobber|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gtpasqual|10 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TCxE0bWQeQ
[+] [-] jinst8gmi|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] percept|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] codebolt|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DevX101|10 years ago|reply
It's possible this study is a proxy for the common health advice of 'just do more cardio'
[+] [-] hyperchase|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DrScump|10 years ago|reply
Lifting and sprinting will utilize different fibers (and fuels) than cardio.
I'd also want to see how they corrected for other effects, e.g. sleep. I sleep a lot faster and better a couple of hours after lifting, and that will have other benefits like hGH release.
[+] [-] OldSchoolJohnny|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pessimizer|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xendo|10 years ago|reply
"muscle fitness (measured by leg power)" is correlated with cognitive ageing.
[+] [-] mapleoin|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] enraged_camel|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] datashovel|10 years ago|reply
My hunch, given my distant past life as an athlete, is that the correlation is with aerobic exercise and not anaerobic.
[+] [-] SebKba|10 years ago|reply
I always think it's crazy to expect humans to function properly without exercise. We see the problems in all other animals when they become sedentary below the level that they would historically be expected to do. Yet somehow some people seem to think we are an exception to this rule.
[+] [-] darkr|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] staunch|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] barry-cotter|10 years ago|reply
Certain types of physical exercise have been shown to markedly (threefold) increase BDNF synthesis in the human brain, a phenomenon which is partly responsible for exercise-induced neurogenesis and improvements in cognitive function
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiological_effects_of_phy...
People who regularly participate in aerobic exercise have greater scores on neuropsychological function and performance tests. Examples of aerobic exercise that produce these changes are running, jogging, brisk walking, swimming, and cycling. Exercise intensity and duration are positively correlated with the release of neurotrophic factors and the magnitude of nearly all forms of exercise-induced behavioral and neural plasticity; consequently, more pronounced improvements in measures of neuropsychological performance are observed in endurance athletes as compared with recreational athletes or sedentary individuals. Aerobic exercise is also a potent long-term antidepressant and a short-term euphoriant; consequently, consistent exercise has also been shown to produce general improvements in mood and self-esteem in all individuals.
[+] [-] shabbaa|10 years ago|reply
Although being at the lower end of the body might be important in maintaining goid circulation.
[+] [-] SebKba|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Chris2048|10 years ago|reply
If an increase in mental ability represent a greater work-done-per hour; But the cost is time spent exercising -> less time working (maybe somewhat compensated for other positive non-work benefits), Then what would be the perfect amount of exercise to boost productivity?
i.e. would an hour spent exercising pay for itself in productivity boost?
[+] [-] danielrm26|10 years ago|reply
I think the writing about the study should be more clear about this, as I'm sure the original work is.
[+] [-] kaitai|10 years ago|reply
Leg strength was tested by "Leg Extensor Power Rig," a custom-built instrument in one of these medical school labs (Nottingham Med School). It's important to remember that for all of these strength tests on average citizens you want an exercise that doesn't require coaching or good form, so no squats, sadly....
[+] [-] DrScump|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hellofunk|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ALee|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sevensor|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cheriot|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] davidw|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] askafriend|10 years ago|reply