which indicated to me that ~1000Cal/week expended in a vigorous fashion should be what I shoot for. This means that stuff that elevates post exercise oxygen consumption like resistance training and interval training for cardio are great bangs for your buck. This jives well with other research on the health benefits of these activities. I'm currently hitting the threshold with 2 days/wk of HIIT and resistance training each.
Remember that the human body is adapted to frequent physical exercise. So the story would really be more accurate to say that lack of exercise impairs brain function due to less release of irisin.
Perhaps a small difference in wording, but I think the change in perspective is important.
Nearly everything about human physiology can be thought about what would have worked for hunter-gathers. We're specialised in some areas, most of which doesn't require a constant practise (e.g. a 60 year old can start training for a marathon). But the one of the basics of that life was daily exercise, it's a shame it appears avoidable to us now.
It's why I started exercising about 18 months ago, because I realized my ability to concentrate had faded as my fitness had decreased. I couldn't stand it any more and had to fix it.
The experiments were conducted on mice so probably have little applicability to humans. For what it's worth, the experiment used mice housed in cages with access to a running wheel for 30 days of voluntary excessive. The control group did not have running wheels.
Can't comment on this one in particular, but the threshold most often set forth for this or that health benefit from exercise is 30 minutes of elevated heart rate a day, aka 3-5 hours a week.
Spark details how high-intensity cardio (like sprints or interval training) put your brain chemicals in balance in part by generating BDNF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-derived_neurotrophic_fact...), which as Ratey describes, it's like "Miracle-gro" for the brain.
Last year my stress levels were getting out of control from working too much. At the time I was running at least two miles every day so it's not like I wasn't exercising. But then one day I changed from running a couple miles to running 50-yard sprints, as fast and as hard as I could push myself. The first day I only ran four sprints, but I felt euphoric the rest of the day -- the best I had felt in years. So I tried it again a couple days later, and sure enough it worked again -- I felt amazing.
So then I had to find out why this worked -- why a few sprints were so much more effective than running several miles. I started Googling and eventually found Ratey's book -- it explains the entire biochemical process of what's going on and why sprinting works.
It's an eye-opening read. Each chapter covers how high-intensity cardio affects things like stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD. I have ADHD but haven't taken anything for it in years (since I was in college), and I can attest that sprints not only fixed by stress levels, but my ADHD symptoms were almost non existent.
Here's a key point that Ratey makes throughout the book that completely changed my perspective on things -- he says that instead of thinking of exercise as something you should do to look good and build a healthy body, you should instead think of exercise as the key to building a healthy brain:
"We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why. We assume it’s because we’re burning off stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best" (http://www.sparkinglife.org).
In the book's introduction he goes on to say, "Building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise is to build and condition the brain."
In fact the brain exercise routine he recommends is similar to a weight workout routine, in that you have to push yourself hard one day, and then take a day off to let your brain recover, just like in weight training. Another key is when you sprint, always put everything you have into it. Run as fast and as hard as you can so you are constantly pushing your body and your brain past their limitations -- this is the key to growth.
A bit pedantic, but I'd like to defend endurance running - comparing 2 mile runs to really pushing yourself with HIIT is unfair. At 5mph (a slow pace) that's only 24 minutes, which is usually not enough time to even experience a runner's high and about when you get settled into a rhythm as a distance runner.
If you only have 30 minutes you're indisputably better off sprinting.
This has been absolutely true for me. Both lifting, olympic style compound lifts and cardio have made a measurable difference in my ability to concentrate and problem solve.
I've also measured a marked increase in retention when memorizing GRE words while jogging over memorizing them while sitting. That experiment inspired me to put together this website: http://rungre.com (shameless yet hopefully relevant plug)
Has anyone else tried to combine studying and exercise?
One of my favorite quotes from growing up was from my martial arts class, we had this trainer who would come over a couple of times a year from Israel - and during one session where we were doing particularly interesting movement, he said: "These movements open up dormant brain circuitry" -- it was a statement that always stood out to me.
I'm actually about to shift my workflow in a major way to include more movement. Already use an adjustable desk, standing in the morning and sitting in the evening. And when I'm on calls, I always use a headset and walk-n-talk.
This is very far from exercise but it might feel to you as exercise and an increase of movement because your perspective on the physical abilities of the average human is skewed. One astonishing thing I've learned while becoming more active is what a normal body is really capable of without going into the realm of professional athletes. Running a marathon with a slow pace is really feasible. So is lugging a 15-20kg backpack for 35-40km per day for about a month or rock climbing/bouldering in the lower difficulties. To achieve either of it you wont need a very hard exercise regimen either, rather persistence.
Please don't take this as personal criticism. I just find it important to point out that there is a huge gap between what people unfamiliar with sport perceive as achievements and what actually are achievements. Just put in 4 hours of running and 4 hours of climbing per week and you will see for yourself.
Edit: Or I just failed to see the sarcasm in your post. Entirely possible :)
Distance runner here. This may may not seem medically sound, but I have this theory that mental exhaustion and physical exhaustion are inversely proportional to an extent.
[+] [-] nazgulnarsil|12 years ago|reply
which indicated to me that ~1000Cal/week expended in a vigorous fashion should be what I shoot for. This means that stuff that elevates post exercise oxygen consumption like resistance training and interval training for cardio are great bangs for your buck. This jives well with other research on the health benefits of these activities. I'm currently hitting the threshold with 2 days/wk of HIIT and resistance training each.
[+] [-] bo1024|12 years ago|reply
Perhaps a small difference in wording, but I think the change in perspective is important.
[+] [-] tobylane|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] waterlesscloud|12 years ago|reply
It's why I started exercising about 18 months ago, because I realized my ability to concentrate had faded as my fitness had decreased. I couldn't stand it any more and had to fix it.
It's made a huge difference.
[+] [-] flanbiscuit|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] auctiontheory|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] guelo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sliverstorm|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] espeed|12 years ago|reply
Spark details how high-intensity cardio (like sprints or interval training) put your brain chemicals in balance in part by generating BDNF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-derived_neurotrophic_fact...), which as Ratey describes, it's like "Miracle-gro" for the brain.
Last year my stress levels were getting out of control from working too much. At the time I was running at least two miles every day so it's not like I wasn't exercising. But then one day I changed from running a couple miles to running 50-yard sprints, as fast and as hard as I could push myself. The first day I only ran four sprints, but I felt euphoric the rest of the day -- the best I had felt in years. So I tried it again a couple days later, and sure enough it worked again -- I felt amazing.
So then I had to find out why this worked -- why a few sprints were so much more effective than running several miles. I started Googling and eventually found Ratey's book -- it explains the entire biochemical process of what's going on and why sprinting works.
It's an eye-opening read. Each chapter covers how high-intensity cardio affects things like stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD. I have ADHD but haven't taken anything for it in years (since I was in college), and I can attest that sprints not only fixed by stress levels, but my ADHD symptoms were almost non existent.
Here's a key point that Ratey makes throughout the book that completely changed my perspective on things -- he says that instead of thinking of exercise as something you should do to look good and build a healthy body, you should instead think of exercise as the key to building a healthy brain: "We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why. We assume it’s because we’re burning off stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best" (http://www.sparkinglife.org).
In the book's introduction he goes on to say, "Building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise is to build and condition the brain."
In fact the brain exercise routine he recommends is similar to a weight workout routine, in that you have to push yourself hard one day, and then take a day off to let your brain recover, just like in weight training. Another key is when you sprint, always put everything you have into it. Run as fast and as hard as you can so you are constantly pushing your body and your brain past their limitations -- this is the key to growth.
Reposted from: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5323019
[+] [-] socillion|12 years ago|reply
If you only have 30 minutes you're indisputably better off sprinting.
[+] [-] sethlesky|12 years ago|reply
I've also measured a marked increase in retention when memorizing GRE words while jogging over memorizing them while sitting. That experiment inspired me to put together this website: http://rungre.com (shameless yet hopefully relevant plug)
Has anyone else tried to combine studying and exercise?
[+] [-] samstave|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zenmaker|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pmr_|12 years ago|reply
Please don't take this as personal criticism. I just find it important to point out that there is a huge gap between what people unfamiliar with sport perceive as achievements and what actually are achievements. Just put in 4 hours of running and 4 hours of climbing per week and you will see for yourself.
Edit: Or I just failed to see the sarcasm in your post. Entirely possible :)
[+] [-] sliverstorm|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] toomuchtodo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nephorider|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dhimes|12 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_sana_in_corpore_sano
[+] [-] jalayir|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] deviltry|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]