A friend and I were sitting at work today complaining about how we don't get enough exercise. This is probably a typical conversation among many of us out there but then I remembered a while back seeing a news report about how the President uses exercise as a way to stay mentally alert and possibly increase brain power. I have no idea whether or not this is true, but if it is, well never mind.
I admit it, I've become something of a couch potato often times blaming school work and whining that I don't have enough time. Yet at the same time I am always trying to keep my mind stimulated; I hate zoning out even when I'm relaxing. I study to learn, I read books to entertain myself, learn and stay alert and I like to write to practice my skills on paper, then go back later and read my material as kind of a gauge as to where I was at that time. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm playing music which has also been linked to increased intelligence. In other words, I'm all about brain power but I've become physically lazy since my senior year in college.
So perhaps one way I can motivate myself to get up in the morning and go jogging is by convincing myself that it may actually increase my ability to learn. As if I needed more reasons to exercise. MSNBC reports "with regular exercise, the body builds up its levels of BDNF, and the brain's nerve cells start to branch out, join together and communicate with each other in new ways"; BDNF is an acronym for chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which effects the brain's hippocampus and "seems to restore it (your brain) to a healthier, "younger" state" (Carmichael, 2007, p.2). The idea is that as we age our brains naturally deteriorate, but the chemical reactions caused by exercise can reverse this process extending and increasing memory and the ability to learn.
So it kind of makes sense that the whole mind, body and spirit approach to life which has been advocated by some for hundreds if not thousands of years is actually starting to be backed up by science just a little more. A deficiency in one area can hinder natural growth in another area reminding us once again that the key to a full life is balance. So next time you are exploring a way to raise your grades you may want to consider digging out your running shoes and going for a jog.
References
Carmichael,M. (2007 March 26). Stronger, faster smarter. MSNBC. Retrieved June 13, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17662246/site/newsweek/