What Doctors Don’t Tell You Australia-NZ – July 22, 2019

FACEBOOK.COM/WDDTYAUNZ ISSUE 01 | AUG/SEP 2019 | WDDTY 57

HEALTHY LIVING

REFERENCES

1 J Int Med, 2011; 269: 107–117

2 J Physiol, 2003; 546: 299–305

3 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2003; 100: 2019–2022

4 Neuroscience 2012; 202, 252–266

5 J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2014; 69: 1109–16

6 Front Aging Neurosci, 2017; 9: 201

7 Hum Mov Sci, 2016; 47:70–80

8 Sci Rep, 2017; 7: 5661

C

ognitive processes
can be divided into
six areas: attention,
perception, memory,
language, learning
and higher reasoning.
These can occur both
simultaneously and
independently, but
they often intertwine to
orchestrate how we think, feel and move our
way through life.
But we can learn new skills or new ways
of thinking even more rapidly when we also
learn new movement patterns, whether a new
dance or another type of movement, which
will increase our cognitive fitness and the
longevity of our mental processes.
When you get moving, you increase
circulation, which in a sense exercises the
blood vessels themselves and helps to prevent
neurodegenerative conditions known to
create cognitive impairment.^1 Exercise also
helps to control blood sugar levels,^2 and
recent studies have shown that people with
impaired glucose tolerance and blood
sugar balance have deficits in the
hippocampus—a part of the brain
involved in forming and accessing
memories. It shrinks in volume as well
as function in this population.^3
It’s well known that parts of the
brain that are worked more tend to
grow more robust. As exercise increases
the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, it
directly improves circulation there as well as the
health of the blood-brain barrier, the system
that helps deliver nutrients to brain cells.
For this reason, aerobic exercise—running,
swimming, cycling—is the most beneficial
for basic brain health as you age, because as
it increases your heart rate, more blood and
oxygen are pumped to this most important
organ for survival.^4 Exercise gives you
increased mental acuity by sharpening your
ability to respond, focus on where your body
goes and take cues from the environment and
people around you.
Humans need a range of activities that
switch mental function from one task to
another, so that this mind–body connection
gets a full workout. Besides aerobic exercise,
it’s good to include activities with a problem-
solving element, such as housework,
gardening, building or DIY.
Maybe most important of all, the more
you can get out into nature, the more you
connect with the natural world, which helps
to lower stress hormones, and are challenged

to be responsive to the changing ground

underneath your feet. This helps to reduce

the psychosocial stress of modern living and

continual brain overwhelm, which can wear

down cognition.

The value of mindful exercise

Nature helps to bring you into the present

moment, a state of mind that can be replicated

with mindful practices. Any movement

or exercise with full consciousness of the

experience promotes cognitive health. Yoga

is one such mindful practice and has been

shown to have particular benefit for brain

function, as have tai chi and qigong.

In one study, 108 adults between 55 and

79 years of age were divided into two groups:

61 of them attended hatha yoga classes, and

the others met together for the same number

and length of sessions, but simply carried out

stretching and toning exercises, rather than the

focused attention that is part of yoga practice.

At the end of the eight-week study, the

yoga group performed tests of memory

recall more accurately and faster than before,

with increased working memory capacity,

which involves “continually updating and

manipulating information.” Their ability to

mentally change and adapt as they switched

tasks was also improved. In contrast, the non-

yoga group showed no significant change in

cognitive performance.^5

This difference between the groups was

not related to age, gender, income or other

demographic factors. Rather, the change

was attributed to the mindful attention of

this specific form of exercise, since hatha

yoga “requires focused effort in moving

through the poses, controlling the body and

breathing at a steady rate.”

As the study authors concluded, “It

is plausible that this focus on one’s body

and mind during yoga practice may have

generalized to situations outside of the yoga

classes, resulting in an improved ability to

focus and sustain attention.”

This is consistent with evidence from

imaging studies showing that the brains of

elderly female yoga practitioners had greater

cortical thickness (meaning more brain cells

were present) in the left prefrontal cortex, an

area in the brain associated with cognitive

functions such as memory and attention.^6

Cross-lateral movement and balancing

As the two sides of the brain are responsible

for controlling opposite sides of the body, any

quadrupedal movement where your body

moves the opposite leg to arm at any given

time is a ‘cross-lateral’ movement—one that

encourages communication between the two

hemispheres of the brain. Research examining

quadrupedal movement in adults concluded,

“Performance of a novel, progressive and

challenging task, requiring the coordination

of all four limbs, has a beneficial impact on

cognitive flexibility.”^7

Switching movement types and direction

forward, backward and side-to-side requires

quick adjustments of the brain to process these

challenging signals, which in turn supports

memory, concentration and productivity.

Balance practice also helps to increase focus;

you need to stay aware of where your body is in

space as it continually rights itself back toward

the center of gravity.

Regular balancing practices have

been shown to improve memory and

spatial cognition, the sense of where and

when you are at any given moment.^8

This ‘presence’ only occurs when you

maintain attention with steady, fixed gaze

while breathing with ease.

This is one of the reasons why yoga

reduces stress hormones; to stay in such

positions for any length of time, you cannot

hold yourself tensely. It is only possible if

you learn to find ease within a strong and

challenging position.

In this way, you become more adaptable

in both body and mind as your body ceases

to register the practice as a stressful event.

Reducing the sympathetic nervous system’s

fight-or-flight response stops you from

reacting to change and instead increases

neuroplasticity, your ability to mentally

adapt and stay flexible with change. This is

a great recipe for maintaining and growing

cognitive function.

The following two sequences help cognitive

function in slightly different ways and can be

practiced alone or as one longer session.

Reducing the sympathetic nervous

system’s fight-or-flight response increases

your ability to mentally adapt and stay

flexible with change—a great recipe for

maintaining cognitive function