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September 2008 - Back to School |
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homepage > Wellness Notes
Wellness Notes:
Healthy Living, Healthy Brain
Healthy living helps you feel better and stay sharp so you can get more done. That’s true throughout our adult lives and, it seems, also for kids. A new study has found that healthy living can help them perform better in school.
A+ in Nutrition
Who’s really smarter than a 5th grader? According to University of Alberta researchers, a 5th grader who eats better, that’s who!
After surveying 5,200 5th graders and their parents, they found that kids who eat better – more fruits and vegetables, fewer fats, etc. – bring home better grades.
This finding was true even after accounting for other factors, such as parents’ income level, sex and which school they attend. The results were published in the April 2008 edition of the Journal of School Health.
Phys. Ed. for All Ages
It’s not surprising that this particular aspect of healthy living seems to make you smarter. Earlier research on adults found that regular exercise also leads to greater mental acuity.
Columbia University researchers gave memory tests to sedentary young adults. Then the test-takers started to exercise, just four hours a week of stretching and cardio. Three months later, this same group, now fitter, scored better on memory tests.
This human study confirmed an earlier animal study, which showed that regular exercise actually boosts the production of brain cells in the area that controls memory. Both studies’ results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2007.
This is your brain on cardio.
Healthy living lays the groundwork for a lifetime of good health and clear thinking. Even as we age, cardiovascular fitness has also been linked to higher mental functioning.
A 2003 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society tracked seniors over six years with no intervention. Consistently, they found it was the fittest adults (as based on a treadmill exercise test) who best retained math, language and motor skills, as well as memory.
The reason for these results isn’t completely clear. But it may be that a healthier body pumps more oxygen-rich blood to the brain, keeping it alert and active. Whatever the reason, it is clear that a healthy body encourages a healthy mind.
© GlobalFit 2008
You should consult your physician before beginning any exercise or diet program. Wellness Notes articles are offered as introductions to basic concepts and are not comprehensive or necessarily applicable to a particular individual’s circumstances.
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