Brain on a Treadmill

I've been reading Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, by Daniel Amen.  Amen gives you a different perspective on taking care of yourself.  Instead of thinking about doing things that are good for your body, think about lifestyle changes that are good for your brain.

Why focus on brain health?  What's good for the body is often also good for the brain:  exercise, fruits and veggies, stress reduction.  But Amen says you might put a higher priority on some actions when your goal is brain health instead of overall body health.

A good example is exercise.  Amen writes that aerobic exercise has been shown to encourage the growth of new brain cells by pumping more blood to the brain.  Hence, my "brain on a treadmill" image.

Amen also cites research that resistance training may prevent cognitive decline in older adults.

You don't need to be graceful to walk or run on a treadmill.  But you do need to be coordinated to dance.  Dr. Amen claims that brain scans show that exercises requiring coordination activate the cerebellum which "enhances thinking, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed".  This may make these aerobic exercises even better for the brain that running on a treadmill because more of the brain gets a "work out".

Dr. Amen's favorite brain exercise of all is Ping-Pong.  Table tennis is an aerobic exercise.  Like dancing, it also requires coordination.  But, more than dancing, due to the need for strategy, it engages the prefontal cortex--the area of the brain most responsible for logic.  It may be one of the best available whole brain workouts.