Skipping workouts: Bad for your brain

Health benefits of exercise disappear if you stop exercising for even one week finds recent research.

HEALTH & EXERCISE

Skipping workouts may be bad for your brain

The New York Times recently ran a story that may be important to for you if you exercise and work out (see here).

A new study has found that the benefits of exercise for brain health may disappear if you take a long break of a week or longer.

EXERCISE HELPS YOUR BRAIN

Exercise helps your brain. This is especially true for endurance exercise such as long distance running (see NY Times here).

Working out regularly can create "new neurons, blood vessels and synapses and greater overall volume in areas of the brain related to memory and higher-level thinking." (see NYTimes here) This can lead to better memories and problem solving ability (cognitive skills).  

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain even after exercise during the whole day. The blood flow carries oxygen and needed chemicals to brain cells and this is thought to improve the operation of the brain. This is the benefit that people get when they begin working out and exercising.

THE EXPERIMENT: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STOP EXERCISING?

Are the benefits to brain health from exercise permanent? How long do they last?

A study conducted by the department of kinesiology at the University of Maryland in College Park asked a group of older people who worked out regularly and were physically fit to stop exercising for a period of time in order to document what happen (see academic journal here).

The participants in the study were all competitive masters runners between the ages of 50 and 80. All had been running and racing for 15 years or more. All ran 35 miles per week or more. 

The idea is that the effect of stopping exercise, if any, will be greater for people who exercise seriously than for people who exercise casually. 

Before they stopped exercising, the athletes took a cognitive skills test and a brain MRI scan to track how much blood was flowing to the brain especially to the hippocampus which is essential for memory.

Then they were ordered to stop exercising and just sit around doing as little as possible physically.

After 10 days of this sedentary lifestyle they once again took the skills test and had an MRI scan.

Their scores on the cognitive skills test did not change but the blood flow to their brain did decrease.

Since blood flow to the brain from exercise produces health benefits, these health benefits would presumably disappear also.

SLOW & STEADY WINS THE RACE

Much like the moral of the story in the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady wins the race.

Regular exercise everyday or every few days beats out lots of binge exercise followed by long periods of no exercise.     

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/well/move/after-just-10-days-of-rest-brain-benefits-of-exercise-diminish.html

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