exercise & ageing


BRAIN-BODY CONNECTION


Terry Eckmann, PhD, explores the impact of


exercise on the ageing brain A


geing and brain health is a topic of great interest as the older population continues to grow. In 1900, average life


expectancy was approximately 47 years, while today’s life expectancy is roughly 78. It’s estimated that women who now reach the age of 65 will have an average life expectancy of almost 85, while men who make it to 65 can expect to live to 82. Longer life expectancy brings with it the need to maintain a healthy body and brain as the foundation for leading the fullest, most productive life possible. Neuroscientists are gaining valuable


information about the brain-body connection. In fact, we have learned more about the brain in the past 10 years than we did in the previous century. Innovative new imaging techniques allow researchers to study the workings of the human brain in action, which has opened a vast frontier of knowledge on cognition,


memory


and learning throughout life. What neuro-


scientists have discovered in the past fi ve years


alone paints


a riveting picture of the biological


relationship between the body and the brain. The message is loud and


We’ve learned more about the brain in the past 10 years than we did in the previous century


46 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


clear: what is good for the body is also good for the brain. The ‘use it or lose it’ principle refers to brain health as well as to muscle and cardiovascular fi tness, with exercise now viewed as one of the most important predictors of brain health throughout a person’s life span. Neuroscientists have shown that the


brain stays ‘plastic’, or changeable, in later life. Neurons (nerve cells) should remain alive and be able to maintain and form new connections and networks in response to learning. What this means is that, just as with muscle and cardiovascular health, the brain is able to change in response to exercise and other positive lifestyle choices at the age of nine months or 90 years. To begin to see how exercise can


positively impact brain functioning throughout the ageing process, it helps to have an understanding of the brain and how it works.


ABOUT THE BRAIN There is no greater or more complex system than the human brain. This amazing connection of neurons weighs approximately 3–4lbs and is responsible for all of our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. About the size of two fists together with knuckles touching, the brain accounts for nearly 2 per cent of the body’s weight, yet consumes around 20 per cent of its oxygen and 20 per cent of its glucose. Itself comprised of 78 per cent water, it also needs around eight to 12 glasses of water a day and around 8 gallons of blood an hour for optimal functioning. The brain has about 100 billion


neurons that can connect many times to form synaptic connections. Each neuron has an electrical chemical response, initially fi red from the nucleus and then carried down the axon – the long arm of the neuron that carries electricity and chemicals to communicate with another nerve cell. At the end of the axon, the


chemicals jump across a space called the synapse and lock into the neuron’s dendritic receptors. Dendrites are the fi nger-like projections of the neuron.


april 2012 © cybertrek 2012


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