Exercise to improve your memory!

Exercise can improve your quality of life
Researchers have found a correlation between fitness and brain function in children approximately 9 to 10 years: Those who are more fit tend to have larger hippocampus and perform better on a memory test than less fit peers.

The study, which used MRI to measure the relative size of specific brain structures in 49 samples of children, published in the journal «Brain Research».

"This is the first study to date which have used MRI to examine conditions for the brain differences between children who are trained and children that are not", said psychology professor from the University of Illinois and Director of the Beckman Institute, Art Kramer, who led the study with doctoral student Laura Chaddock and professor of Kinesiology and Health Charles Hillman.

The study focused on the hippocampus, a structure deep in the brain, because it is known is a location important for the ability of learning and memory. Previous studies in older adults and in animals have shown that exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus.

A larger hippocampus is associated with improvement in various cognitive functions.

"In animal studies, exercise has been shown to affect specifically the hippocampus, a significant increase in growth of new neurons and cell survival, enhances memory and learning and increases the molecules involved in brain plasticity," says Professor Chaddock.

So rather than relying on reports from second-hand physical activity levels of children, the researchers measured how effectively they used oxygen while running on a treadmill.

"This is the gold standard measure of fitness," says Chaddock.

"Physical fitness for already trained children were much more effective than the less trained and experienced in the use of oxygen," said Kramer.

When analyzed data of MRI, the researchers found that physically trained children tended to have larger hippocampal volumes - approximately 12% greater than the total size of the brain.

Also these children performed better on memory tests - showed a greater ability to remember and integrate various types of information - from less fit peers.

"Fitter children had higher performance in memory, with larger size of the hippocampus, compared to less trained and experienced," says Chaddock.

"The new findings suggest that interventions to increases in childhood physical activity can have significant effects on brain development," said Kramer.

"So we confirmed that the effect of environmental factors and socioeconomic status have an impact on brain development," said research team as a general conclusion.

So even if you inherit some "bad" genes from your parents with appropriate intervention from the environment in which you grow in your lifetime, you are able to greatly improve the quality of your life!

What is the appropriate type of exercise for you

For whatever reason you decide to exercise, or to obtain a body of beautiful lines, either for your good health, or to lose weight or to increase your athletic performance, it is important to choose the right type of exercise for you.

Only then can achieve your goal, because the benefits of exercise are achieved only through systematic and long-term engagement with it. Here we will try to focus on the basic factors that will help select the right type of exercise for you:

Choose a type of exercise that you enjoy so that you do not get bored but stimulates your daily interest.

Select more than one type of exercise. By then the same type of exercise is not only boring, but might lead to stagnation or increase your risk of injury. There are different types of exercise for strength workout (exercises with dumbbells), resistance (spinning) and elasticity (pilates-yoga). There are also types of exercise indoors (gym) or outdoors (track).

Differentiate the intensity of your exercise. An intense day of exercise, it may be wise to follow a more benign. The novice athlete following lower intensities than the more advanced and less frequently during the week. So does the eldest.

Choose a type of exercise that is inexpensive and easily approachable. The walking, jogging on the road, cycling, swimming, swimming in the summer and dance are some such activities.

Do some of your daily activities part of your exercise program, especially if you do not have the time needed to do something else. If the distance to allow, go walking or cycling to work, use the stairs instead of the elevator, pull the dog for a walk or do intense housework.

Choose types of exercise that does not depend on good weather, so you do not have an excuse to avoid exercise. For example squash, swimming in indoor pool, gym.

Enjoy team sports or group lessons at the gym, if you believe that this will increase your interest in exercise. The competition and the social approach of exercise make people try harder.

Choose a type of exercise depending on the health problems that might face. If you are hypertensive or diabetic, do aerobic exercise. If you have back pain make appropriate strengthening exercises (abs - dorsal), if you have asthma, do not swim in the pool, if you have atrophy, prefer exercises with resistance, etc.

Choose a personal trainer, if you think that your knowledge on the subject is incomplete for your particular goals. A qualified trainer will design for you in your personal exercise plan, will encourage and will assist in the proper execution.

Finally, we must stress that anyone type of exercise you choose, and any strategy you follow, to stay committed to your goals should remember to move forward slowly and gradually.

Do not push yourself too much and do not rush. The benefits of exercise come in the weeks, months and years rather than one day to another.