I'm like most lifelong athletes, in that I had a period of finance-related severe depression when it was difficult to even get out of bed. However as this lifted I was again able to run to my workplaces.
Always boggles my mind how much pointless research is conducted.
Nothing new in this report -
As if we all don't know that exercise is good for you.
Next?
1
I'll be 80 soon and a few years ago my four year old Grandson looked at me very seriously and said, "Bobby, you are Very, Very, Very old." Somewhat shocked, I asked, "Why do you say that Jerry?" He responded, "Because you have grey hair and a great moustache and then you will die."
Well, that got my attention! I wasn't going to dye my hair but thought about what I could do to change his mind. I hadn't done Pull-ups in years but gave it a try and did two. When I showed him he said, "Cool!"
With that, I was on my way. I now do a good deal more reps, at times to the positive comments of strangers and it's all recorded on a small video camera that I'll give him in a year or two. It will be my Testament to him that you can't stop Father Time but you don't have to lie down and just give up.
He has absolutely no idea the very positive effect those few words have had on me - physically, emotionally and psychologically. As is often said, out of the mouths of babes coms pure, unvarnished truth and wisdom.
10
Exercise is a reward. My attitude is always buoyed after I go through a workout regimen. I feel better about myself invariably.
6
For fifty years or so, I was a runner, normally to excess, entering races and runs from 5K to 100K. I was also a bicyclist--on some occasions riding 30 miles to the next town to enter a run, and then riding home again. By my mid-60s, my hips declared enough running. The artificial hip didn't appreciate my tendency to always push a little farther, so I now refrain from running.
However, bicycling is much kinder on the legs. I ride nearly daily, normally to excess (for me). Last year--the year I turned 70--I put in 6000 miles. As we near the end of June of this year, I have already surpassed 3000, so I've remained consistent.
The thing is, I also like to write novels. I have found that when I ride a lot, I cannot write. I've written very little in the past eighteen months. I've tried. I just cannot seem to do both. I've considered the stress factor before as something that was preventing my brain from its creative desires, but it did not seem to be physical stress because running actually helped my writing output.
It occurs to me after reading this article that in most rides, there are places where traffic, narrow roads, and the occasional unpredictable driver cause me to be at constant alert. That stress, perhaps, inhibits my neuronal activity. This rat may need to make some adjustments in his grand experiment. I'm a hack writer anyway, so no biggie.
2
I've learned a lot about exercise and nutrition in the last two years since I started my fitness journey. Now that I work at a personal training studio, I see the benefits of exercise every day. People lose weight, get stronger and become healthier, but it's cool to think these benefits go deeper than appearances and physical health.
An article from CNN, "To improve your memory, exercise and sleep at the right time", also talks about a study that showed how exercise can improve memory. According to the article, the study found that participants who exercised four hours after learning something, had the most improvement of memory.
There seem to be endless benefits of exercise. Not only is it a good way to get healthy or to de-stress; it seems that exercise now improves memory!
4
If stress is the culprit then why can't mindfulness be used to achieve the same results? The effects of meditation have been reported in this publication to have observable anatomical effects. On second thought, I think teaching mice to meditate would be a challenge.
5
@Borat Smith
Meditation and mindfulness may not release the same chemicals as running.
In fact, the probability that running and meditation, defined by its highly sedentary state in most instances, is zero.
So, it is likely that exercise will greatly exceed meditation where memory maintenance is relevant.
2
A new steady flow of work seemed to perk up my recall ability more than regular strenuous exercise did. I continue to exercise of course, but I also continue take on additional work projects.
2
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO!
A healthy mind in a healthy body!
It’s an age-old advice that was good for the Ancient Romans, and it’s good enough for us modern-day couch-potato Americans.
There’s nothing new under the sun!
4
ORANDUM EST UT SIT MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO!
You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body!
The Roman poet Juvenal is the person who introduced the famous maxim “Mens Sana in Corpore Sano”, but it’s only part of a longer maxim as shown above.
The maxim is in Book I Satire X, a poem that satirizes men’s desires entitled “Wrong Desire is the Source of Suffering”. He mocks the idea that exercising the body is an end-in-itself, instead he recommends physical exercise as a means to a virtuous end.
To a Roman like Juvenal physical exercise fulfills only one of the 4 virtues, fortitude. There remains the fulfillment of the others: Justice, prudence & temperance. Once these are accomplished then a man has achieved a tranquil and virtuous life, Semita certe tranquillae per virtutem patet unica vitae.
7
Sure, I'd believe aerobic exercise would improve our memories, even without this study. Exercise increases blood flow to all parts of the body, builds and tones our muscles, and makes everything work a little better.
5
Have these studies shown any sign that those with Alzheimer's might be see memory gains?
I’m exercising to lose (loose?) weight and sleep better, but I’ve had a rough life and am mostly trying to forget thing. What say you?
It’s probably happened already,a gym rat who was successful had a dysfunctional family and when we talk I see blockages of people and events do to his
100%.
Surprisingly poor science writing for the NYT.
“Memory has long been considered a biological enigma, a medley of mental ephemera that has some basis in material existence.” Has some basis in material existence? Meaning some of our memories are stored in the “cloud”?
“Memories are coded into brain cells in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center.” Should read “Some memories”
2
@DB
Actually - the sentence you focused on is unclear because it is remarkably over-written. Seems someone forgot that simplicity and directness in language conveys information much more clearly than excess verbiage.
And your second complaint?
Usage of the word "some" intimates partial memory coding. Without that word, the sentence seems to imply all memories. Since I don't have the original research in front of me, I can't say which is correct.
Bottom line - this all comes under the heading of the semantics.
Fun - but basically irrelevant.
My first thought here was: Of Mice and Mormons.
1
I just forgot what I read. Time to do some pushups.
7
Why torture mice to establish the scientific validity of something that can be determined using human experiments? Wish this wasn't acceptable still.
6
Performing a brain biopsy to obtain a synaptic pathology is not ethical, and human subjects would not agree to this procedure as part of a study.
7
Not for nothing but rodents are not by nature sedentary animals. So to say that one group went about their normal lives while living in cages is well...lying. Rodents living in their natural environment cover a lot of ground everyday in order to survive. So the running mice were simply doing that but in an artificial environment. In a sense they were compelled to run...while the sedentary group were being forcefully made to live against their natural compulsions. Rodents do not pursue sedentary lifestyles. They have no such compulsions.
So in this sense, rodents are not good stand-ins for humans. Who do pursue sedentary lifestyles, leisure time, etc.
Studying exercise versus sedentary demands that we use humans as test subjects - because only humans seek to live in a steady state of non-activity.
What needs to be studied is how does that pursuit effect the human brain, and body. Moving from one of regular activity (pre and young adulthood thru mid-life) into one where less is a pursuit of more.
5
Why do we need to terrorize animals in studies like this? Can’t we just rely on studies of older people that are exercisers?
12
@Kevin Because the mice were sacked (sacrificed) and their brains sliced. I wish that someday, a digital clone of the mice could be made so they did not have to be killed.
I found that my psycho-analysis entirely freshed my memories going back to recollections in the uterus and of birth and of a variety of subsequent trauma that then needed what is called "working through." I also exercise regularly and feel that it keeps my 80+ year old memory quite sharp.
I'm a big believer in exercise, but how much is enough? What kind of exercise do you do? Would you mind sharing please?
Find the exercise you most enjoy and make it part of your regular schedule.
I walk when the weather is agreeable: when the weather is less agreeable, I do yoga (Rodney Yee -
DVD, Yoga in the AM), use 3 & 5 lb hand weights
(follow exercises from a Joyce Vedral book)
I was 75 in April and I love exercise and how it makes me feel.
1
In addition to synapses, are gap-junctions a part of anything? Neuron to neuron, glia to neuron, glia to glia?
As I approach 70, I can honestly say that my roughly 2000 miles a year on mostly a road bike and winter spinning indoors had not helped where short term memory is concerned. I'm assuming it's a combo of partly genetics and my age. While I feel great and mentally sharper after that ride is complete, I'm still trying to remember why came into this room and where I put my tablet to log my ride.
7
I am much younger the you, though nonetheless agree with point of daily exercise that's both cardio/strength training yet, its not a panacea for short term memory increases via the hypocammpus (sp?)... likely a combo of fish oil, POTENT anti-oxidants e.g. axanathamim (sp?) blue-green algae and eggs/sunny side up...this mix, irrespective of how hard/daily your age group works out, is a critical component...genetics do play TBD role, its like drinking lots of red wine due to its potent anti oxidant, reservotrol (sp?)...drinking more (protective benefits requires supplements or 2 gallons drunk daily!) doesn't guarantee blood pressure/cardio/etc. effects, its the TOTAL regimen plus LOW sugar, LOW carbs....if these two are "a lot" in anyone's diet...likely, then forget about the neuro-protective benefits of exercise from age 60+...
"The researchers were trying to simulate relatively chronic stress with the animals, somewhat like what most of us might feel with ongoing work pressures or other anxieties. Some of the runners were also restrained and stressed."
Poor little mice, tormented again for the benefit of wretched human beings.
8
Perhaps to get the stress level just right they can force the mice to attend a school where the teachers are armed.
14
Nothing wrong with appropriate exercise and a well-balanced diet. But who is Gretchen Reynolds, what are her qualifications for reporting on science-based research, and what is the professional the professional identification of Dr. Miller,other than having a "Ph.D.? Is she a biologist, physiologist, psychologist, whatever, and who are her research associates.
If what is good for rats is good for people, is the reverse also true? What "may" be maybe not as well. Enjoy.
8
What she is reporting has been observed and reported anecdotally in humans. Further, there is a variety of literature on research with humans who are cognitively declining or have entered dementia that is saying the same thing. The difference is that the human research is correlational, not causal. Ms. Reynolds is tracking causality.
2
She is reporting accurately. You can also find the original research if you need to.
1
@San ta - uh...what exactly would a political reporter need on their resume to report on politics? Would they have had to run for an office first? Raise money for a campaign?
I wonder...knowing the answer already...that You could Google the two parties you mention and discover their creds. As well as any mentioned studies.
1
a mouse running three miles a day? That would translate to an impossible amount for humans
6
I walk at a very brisk pace (faster then most) at least that much everyday...at work. I measured it with a pedometer. I spend more time moving then I do standing still,and I only sit on breaks. 15min in am, 1 hour lunch, and sometimes not at all if I run errands.
3miles is not all that much...12 laps around a 1/4 mile track...
You missed the point. The commenter meant relatively.....i.e., "translate into an impossible amount" considering the size differences of humans and mice.
3
I started exercising in my mid-fifties to become fit and lose weight. Soon after, I noticed my memory improving profoundly. Before I started exercising I was beginning to have symptoms of memory loss like walking into a room and forgetting why I had come there in the first place. Those symptoms disappeared, and I could also remember almost anything I wanted to, including names from my past 50 years ago . My balance also improved dramatically. I could stand on one leg to put on a sock. I have no doubt that exercise improves memory. And just because you're older, don't think it's part of the normal aging process to lose your memory or not be able to walk or run a marathon. It's not.
84
Physically, we are fluid electro-chemical systems. Melting fat releases substances held since the fat formed and are likely part of enhanced recall. Emotions, smells, drugs of the time may evoke. Healthy to keep active memory fully integrated. I have and use everyday a crank pencil sharpener my parents gave me for first grade. Still works. Mom and Dad, Miss. Lange still with me. Artifacts, pictures, precious falling-apart old books, music all help keep our full "self" intact and functional. Exercise too. Panoramic recall may keep bad experiences from overwhelming the landscape; fat release may be a medical issue sometimes. I think I will remember the mood and import of your engaging addition to GR's article.
3
Sasquatch from Montana, I would be really interested in hearing what kind of exercise you do, since you've had such great results.
2
Interesting.
Out of interest how much exercise were you doing?
3
If young and old alike, at school and work, spent more time doing physical exercise, I'm sure they would retain more, not to mention listen better and engage more effectively.
I still think that school gyms, community centers and religious facilities that have the space, should increase activities for all. Opening up those locations for dances, gym classes and competitions for the community at large, when they aren't being used, could benefit everyone and not just their memory.
37
A moderate amount of exercise is beneficial to the heart, brain, and other organs. But this type of research and the attention the Times and other national media give to it affects our culture and our minds. An attitude has taken hold that we should try to live as long as we can and to remain eternally young, smart, and attractive. Our fears of decline, decay, and death are mounting.
Who would trade the life of a Mozart, a George Gershwin, or a Martin Luther King, Jr. for a 99-year old jogger, who dines on fruits, vegetables, and non-fat yogurt?
16
For me it's not youth. My memory for names disappeared when I turned 48. So now I do whatever I can to maintain the memory I have.
4
I wouldn't put it as an "either or". If Mozart was jogging, we'd have even more beautiful music. Plus, most of us are not Mozarts but we have something to offer nonetheless.
26
I already know that I'm not Mozart, Gershwin, or Dr. King, Jr., so I will opt for the 99-year alternative. I know that advancing age leads to a many declines and that many elderly people are not happy with their circumstances or conditions, but many are happy enough. I'm still pretty far from 99 but I already jog and eat fruits, vegetables, and non-fat yogurt (when I don't drink non-fat kefir). Actually, there's a lot more to my life than would be suggested by that and I'm still doing some good in the world. So I'm hoping to keep going for as long as I can.
27
This is why it is so important that all children living in poverty (plenty of adversity there!) have access to physical education and recess at school as well as afterschool and summer opportunities for exercise!
54
Can we move onto something else?! It's become obvious from the plethora of helpful New York Times articles that exercise, and its given, movement, is good for the human species!!!
6
Perhaps you should look into the articles that show that different kinds of exercise and movement are good for different aspects of the mind and body. I find those very interesting and have used them to shape my exercise habits. I also appreciate articles about the interactions of diet and exercise. And, as a scientist, I enjoy reading about physiology and biochemistry. But I can see where that wouldn't be for everyone.
19
I respectfully disagree. These articles, in all their incarnations, are interesting. By your reasoning they should basically just shut down the Well section.
3
I compliment everyone who tries to keep fit, especially those who stick to it. As a person who took some of the Well early advice seriously when I was over 50, now as a septuagenarian, I am pleased that I can do over 100 Chinups/Pullups, over 100 pushups, run up inclines and have great body mass. I will not try to run long as that seems to tear down muscle mass. I do some running and good sprints to really test the cardio but that is about it. I have no joint problems that usually, from what I read, comes with lots of running and old age. I have a better looking body now than when I was 20.
On the mental side, I take lots of online college courses For the joy of keeping my mental acuity up. I have great BP and it takes a lot to get me sweating or to move my heart rate into high areas. I also take some martial arts training as I really do not like the idea of not being ready for anything that comes my way. It is nice to finally be one of the best buffed guys walking the malls.
Last, I did develop me some fitness flexes that allow me to exercise strenuously no matter where I am. It started small and is now a full system. Fit people can contribute greatly to society as producers while unfit people are present a great burden that others have to carry. If the lack of fitness is from over indulgence in known fitness killers, my sympathy runs a bit short. Otherwise, I am a bleeding heart.
Keep up the good work to all.
26
Just to be clear: 100 pull-ups and pushups in sets? I can bang them out in sets of 10, 10, 5, 5 etc. but a straight set of 100 is other worldly.
3
I stand in awe at the mention of "over 100 Chinups/Pullups," for a septuagenarian.
Not saying I don't believe this exactly but I'd like to see it. Not too many people can do 100 pullups, with proper form, in a day, at any age.
Annnnnnd . . . the combination of physical exercise with mental exercise -- like learning and doing social dance with "steps", or running and navigating with map and compass -- brings added benefit in maintaining memory and mental acuity.
7
This is not entirely news. Several decades ago, Time magazine published a fascinating finding about stress and exercise. Exercise has long been known to be effective in stress reduction or management. In this study, two stressed rats were yoked together on a pair of exercise wheels. One rat had the ability to initiate exercise, the other had to exercise when and only when the first chose to do so. Rat #1 benefited as predicted – exercise reduced stress and his brain "bloomed with new cells." Rat #2, exercising at precisely the same time and rate, lost brain cells. Researchers concluded that:
"He (rat #2) was doing something that should have been good for his brain, but he lacked one crucial factor: control. He could not determine his own workout schedule, so he didn't perceive it as exercise. Instead, he experienced it as a literal rat race."
This, among other things, is why stressful competition in schools is so stupid.
12
I know a lot of fat people though who are ridiculously smart.
What explains them? A lot of academics I know aren't in the best of shape either.
3
You're confusing intelligence with memory, weight with fitness, and absolute with relative ability. With respect to the point made in this article, you don't know how much better the memories of these people could be if they exercised more.
16
Well, at least the good doctor Miller makes a proper conclusion "being physically active “is a very good idea,”". Certainly not because of this one-more-mouse-study. Mice are not Men. (not even male mice are men).
The truth is that medicine and physiology have absolutely no idea what memory is or how it is stored. (They do know how to wreck parts of the brain, an action that seems to impede memory.) This explanation: "Memories are coded into brain cells in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center." is a medical Just So story -- they have no idea what that could even mean physically.
It does not surprise that if you torture mice day after day by "restraining them" (making them fear for their lives) that it screws up their functioning -- nor does it surprise that instead of being forced to sit in the corner of a 10 by 12 plastic box 24 hours a day, giving them something to run on (a natural instinct for rodents) it improves their health, circulation, and whatever can be called their emotional/mental health.
The experiment described would be illegal, unethical and immoral if carried out on humans (oh, they didn't actually come right out and tell you they killed the mice, cut out bits of living brain, and tested them did they? That's what they did.)
It is well know that humans, stressed to the degree that these mice were stressed (terror for their lives) develop deep seated, long-term emotional damage too -- it is called PTSD.
6
Another interesting fact is that exercise changes the bowel bacteria, for the good. We are now realizing that lots of the "good' results from diet and other activities are due to the bacteria changes and their ability to control our immune system. The "Brain -gut" connection is very real and when the body is stressed the bowel bacteria and the immune system responds and there is inflammation in the brain. Perhaps the exercise is another way of increasing the anti inflammatory signals from the gut.
See letswakeupfolks.blogspot.com-our moods and our bacteria for further info
6
And it makes bowel movements much more healthy and vigorous!
3
These results aren't exactly surprising. I'm a full time law student. Nothing--and I mean nothing--has better fought off severe stress and anxiety than a regular cardio routine. It also makes you more focused and able to work for longer periods of time.
56
I've been running for 50 years (3-6 days a week) and meditating for 45 (twice a day), and still working as a software developer in a startup company at 70. I think both of these things are required.
67
And what about your diet?
Same here! With minor differences. Sixty-five, running and meditating 45 years. Still coding with the youngsters on Wall Street. I couldn't be working at my level without vigilance about these restorative rituals.
7
As my daughters would say, a mice chauvinist study. Or as they put it #MiceToo is required.
18
i gather it is hard to perform well normalized studies with female mice because of their cycle - female mice at different stages of their cycle could give different results. people are starting to work with females, but that is why so many studies have been done with males. obviously, it's important to get both genders - but just to say this is not due to sexism but rather due to keeping conditions as controlled as possible.
14
Sam, if the will were there, it would be done. That is why statistics are used to remove the effects of confounding factors in scientific studies.
The more obvious and prevalent the bias against performing studies of the female gender, the more often that there is a sentence stating that studies involving females will be done in the future. Unsurprisingly, the future rarely arrives.
5
You write, "These mostly involved some type of mild restraint, which makes prey animals like mice understandably anxious." What animal is not anxious when restrained? For example, does even a domesticated cat like being restrained? Cats are examples of why mice are prey.
6
It may be a minor point, but restraint is soothing to some animals when they are stressed. Examples are thunder shirts in the case of dogs, hugs in the case of humans. Temple Grandin has made a persuasive case for use of restraints to soothe anxious cattle in slaughterhouses.
4
Cats face plenty of threats of their own. Being predators of smaller creatures doesn't free them from being victimized by larger ones.
Cats and mice both are naturally inclined to move around a lot, which, I suppose, provides several evolutionary advantages. For either animal, being restrained might induce stress for a number of reasons. For both animals, the general concerns are probably largely the same, e.g., the need to find food, shelter, mates, and routes of escape.
So, in principle, the same sort of experiment could probably be performed with cats--notwithstanding that it might be much more dangerous for the experimenters.
3
People say they forget to exercise, but they never forget to eat.
46
Not sure this is about exercise. Couldn't it also be about joy/doing a lot of something you like to do (since mice like to run)?
23
Good point. A study of people who run but hate it (such as me ... it's just something I force myself to do because it's necessary) and the effect on synapses would be interesting. As long as you can study it without first having to dissect their brains.
18
I had read that study and now this article gives additional insight. As a senior all through all these now published trials of all types which come at us in over abundance it seems, one of course looks to determine how they might relate to ourselves. I think the eat fruit and vegetables, exercise, and avoid MacDonalds and all their junk food competitors has gotten through Not. Smoking is a slam dunk, and now taking blood pressure medicine has been added to a great numbers of people. What I always do with these studies is hark back to my family, and our neighbors, all through the years. Without medicines and constant testing, and diets from everyones European ancestry, that was our diet. Most of ladies lived to be over 100 my Mother 97. The men usually had prostate cancer. Everyone was active, many tradesmen, many farmers. Genetic's ?
8
My parents also fell into your example; Mom made it to 97, dad died at 67 from Pancreatic cancer. What's amazing to me is how much smoking and drinking was prevalent years ago. There was also a lack of widespread knowledge of healthy eating habits among the general population. Despite these risk factors, quite a few oldsters lived exceedingly long, relatively healthy lives.
With modern advances in health care and the current plethora of common sense dietary advice, our life spans should have the ability to grow if only we would commit to a moderately smart program of eating and exercise.
2
As a retired cardiologist (81 y.o.) I found throughout my career that exercise involving movement--walking, running, swimming for at least 30 minutes four to five times a week--is truly therapeutic in maintaining a sense of stable perspective about the repetetive and unavoidable (often negative) challenges of work, family, and friends. This very positive result of regular exercise is truly predictable--if exercise stops or is curtailed, stress automatically and almost immediately reappears-- and is banished (often within minutes) when regular exercise efforts are resumed.
123
Is walking enough or does it have to be more vigorous, aerobic exercise?
1
To your regular walking, add some stair climbing. This adds "intensity". I take the stairs down to the beach and back at UBC at least once a week, if not twice, to get an intensity workout. It makes a huge difference.
8
I suspect there are other significant changes in the brain, as yet undiscovered, from exercising that go beyond the synapses. Exercising is all reward, with little risk as long as it is done right appropriate to your age, health and level of conditioning.
30
Exercise is not all reward if it is not enjoyed. The mice in this study were assumed to enjoy running, but for some, exercise is hard, unpleasant, unenjoyable work, another obligation added to the many others in life.
10
In the end, we enjoy the things that do us the most future good. That's what happens to many of us when we see and feel the benefits of exercise. Otherwise, we suffer the consequences, which is everyone's right.
Eschew immediate gratification. You won't regret it.
8
What's not to like about going for a walk in natural surroundings? Get thee to a park or out of the city and enjoy the fresh air.
4