- Published: November 16, 2021
- Updated: November 16, 2021
- University / College: Mayo Medical School
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 15
The benefits of exercise are apparently evident among those who engage in such routine physically. Aside from improving the superficial advantages of getting involved in a physical work out, research also found exercising to be beneficial to a person’s cognitive function. It has long been recognized that physical training is beneficial to one’s health, furthermore, a study conducted by the Montreal Heart Institute and University of Montreal in Canada proved that it also helps develop individuals’ brain activity that helps improve cognitive function. Along with VO2max and brain oxygenation, the adults who participated in the study showed an improvement in their cognitive function after they finished the exercise program that was designed for them for four months (“ Exercise Improves” & “ Exercise makes”).
Another research was conducted for people with mild cognitive problems such as those diagnosed with about an average of ten times the risk of having dementia. During the intervention of an aerobic exercise to the adult participants with mild cognitive impairment, the result of the study found that there was an improvement on the cognitive function of the participants. For the women, there was an observed change in the physical and chemical reaction that includes “ better disposal of glucose, decreased fasting plasma levels of insulin, cortisol, and brain –derived neurotrophic, while men showed an increase in their plasma level of insulin-like growth factor (Bankhead n. d).”
Similarly, Kramer, Erickson, and Colcombe (2006) obtained a result showing an improvement of people, this time with anemia, found to have a positive effect of exercising to those who are already affected by dementia. Specifically, the controlled studies conducted by Baker, et al (n. d.), the effect of high-intensity aerobic exercise though geared towards the improvement of cognitive function, specifically identified the specific effects of exercise to men and women. While men’s plasma levels of insulin-like growth is increased, women’s disposal during the metabolic clamp is increased and the function of fasting plasma levels of insulin is decreased (Baker et al, n. d.)
References:
Baker LD, Frank LL, Foster-Schubert K, Green PS, Wilkinson CW, McTiernan A, Plymate SR,
Fishel MA, Watson GS, Cholerton BA. et al. (2011). Effects of aerobic exercise on mild
cognitive impairment: a controlled trial. Arch Neurol. 67(1): 71–79.
Bankhead, C. (2010). Exercise May Aid Cognitive Function. Available:
http://www. medpagetoday. com/PrimaryCare/ExerciseFitness/17907. Last accessed 27
Jan 2013.
Kramer Arthur F. ; Erickson Kirk I. ; Colcombe Stanley J. (2006). Exercise, cognition, and the
aging brain. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY. 101 (4), 1237-1242.
News. (2012). Exercise improves cognitive function. Available:
http://www. bps. org. uk/news/people-can-become-smarter-through-exercise. Last accessed
27 Jan 2013.
Science News. (2012). Exercise Makes Middle-Aged People Smarter. Available:
http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2012/10/121029081211. htm. Last accessed 27 Jan
2013.