Exercise and Your Brain
Today let’s talk about these brains of ours and what we can do to keep them healthy. I’m now at an age where I seem to have trouble pulling things up to the surface when I’m trying to remember a name, event or a place. I know — I really shouldn’t be too concerned about this — it’s happening to many people and some of them are a lot younger than I am. Most of the things I recommend in this article are a part of my lifestyle, although the eating of too many sweets is something I still need to break.
Almost one-quarter of the over-65 population has some degree of cognitive impairment. The same scientists who make statements like this go on to state that exercise can play a vital role in keeping your brain and your body healthy.
Two of the major factors that may affect brain health are Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. When patients suffer dementia they usually have an impaired memory function as well as at least one other cognitive malfunction.
One of the things that happens with Alzheimer’s disease is that the brain begins to shrink. This is coupled with the formation of plaques made of a protein called amyloid. As these plaques develop they interrupt communication within the nerve cells of the brain. The usual result is a loss of the ability to retrieve things from the memory. As one patient remarked, “I have lost myself.”
Stroke, especially the so-called “silent strokes, can leave tiny lesions in the brain. These lesions can also add to the problems associated with dementia. When these strokes and Alzheimer’s coexist, the situation is much worse.
Early in the 20th century, people could expect to live an average of 47 years; many over 65 seemed old and ill. By 1990, life expectancy had reached 75, and 65-year-olds were much healthier than their earlier counterparts. Now the challenge is to help these aging people preserve cognition and mental health.
Stroke and Alzheimer’s share important risk factors, among them aging, family history, high blood pressure, head injury, high blood cholesterol levels, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.
One of the things everyone, young and old, should do is to cut way back on salt intake. We should also have plenty of high fiber, low-fat natural nutrients in our diets. The object here is to keep our blood pressure within normal ranges. Blood pressure readings that go over 140/90 are definite indicators for potential stroke and heart disease. Better than two-thirds of stroke patients had blood pressure over the 140/90 mark. Medical professionals and health experts are all stating that a normal blood pressure should be less than 120/80.
Social interaction is also important. Staying in touch with children, family and friends and remaining engaged in life will slow down signs of dementia. People need to read more. Playing board or card games,and playing a musical instrument are also good ways to stay active.
And, since this article is about exercise, dancing is a wonderful, fun form of exercise that’s good for the brain and the body.
Exercise needs to become a life-long habit. If you haven’t been exercising for quite a while, you need to get a good checkup before you embark on an exercise program. Get the approval of your medical professional first.
Exercise should be vigorous enough to raise a sweat. At a minimum, do 30 minutes, three times a week. Do more if you can. Just remember, you’re never too old to exercise.
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I don’t know if any of you, my fine readers of this blog, have an interest in starting a blog of your own, but if you do, I have something I’d like to pass along to you.
Over the past few days I’ve been reading a new ebook written by Kevin Brown. Now, I know that a lot of people don’t want to start a blog of their own because they think it’s too complicated. Well, after you read this ebook, your fears will be gone for good!
Kevin is something of a WordPress expert and has recently released a new ebook that goes into great detail of how to install and set up WordPress blogs. This blog you’re reading is written using WordPress, and I also use it for my other blog. Kevin’s book, BlogStorm Blueprint, is the most up-to-date book I’ve ever seen about WordPress with screenshots from the very latest version.
I highly recommend it — especially since it’s being sold at a giveaway price of under ten dollars. It’s really a bargain when you realize that you’ll be getting 106 pages of clear, well-written details.
I’ve been using WordPress for a long time and I think I know quite a bit about how to work with it. I can say that after reading Kevin’s book, I discovered that I don’t know everything. Even though some of the information was basic for me, I still learned loads from the book and heartily
recommend it to you.
It’s the BlogStorm Blueprint — and you can get it here:
Click Here —>http://tinyurl.com/4a5ncq
P.S. Oh, and just so you know, WordPress is free! Learn how to use it with Kevins book …
Click Here —->http://tinyurl.com/4a5ncq
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Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com
My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.
Have a healthy and nutritious day!
Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
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