The Psychological Importance of Movement and Exercise – Ted Talk (Video)

The Psychological Importance of Movement and Exercise - Ted Talk (Video) | Third Monk image 2

importance of movement

Exercise is the catalyst to learning and high brain function. Kids need to move around and activate the brain but these days schools have kids sitting for ridiculously long periods of time causing an uptick in the diagnosis of ADD-ADHD.

Children get fidgety and stop paying attention when they have not had enough movement. 20 minutes a day of movement is not enough. Exercise directly correlates to the way our brain functions.

Movement is beneficial throughout a humans life. Lack of exercise and movement may lead to a lack of motivation and depression in adults.

These two Ted Talks explore the importance of movement and exercise in school children and adults, as well as the benefits to the brain, its affect on learning and its affect on behavior.

The Importance of Movement and Exercise

Run, Jump, Learn! How Exercise can Transform our Schools: John J. Ratey, MD

Wendy Suzuki – Exercise and the Brain

How Exercise Helps us Think Better (Infographic)

How Exercise Helps us Think Better (Infographic) | Third Monk image 2

Exercise offers a wide range of benefits for our well-being. They are well-known and heavily supported with studies and scientific data. However, new findings are continually being unearthed that help us better understand what exercise is doing to our bodies and our brains.

After being cooped up inside all day, your afternoon stroll may leave you feeling clearheaded. This sensation is not just in your mind. A growing body of evidence suggests we think and learn better when we walk or do another form of exercise. – Justin Roberts, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois

Blood Flow

Blood Flow

So, exercise boosts your cognitive functioning and improves your memory, but how exactly does it do that? One of the ways is through improved blood flow. Rhodes writes:

Research shows that when we exercise, blood pressure and blood flow increase everywhere in the body, including the brain. More blood means more energy and oxygen, which makes our brain perform better.

Hippocampus Stimulation

brain-hippocampus-anatomy-of-female

The hippocampus is a brain structure that is important for memory function, but what relation does it have to exercise? Rhodes responds:

Another explanation for why working up a sweat enhances our mental capacity is that the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for learning and memory, is highly active during exercise. When the neurons in this structure rev up, research shows that our cognitive function improves. For instance, studies in mice have revealed that running enhances spatial learning. Other recent work indicates that aerobic exercise can actually reverse hippocampal shrinkage, which occurs naturally with age, and consequently boost memory in older adults. Yet another study found that students who exercise perform better on tests than their less athletic peers.

Exercise Infographic:

Fitter Body, Fitter Brain - Exercise Infographic

Why do you think better after a walk? | Scientific American

Running Enhances Neurogenesis, Learning, and Long-term Potentiation in Mice | Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? (Study)

Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? (Study) | Third Monk

In today’s media portrayal of marijuana, all it takes is one bong hit before people become ridiculously stupid, unable to solve the simplest problems or utter a coherent sentence. The popular concern is that smoking weed permanently reduces learning and memory. A recent study tested for the negative effects of marijuana but instead found that marijuana can actually have positive results for the brain.

The scientists found that amount of pot consumed had no measurable impact on cognitive performance. The sole exception was performance on a test of short-term verbal memory, in which “current heavy users” performed slightly worse than former users. The researchers conclude that, contrary to earlier findings, the mind altering properties of marijuana are ephemeral and fleeting.

Taken together, these studies demonstrate that popular stereotypes of marijuana users are unfair and untrue. While it’s definitely not a good idea to perform a cognitively demanding task (such as driving!) while stoned, smoking a joint probably also won’t lead to any measurable long-term deficits.

Interestingly, the scientists found that marijuana seems to induce a state of hyper-priming, in which the reach of semantic priming extends to distantly related concepts. As a result, we hear “dog” and think of nouns that, in more sober circumstances, would seem rather disconnected, such as “leash” or “hair.” This state of hyper-priming helps explain why cannabis has been so often used as a creative fuel, as it seems to make the brain better at detecting those remote associations that lead to radically new ideas.

> Marijuana Makes You Stupid? | Wired Magazine

The Differences Between Humans And Other Animals (Infographic)

The Differences Between Humans And Other Animals (Infographic) | Third Monk

This infographic shows the differences between humans and animals along with the traits we share with other animals: tool use, long term memory, counting, self awareness, culture, emotions, complex communication, and sense of humor. We may value ourselves above all other species on the planet but we are actually not all that different.