The Hindu Business Line : Grow older... stay wiser

Not too long ago, scientists believed that our brain was programmed to lose its reasoning faculties, memories and so on. This belief ballooned from three findings:

That the brain progressively drops cells from childhood.

That we are not as quick at numbers at 27 as at 17.

That 45 on, impulses travel more sluggishly along nerve fibres than earlier.

The first awakening

We would have trundled along in this we-are-destined-to-decay belief if a group of bold psychologists hadn't broken new ground. For 15 days, in controlled conditions, they piped pure oxygen to senile patients. Astoundingly, the patients perked up, their memories improved by 25 per cent.

This experiment gave the first glorious intimation — that the brain needed oxygen to shake and wake it out of its stupor. So, did that mean we'd all have to strap on oxygen-tanks to keep our brains bright and healthy?

Hello... exercise!

Enter Dr H.D. Vries. Under his guidance, 50-plusers stretched, walked, jogged, swam thrice a week for 10 months. And... eureka! He found that their strengthened hearts were sweetly sending more oxygen per beat to the brain cells. And yes, the exercisers felt more alert, their reasoning powers sharpened.

Over the years, more reports rolled in to prove that aerobic fitness provided the cutting edge to our intellectual prowess. Exercisers experienced improved concentration, creativity and problem-solving abilities. Generally, the heart pumps 20 per cent of the blood to the brain. When we walk or run the heart pumps harder, the blood circulation surges. More oxygen zips into the brain, boosts its biochemistry and heightens our mental powers.

Nourishing neurons

We have some 10,000 million neurons (nerve cells) in our brain from birth. These neurons are connected and nourished by a massive network of glia cells. Regular aerobic exercise enlarges and thickens the neurons, which interweave into an impregnable webwork, increases the number of glia cells and makes available more enzymes that help transmit nerve impulses in the brain.

These changes enable the brain to think, track, recall swiftly and surely. So, until recently, we believed that exercise helped us enhance what we already have.

The brain reborn

The latest finding is even more mindblowing. A group of volunteers exercised aerobically for three months for a research study programme. The result? They had grown new nerve cells in their brain. The implications are enormous. You can have the refreshing mental agility of a 17-year-old at 27, plus the skills you've already developed in those 10 years!

You can have a wealth of accumulated experience at 45 and regain the go-getting sparkle of a 30-year-old, and can enjoy life a thousand-fold, with a wise yet young head on your shoulders.

New neurons open us to wider vistas — higher vision, greater intelligence, better memory-recall, more tolerance, achievements and self-fulfilment, sharpened intellectual and reasoning efficiency, quick, clear thinking and deepened perceptiveness.

Free the brain's genius from the stranglehold of your sedentary habits. Participate joyously in rich active living. Walk with long, strong strides or run regularly; and watch creative ideas blossom in your brain when you burn miles.

Exercise nibblets

Nibble on exercises in your office. Stand up smartly to speak into the phone. Roam like a lion as you chat into your mobile phone. Sprint up the stairs and avoid the elevator.

At home, while watching TV, don't slouch on the couch. Lie on a mat and cycle your legs 20 times with the vigour of an infant. Lie on your side and raise and lower each leg to 90 degrees 30 times. Sit cross-legged and move your legs 30 times like a butterfly flapping its wings.

Apart from the exercising nibbles, indulge in a luxurious exercise session daily. The continuous rhythm of walking (42 minutes), running (20 minutes) or cycling (32 minutes) stimulates the brain's right side — the silent, creative side that is rarely tapped. When left and right brains sync, the quality of your thinking takes a quantum leap — from good to great. Your body reflects this as health. Your work reflects this as excellence.

No to Alzheimer's

There are indications that a combination of aerobic exercise, B vitamins — especially B12, and high doses of the antioxidant pycnogenol could stem Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. Pycnogenol is extracted from the bark of French Maritime pine trees.

Moving meditation

I recommend walking or cycling meditation. That is, chant as you move. Meditation stimulates the prefrontal cortex to induce positive emotions, and stills the parietal lobes to induce sensations of being in spaciousness and timelessness away from pressing worries and time.

So step out of a sedentary lifestyle. Take just one hour of your life every day and exercise. It is not difficult. Do this one useful activity in place of 10 useless activities. Experience the surge of creativity, wellbeing, of an ever-widening intelligence that knows no boundaries...

(The writer is co-author of the book `Fitness for Life'.)

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