Brain Shrinkage

Did you know that your brain shrinks by 10% by the time you’re 55?

And it shrinks 20% by the age of 75?

Brain Atrophy was always thought of as a part of growing older .  Well it’s NOT inevitable!

Causes of brain shrinkage does mirror the symptoms of aging;  obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor sleep, distress, etc, but it doesn’t have to be. 1

So how do you protect the brain from shrinkage?

1)      A Healthy Diet.  Duh a No Brainer…..lol.   Increase your consumption of fish and seafood (ie: sardines, herring, salmon, shrimp, cod & tuna).

And, “EAT THE RAINBOW”. 

2)      Add antioxidant supplements to your diet that help reduce cardiovascular risk, lowers your blood sugar and improves your sleep. 2.  Aim for natural foods and drinks.  Some examples include; Spinach, Carrots, broccoli, citrus fruits, berries, dark grapes, nuts (Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Peanuts), Seeds (Pumpkin, Squash & Safflower).  

3)      Minimize, or best yet, cut-off your alcohol consumption.

4)      Exercise the Brain.  Switch from your dominate hand, reading, do puzzles and problem solving games or games that involve memory recall. (I like Stratego and Splendor…) all help.

5)      Physical Exercise.  This is one of the biggest brain robbers (lack of).  By increasing fitness white and grey tissue density of the brain improves.  Exercise has been shown to build new brain cells.

According to a study in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, regular aerobic exercise increased blood flow to the memory-related areas of the brain in just 3 months.3

6)      Meditation Yoga and Prayer  . Hospitals call this “relaxation response,” as it lowers blood pressure and anxiety.

7)      Socializing – Take a tip from Centurions,  keeping an active family/social life is not only important for living a long life, but a sharp one too…

One more point regarding exercise - According to a University of Edinburgh study, Those that exercised more had less brain atrophy, less damage to the wiring of the brain and greater volumes of grey matter - your "thinking" cells.  And, they did NOT find any association between being more socially or intellectually engaged and Brain Health!

So, Hey…..when it comes to your brain – SIZE DOES MATTER!

1 http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2015/2/combat-age-related-brain-atrophy/page-01

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › NCBI › Literature › PubMed Central (PMC)

3 http://www.symptomfind.com/healthy-living/brain-exercises-for-memory/#uFFSIxKscygKHmp7.99

4 https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-01-2013/exercise-may-protect-aging-brain.html

FALL CLASSES START OCTOBER - REGISTER TODAY!

10 Tuesdays starting  Oct.11th, 2016 
Class Code:  FFT12-16

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Banatynne School,
363 Thompson Drive,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg, MB
$89.00 for 10 classes

http://www.localcourses.com: DYNABODY

10 Thursdays starting Oct.13th, 2016  
Class Code:  FFT13-16 

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Strathmillan School,
339 Strathmillan Road,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg MB

http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY

See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   SFT12-16 or SFT13-16
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

Summer Dynabody Total Fitness Class Schedule

SUMMER CLASSES START JUNE 28th - sign up now!

Dynabody Total Fitness Summer Classes are set for Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings

 

starting June 28th  

 

and runs through September

 

6:30 – 7:30 pm.

 

ALL classes throughout the summer for just $100*!

Bring a Partner for an additional $60. That’s $160* FOR TWO!

 

*gst extra

Email me at dynabody@gmail.com for more information.

PHYSICAL LITERACY

At a recent Manitoba Fitness Council conference there was a very interesting Presentation by Dr. Dean Kriellaars on Physical Literacy.  Not only a professor at the U of M, but also a Doctor for the Cirque de Soleil performers training centre in Montreal, he knows first hand the importance of movement and the need to have people active.

 

Simply put, YOU CANNOT GET FIT WITHOUT PARTICIPATION!

Dr. Kriellaars would know, he was one of the key players in developing Canada’s Physical Literacy program which is now well known and used throughout the world.   Just like reading and writing, children need to learn how to move.  If we want children to be active for life, they need to develop physical literacy at a young age.

In many countries the Literacy Model has been improved upon.  Not only is it (1) Learning your ABC’s but; (2) Numerical Literacy (1,2,3’s) (3) Musical Literacy (Do Re Mi) and (4) Physical Literacy – movement vocabulary. 

Without the ability, confidence and desire to be physically active just knowing the fundamental land based skills are lost.  Unstructured play become extinct, obesity and diabetes increases and bone density decreases. Eg: Obesity went from 9% in 1970 to over 26% in 2015 and is estimated to be 2/3 by 2030!   How many kids do you see playing outside after school or on weekends?  What are YOU doing after work???

 

And, what about Happiness and Physical Activity?  At Age 5 all kids love it.  At the Age of 10 -13, most Girls feel unhappy with Physical Activity!

  

This doesn’t have to be.  Functional Fitness is in the right direction.  Something that I have been emphasizing since I started teaching fitness classes over 9 years ago….mainly to adults, however, the requirements are the same.

Physical Literacy enrichs the core – involves strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio and body mass.  Does this sound familiar?  Dynabods can agree with this.  And talent is owning the movement – not being on the podium.  This is where you build confidence.  If it’s fun, you will want to do it again.

Dr. Kriellaars had mentioned that the Bone mass in the Cirque de Soleil performers aged 20 to 65 years of age did NOT change.  They have a low injury rate (half that of gymnists) and only train 270 minutes per week.

So what is the take on all this?

YOUR MIND AND BODY ARE ONE.  LEARNING TO MOVE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE.

As Dr. Dean Kriellaars stated “You can learn at any age”. 

And Remember – “USE IT OR LOSE IT”

Power of the Mind - the Placebo Effect

Last month I discussed the key to happiness is to write things down, on the second installment of

Improving your life for the better I’m going to get into your mind.

 According to the book "59 Seconds - Think a Little, Change a Lot" from Richard Wiseman, Researchers at Harvard University studied over 80 hotel room cleaning attendants from 7 different hotels.   What they wanted to find out was;  Would telling the participants that their work was great exercise improve their health compared to those that didn't realize their work was in fact "exercise"?

  

Neither group changed their lifestyle.

Remarkably those who had been told how many calories they burned on a daily basis had lost a significant amount of weight, lowered their body mass index and waist-to-hip ration and decreased blood pressure.  The other group showed no similar change.

It was the power of the placebo that caused the health boost.  By reminding the attendants of the amount of exercise that they were getting on a daily basis, the researchers altered the attendant’s beliefs about themselves and their bodies responded to make these beliefs a reality. 

So merely thinking about their normal daily exercise made them healthier. 

That’s why at my classes I emphasis focus and giving effort.  If you are too busy talking to your exercise buddy than concentrating on your workout you drastically reduce your success.  .  I have a wide variety of participants and it’s that mental focus that tells them apart.  

At a recent Fitness Conference, one of the presenters Dr. Dean Kriellaars…. who is involved with the Cirque de Solei in Montreal stated that the Body and Mind are all one.  Working with some of the best conditioned athletes in the world he would know.  He also stated that you cannot get fit without participation.

So, when it comes to improving your health, don’t underestimate the power of your mind.  Visualize.  And remember, you may already be putting in the necessary effort, you just need to realize it…..

Spring Sessions start  soon – on Tuesday April 12 & Thursday April 14^th, 2016.

Register online at  http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY
See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   SFT12-16 or SFT12-16
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

 

 

** Crum, A.J. & Langer, E.J. (2007) Mind-set maters: Exercise and the placebo effect. Psychological Science, 18, 165-171

 

Are you Exercising or Training?

Ok,

Are you Exercising or Training?

Exercising - is moving without full engagement.

Exercising is physical movement.
Exercising is going through the motions.

Training is goal oriented.
Training is with a purpose, outcome and a result.
Training is pushing yourself to get optimum results.

So what are you doing????