Brain Link. Exercise begins in your brain with your mindset and self-talk. The brain contains no muscles. It is dependent on the contraction and movement of large muscle groups in the body to help speed the flow of blood throughout the arteries, veins, and capillaries of both the brain and body. This action brings oxygen and nutrients to the brain as well as helping to discard waste products. It increases cognitive abilities as well as enhancing bodily functions. Social exercise can offer both physical and mental exercise to the brain depending upon the type of activities. Find ways to stay mentally stimulated, physically active, and socially engaged. This can help prevent neuronal shrinkage in your brain, which studies have linked with an increased risk for dementia.
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you actually do. Attitude determines how well you do it. —Lou Holtz
Healthy aging of the brain, body, and spirit requires those systems to be exercised regularly and appropriately. All three can strengthen with exercise. Likewise, each can atrophy without appropriate exercise and stimulation. It is “use it or lose it.”
Muscle tissue possesses a type of memory for activities and exercises that use muscle movements. That is one reason the right type of physical activity and exercise increases skill levels and strengthens the muscles.
The brain is not a muscle. It has no muscle tissue, yet it acts like muscle tissue by becoming stronger with the right type of mental exercise. It can also atrophy without the right type of mental exercise.
The spirit with which one lives life and rewarding social interactions with others can strengthen with social exercise. There is not just one way to do this. There is a way that can work for you.
Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, mental, and emotional states. —Carol Welch
Each day, every cell in the blood travels the equivalent of nearly half-way around Planet Earth. The equatorial circumference at the equator is approximately 25,000 miles—24,901 miles (40,075 km) to be precise. Those little blood cells get in a whopping bit of travel over a 48-hour period. Physical activity and exercise help the blood make this journey.
Many say they simply hate exercising. Period. That is a mindset. An unhelpful mindset, as it turns out. Studies have shown that when you hate something, doing it anyway does not provide the benefits that can result if you are onboard with it.
Some activities are primarily physical while others are primarily mental, and some are also social. When possible, challenge your brain with activities that require mental, physical, and social exercise. Golf, for example—unless you ride around in a golf-cart. Table Tennis or ping pong and some aspects of pool. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks while you walk. Identify what you already do for physical, mental, and social exercise and then add some “fun” learning opportunities to your routine to stimulate your brain.
Physical exercise improves both health and cognitive function. Exercise makes you smart. —Peter Blomstrand, MD, PhD
Physical, mental, and social exercise are linked with maintaining physical movement and mental acuity. Variety is key to keeping your brain interested and motivated, so select activities and exercises that you enjoy. Be creative. You need a healthy body to carry your brain around, and you want a healthy brain for your body to transport hither and yon. Otherwise, what would be the benefit?
Even slight changes can contribute to enhanced health and longevity. Nearly everyone can find a way to obtain the exercise their brains and bodies require. Concentrate on what you can do and stop fretting about what you cannot do.
Minimize sitting and maximize moving. If you are doing largely sedentary work, do some standing at a raised desk if possible. Move around for a couple minutes every half hour, setting a timer if necessary.
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside of you that is greater than any obstacle. —Christian D. Larson
In life, you always give up something to get something. No one can ever have it all. To be healthy you may need to give up something to carve out time for physical, mental, and social exercise and stimulation. In the long term, what could be more important than taking excellent care of your brain and body? Think carefully and ask yourself: what could you give up now to have a healthier and longer future.
Bottom line: stay physically active, mentally challenged, and socially engaged. Stop looking for life’s remote. Life has no remote. If you need to improve your mental, physical, and social health, you have to do it yourself. You are also more likely to sustain it if you can do it with a few others.
The brain is a growing changing organ, its capabilities and vitality dependent to a large degree on how you nourish and treat it. —Jean Carper
View the Educational Video #3. If possible, stand and or walk in place for at least a portion of the video to increase blood blow to your brain.
Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. —John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The physical-mental-social link is gaining more attention. Studies have shown that Individuals who are aerobically fit may also have an intellectual edge. The brain loves variety. Much as the body craves food and physical activity, your brain craves information and novelty. Brain stimulation is essential for every brain and critical for the aging brain, which may have a tendency toward mental laziness—especially after retirement.
A lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical exercise save it and preserve it. —Plato
Pre-dementia or mild cognitive impairment is characterized by problems such as memory issues, confusion, and mood swings—challenges known to disrupt daily life. Studies with Veterans reveal that patients who display apathy (i.e., indifference) are up to seven times more likely to develop dementia. Estimates are that about 15% of individuals aged 65 and older who are diagnosed with pre-dementia will go on to evidence full-blown dementia. Do something every day to keep your brain interested! Even when dementia cannot be completely avoided, if the process can be slowed to give the individual a few more years of reasonable cognitive function, it is worth it.
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. —Michael Jordan
Challenging mental stimulation is critically important to minimize a risk of preventable dementia. Some types of dementia are the result of a brain that has lacked and is lacking challenging mental stimulation—allowing the axons and dendrites to shrink.
Healthy neurons never touch each other. There is a space or synapse between axon terminal fibers and the dendrites on another neuron. Chemical substances such as neurotransmitters, are released from terminal fibers and carry the information across the synapse where it hooks up with the dendrite of another neuron. The neurotransmitters are collected and brought back to the terminal fibers ready for use next time.
The mind is the most important part of achieving any fitness goal. Mental change always comes before physical change. —Matt McGorry
Here is the catch: If not stimulated on a regular basis, neurons—along with their axons and dendrites—can atrophy or shrink. This widens the synapse (space) between neurons, making the transfer of information from one neuron to another more difficult to occur. When the synapse becomes too wide from lack of regular stimulation, the transmission of information between neurons is interrupted. This can result in interrupted thinking sometimes referred to as brain fog.
Interruption of information transmission can show up as symptoms of dementia. This type of dementia appears to be preventable and sometimes even reversible. Studies have shown that when these types of brains were helped to challenge themselves on a daily basis using mental games, reading, listening to audio books, singing and/or playing a musical instrument, combined with physical activity and social exercise, the symptoms of progression could be slowed and sometimes reversed—if caught early.
Avoid zoning out in front of the TV. Watching movies and television uses a process known as passive mental picturing. Your brain is simply passively recognizing what another brain created. Instead maximize active mental picturing. This means engaging in stimulating and challenging mental activities for at least 30 minutes a day to keep your brain neurons active. This helps to keep neuronal axons and dendrites stretched out—keeping the synapse or space between them as narrow as possible.
Physical exercise is the single most powerful tool you have to optimize brain function. It can improve creativity, concentration, problem-solving, and help delay the onset of any memory loss. It prepares your neurons to connect with each other, while mental stimulation allows your brain to capitalize on that readiness. —Richard Restak, MD “Mozart’s Brain & the Fighter Pilot”
Physical exercise is vitally important for both brain and body in several ways. It:
The value of exercise has less to do with building muscles or burning calories and more to do with getting the heart to pump faster and more efficiently, hereby increasing blood flow to nourish the brain and body organs and simultaneously removing waste products. When operating correctly, the circulatory system is an amazingly effective two-way distribution system. It delivers oxygen, glucose, and other essential micronutrients to each cell. In turn, it picks up and carries away carbon dioxide and other waste products.
The exercise of large muscle groups facilitates the return of blood to the heart through the veins and lymph fluid through the lymph vessels. Blood circulates through the body at least once a minute and sometimes two or three times a minute depending on your heart rate and your activity.
To keep the body in good health is a duty … otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. —Buddha
Before zoning out when just thinking about physical exercise, identify what you already do. You may be surprised. Remember that some routine activities count as physical activity and exercise: vacuuming, washing the car, cutting the lawn, biking, walking, swimming, lifting groceries in and out of the car and then transferring them to requisite locations, and so on. Creative planning is mental activity for your brain, as well. If you are doing this in combination with another person and having a conversation, this can count as social exercise.
Do no harm. —Hippocrates
Use it and move it or lose it has been applied to body muscles for years. Choose your physical activities and exercise routines with care, however. For example, after decades of being touted as beneficial, jogging—when compared with walking or running–is getting mixed reviews for the average person. Over time, jogging can damage joints, stretch ligaments, and may even compound cellulite.
If you enjoy intensity training, alternate several minutes of brisk walking, biking, or rowing with several minutes or more moderate exercise. Walking for many people is an excellent form of exercise. That is one of the plusses of owning a dog and taking your pet for a daily walk or two. Swimming, as a low-impact exercise, may be another option.
There are really only two requirements when it comes to exercise: one is that you do it; the other is that you continue to do it. —Jennie Brand-Miller
Studies suggest aiming for 30 minutes of challenging mental activity plus 30 minutes of physical activity and exercise every day, and social exercise at least once or twice a week. Regularly also include some stretching, aerobics, endurance, balance, and flexibility exercises.
Everything is energy, and that’s all there is to it. Nothing happens until something moves. —Albert Einstein
Beware of over-exercising, of becoming addicted to the adrenalin, endorphins, and dopamine secreted when the body begins to feel pain. Too little exercise is unhelpful, as are exercise routines that are too long or too intense for you. Remember, every human being is different. Spending hours at the gym, unless you are aiming for a world record on body building, is likely over-exercising for many. In and around the physical and mental activity, slip in some social exercise, too. Maybe you can have lunch with a friend, do a zoom call, attend church or a musical concert or even perform at times. Be creative and consistent.
A study of 6,000 women aged 65 and older found that age-related memory decline was lower in those who walked more. According to the University of California, San Francisco, women walking 2.5 miles per day had a 25% decline in memory problems, compared to a 17% decline in memory problems in women who walked less than a half- mile per week.
We have discovered that exercise is strongly correlated with increased brain mass, better cognition, mood regulation, and new cell growth. —Eric Jensen, PhD
If you are accustomed to being primarily sedentary, consult your physician or other healthcare professional before beginning an exercise program.
Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will eventually have to find time for illness. —Edward Stanley
Listen to Chapter #4 of Just the Facts audiobook. If possible, walk around the room while you listen. At least walk in place.
The connections in the brain fade away unless used. We know that early stimulation of children leads to higher cognitive scores. —Brian Sutton-Smith
Mental exercise is all about challenging the neurons or thinking cells in your brain in order to keep their dendrites and axon stretched out. Metaphorically, picture your hand as a neuron. Your palm is the cell body. Your thumb is the axon, the highway by which information leaves the cell and then is carried across the synapse by neurotransmitters to other neurons. Your fingers are the dendrites that surround the cell body. Their dendritic hairs—like teeth on a comb—receive information and pull it into the cell.
Studies have shown that dendrites can alter their shape in 30 seconds, and neurons can grow a new dendrite in 30 minutes—depending on the amount of stimulation the neurons receive. It is possible for each neuron to grow at least 10,000 dendrites or more to connect with other neurons. There is typically one axon by which information leaves the neuron. Some axons reach from your brain down to your toes—a long way if you are very tall!
Many axons are wrapped with insulation (myelin) that help speed transmission at speeds up to 600 mph (985 km/h). This is especially true in the right hemisphere. Compared with the left, the right hemisphere is slightly lighter in color because more of its axons are wrapped in the whitish myelin. Compare the two drawings that follow.
The neuron on the left receives daily challenging mental stimulation and resembles a leafed-out tree. The neuron on the right represents a neuron that receives little if any challenging mental stimulation. Which one are you choosing?
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. —Aristotle
Brain aerobics are just one of many ways to use it and retain optimum brain function for as long as possible. Following are a few ideas to stimulate your thinking.
Play games. Crossword puzzles. Sudoku and Rubik’s Cube. Mazes. Jig-saw puzzles. Chess. Get an adult coloring book. The options are endless. If you do some of these with a friend or two, you are getting social exercise, as well.
Read aloud for 10 minutes a day to promote brain-function activity and language development in both children and adults. Listen to audiobooks.
Travel can expose your brain to new sights, sounds, smells, tastes, people, and environments. You can travel locally in your own city or town to visit places that are new. If you can travel nationally and internationally, consider that. The brain loves variety and finds it stimulating.
Our findings showed that memory declined with age. However, individuals with higher levels of positive affect had a less steep memory decline over the course of almost a decade. —Emily Hittner, PhD & Claudia Haase, PhD
If you play an instrument, keep practicing on a regular basis. If not, it is rarely too late to learn one. Guitar, Ukelele, Recorder, Djembe drums, and Piano are touted as relatively easy to learn. Giving a child a couple of years of piano lessons is a good base from which to move to another instrument if desired. Playing an instrument of almost any type can help age-proof your brain. Sing, whistle, and listen to positive cheerful music.
Develop a challenging and rewarding hobby. Volunteer in a genre of interest to give back to the planet. Read to the visually impaired. Learn sign language so you can communicate with the hearing impaired. Volunteer to have phone, zoom, or face- time conversations with people who need brain stimulation. For example, ask them to tell you stories about their childhood, and listen.
Learn to use a computer and do Internet searches. Make your life a treasured treasure hunt. Some studies have shown that, for those over 55, doing a complex Internet search can be as stimulating as reading a book. It may take a little longer to learn than it did when you were aged 12. However, the brain is capable of learning new things at almost any age, which will create more connections between neurons.
First say to yourself what you would be—then do what you have to do. —Epictetus
Listen to Chapter #5 of Just the Facts audiobook. If possible, walk around the room while you listen. At least walk in place.
We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink. —Epicurus, Greek Philosopher
A new field of study is emerging related to social exercise—sometimes also referred to social fitness. Social exercise is not just for extroverted brains, although they may be more active in seeking out opportunities for this type of exercise. Ambiverted and introverted brains need it, too, although most likely at a reduced level of intensity. Waldinger and team found that individuals who had the strongest social bonds with others tended to lead happier, healthier, and longer lives as they aged. Good relationships was the most important factor in predicting who would enjoy a fulfilled and healthy life in old age.
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of social exercise in improving long- term health. The idea of flexing one’s social muscle emerged in 2011 when social neuroscientists John and Stephanie Cacioppo tested a 10-hour social fitness training program with the U.S. military. They discovered that social-fitness exercises such as doing someone a favor or practicing conflict resolution reduced loneliness and boosted well-being in soldiers. If you view the world as a war zone, then everyone could be considered a soldier.
Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits. In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety. —Nicole Valtorta, PhD
Unfortunately, physical, mental, and social exercise all took a hit when COVID-19 burst onto the world scene. These three areas were negatively impacted as quarantine, lockdown, social distancing regulations, hand sanitizing, masking strategies, and personal self-isolation resulted in the closure of schools, gyms, restaurants, businesses, and churches—or had their services drastically curtailed. Studies have reported that people experienced a general decline in wellbeing, deterioration in some mental abilities, and an increase in psychological distress such anxiety, depression, stress, and a sense of isolation. A plethora of social media options and an increase in working remotely have not helped.
A Harvard study revealed that neither wealth nor social class were correlated with happiness levels or longevity. Positive relationships were consistently linked to happier and longer lives. Social networks and friendships can help people start, maintain, or increase physical, mental, and social exercise and activity.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. —Jim Ryun
The Internet is even suggesting ways in which people can obtain social exercise. For example:
Loneliness is an experience that has been around for eons—and we all deal with it. Loneliness can occur during life transitions such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a move to a new place. This type of loneliness is referred to by researchers as reactive loneliness. If reactive loneliness is painful, chronic loneliness is torturous. —Ami Rokach, PhD
Studies have revealed that lack of social exercise can trigger or contribute to a variety of undesirable outcomes. Being alone differs from being lonely. A lonely individual’s higher risk of ill health likely stems from a combination of behavioral, biological, and psychological factors. The following are several examples of undesirable outcomes.
If you feel lonely due to lack of social exercise, take steps to change that. What are you interested in? Look for others with similar interests and start doing them together even once a week. The sky is the limit, but the benefits received through social exercise has no ceiling.
Neglecting social exercise is hazardous to your health. Like unused muscles, neglected relationships atrophy. If you regularly feel isolated and lonely, it can be as dangerous as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day or being obese. —Robert Waldinger, MD
1. Keep your brain strong through mental exercise. Keep your muscles strong through physical exercise. Keep your relationships thriving through social exercise. Build these three aspects of health into your daily and weekly routines and turn them into habits.
Let something else go if necessary. Be creative. Watch your favorite TV show and do physical exercise while watching rather that crashing on the couch surrounded by snacks.
If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. —Thomas Jefferson
2. Start the day with some aerobic exercise. According to Candace B. Pert, PhD, 20 minutes of mild aerobic exercise at the beginning of the day turns on fat-burning neuropeptides, the effects of which can last for hours. This can be critical in managing diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
The term aerobic means “with oxygen.” Aerobic exercise uses large muscle groups in your body. It increases your heart rate. Your breathing regulates the amount of oxygen that reaches your muscles. Walking briskly is an aerobic exercise that most people can do, as well as swimming and riding a bicycle.
Upping your daily exercise to a 20-minute walk could cut your risk of a stroke by 57%. —John Medina
3. Access willpower, an executive function or mental faculty located in the pre-frontal cortex directly behind the forehead. Willpower can be defined as the energetic determination to carry out your chosen plans and decisions. It is designed to help you create a new behavior.
Willpower is not designed to stop unhealthy behaviors and habits, especially those that stimulate the Brain Reward System (BRS). Picture in your mind’s eye what you want to do for mental, physical exercise, and social exercise, and then access willpower to help you actually do it.
Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt, or fear. —Dan Millman
4. Use music to exercise the brain and body at the same time. It can also stimulate social exercise when you do it in combination with others. Dr. Anita Collins, an award-winning educator, researcher, and writer in the field of brain development and music learning, is internationally recognized for her unique work in translating the scientific research of neuroscientists and psychologists to parents, teachers, and students. Her TED-Ed talk, “How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain” is one of the most viewed of all time. Dr. Collins is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Canberra and Associate Fellow of Music, Mind, and Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne.
Collins has pointed out that when you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-brain-body workout. If you know how to sing, join a community or church choir. If you know how to play an instrument, get it out and start practicing again. If you never had the opportunity to learn to play an instrument, start now. It’s rarely ever too late to begin. Practice every day even if it is only for 15 minutes. Join up with a couple friends and practice together once a week or so.
Music is one of the only activities that stimulates, activates, and uses the entire brain. —www.pinterest.com
View the short Birds ‘n Brains video #3. If possible, stand and walk in place for at least part of the video.
1. Do you regularly engage in mental, physical, and social exercise in balance?
Brain, body, and mind—mental, physical, and social exercise matter! Name two long-term benefits of mental exercise, physical exercise, and social exercise.
The brain and body work best in balance -of-balance. Over-exercising or under- exercising are poor choices. Out of balance in any way represents a loss of homeostasis—the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements—which can be very detrimental.
Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work every day some. —Robert Fulghum
Challenging mental stimulation for at least 30 minutes a day is said to be critical for brain health. The brain, body, and mind work best when all functions are congruent and purring along in harmony. Balance is a key component to high-level-healthiness living and it can help to age-proof your brain.
Know yourself and pick an activity you’ll enjoy at a time you can commit to. If you’re not a morning person, there is no way you’re going to stay jogging with a group of friends at 6am three times a week. —Kathryn Freeland
2. Are you keeping up with innovative ideas for social exercise that can often combine mental and physical exercise along with social interactions?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one in four adults in the US met suggested guidelines for mental, physical, and social exercise.
Perhaps you know other individuals who would enjoy meeting one a week for a walk, a bike-ride, cooking, starting a book club, or playing music together. Be creative. Look for activities that combine mental, physical, and social exercise when possible.
We do not stop exercising because we grow old- we grow old because we stop exercising. —Dr. Kenneth Cooper
3. Do you understand that the health of the brain, body, and spirit are all linked together?
The brain is capable of imagining travel, going from place. Literally, however, without a healthy body, the brain would be extremely limited in where it could go in person and in real time. Safely! It might find itself primarily stuck in one place. You need a healthy body to transport the brain safely and efficiently from place to place. Without a healthy brain, the body might fail to transport the brain around at all. Without social exercise the brain, body, and spirit may all start to decline and wither.
Balance is not something you find; it is something you create. —Jana Kingsford
4. What steps are you taking to keep a daily balance of brain, body, and social exercise?
Yes, life is busy. However, balance is critical to health and longevity. How are you defining physical exercise? Washing the car, vacuuming the carpet, scrubbing the floor, cutting the grass, weeding the flower bed, doing the laundry, filling and emptying the dishwasher all qualify as activity
How are you defining mental exercise? Reading an enjoyable book or listening to an audiobook while you are fixing or eating lunch, playing the piano or another instrument of choice can qualify as both physical and mental exercise. If you can do it with others, that will add social exercise.
Do you have a friend or relative who might like to exercise with you? Do you have a friend, neighbor, or relative who is having difficulty walking their dog? Offer to do it for them once a day. Look for a place to volunteer for a community service while getting healthier yourself. There are animal shelters, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food distribution, tutoring, libraries, churches, orphanages, schools, and daycare that might welcome some volunteers. Is there a retirement center nearby? Offer to walk with older residents, play games with them, or read to the vision impaired. Sometimes they just need a person to listen to them. Anything like this can be a type of social exercise.
5. For those who read Scripture.
Take care of your body. It is the only place you have to live. —Jim Rohn
Altering one’s lifestyle choices, at least for most people, is a somewhat daunting task. It requires decision, commitment, study, practice, and ongoing implementation. It absolutely can be done. Slow and steady is the key.
To recharge themselves, individuals need to recognize the costs of energy- depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them, regardless of the circumstances they are facing. —Harvard Business Review, 2007
Concentrate on Module #3 during the entire week or longer if you need to. Reread the sections; relisten to the audiobook excerpts; rewatch the video again. It takes the average adult four times through something to really absorb the material and turn it into a new behavior. If you want positive results, rushing through the material just because you can, may not provide the desired outcome.
Kaizen (in Japanese) literally translates as continual improvement. Using kaizen, great and lasting success is achieved through small, consistent steps. It turns out that slow and steady is the best way to overcome your resistance to change. —Marci Shimoff
