exercises for the mind

[pappymojo]

I work out using nautilus type equipment and weights about four days a week. I also run or using an ellyptical machine about four days a week (but not always on the same days that I use weights-somedays I run and lift, somedays I lift only, somedays I run only, somedays I rest).

Anyways, I have had success and I am hooked. I love seeing the results of my hard work. My body looks good and it is so motivational to see.

My question is, is there any type of exercises that I can do to increase intelligence and memory. I don't really want to take supplements. I just want to take 20 minutes a day doing repetitive type exercises.

Any suggestions?

[Plan9Senior]

Excercise in general is great for the brain. Here is an interesting article about some studies on exercise and the brain: http://www3.utsouthwestern.edu/libra...rainxrcise.htm


For the click challenged:

We all know exercise can make us stronger. But exercise can also make us smarter.

We tend to think of exercise as something that strengthens muscles, the heart and the lungs. But researchers in North Carolina report that exercise may also be good for the brain.

An earlier study found that regular aerobic exercise was just as effective as medication for treating some forms of depression. In a follow-up to that study, the researchers found that exercise improved certain cognitive abilities. People in the study who exercised regularly showed improvement in their ability to plan, organize and keep track of several tasks. Their memory also improved. Researchers believe the improvement could be because exercise makes the body more efficient at pumping oxygen-rich blood to the brain.

Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say exercise really does good things for all aspects of your health. It makes you stronger. It makes your heart and lungs work better. It makes you feel better. And it even makes you think better. Those should be enough reasons for you to make regular exercise part of your life.

Talk to your doctor about an exercise program that's right for you. Then stick to it consistently.

Similar results were found when researching the same thing on animals, here is another article about their findings: http://www.sfn.org/content/Publicati.../exercise.html

Exercise and the Brain
For years many exercise enthusiasts have suspected that exercise positively affects the brain as well as the body. But while it seemed logical that an active lifestyle would help the brain, the scientific evidence was lacking. Now several biological studies indicate that working out does benefit the brain. The new insights help confirm the notion that exercise has overall health benefits and also may lead to specialized physical activity programs for patients.

Kickboxing. Salsa aerobics. A spinning class. Or maybe you'll simply run some laps around the park. Then again, watching the barbecue cook-off on the food channel from your recliner or hot tub seems the most appealing. Why even bother with the whole work-out thing?
The reasons to get moving are greater than you think. It's common knowledge that physical activity generally makes you feel good and helps keep your body lean and in prime working order. Now researchers also are finding biological evidence that exercise benefits specific brain mechanisms.

The findings, culled from a spattering of animal studies, are leading to:


A better understanding of the overall health rewards of exercise.
Heightened support for exercise regimens that could aid recovery from a wide range of illnesses.
Much of the new research suggests that exercise positively affects the hippocampus, a sea-horse shaped brain structure that is vital for memory and learning.
In one recent study, researchers found that adult mice doubled their number of new brain cells in the hippocampus when they had access to running wheels. The fact that the mammalian adult brain can increase its number of brain cells is surprising in itself. It was once thought that the brain stopped producing new brain cells early in its development. And presumably brain power dimmed as cells died over the years. But in the past decade, researchers have found definitive evidence that the brain continues to generate new brain cells throughout life, even in humans. Studies indicated that challenging environments, which included a number of components, such as pumped-up learning opportunities, social interactions and physical activities, were key to boosting the growth.
In the new study, the scientists found that voluntary physical activity alone was enough to trigger a boost in brain cell proliferation. So far, the proliferation is seen only in relation to the running wheel. Swimming produced no change in mice and rats, but this may be because these rodents had pool access for only a brief stint per day. The runners had round-the-clock wheel access. It's also possible that rodents don't enjoy swimming and it causes a stress to their systems that counters any benefit. Researchers believe that rodents particularly enjoy the running wheel because they will voluntarily trot away on one if it's in their cage. Mice will log some 20,000 to 40,000 revolutions or four to six miles per day.
In the next phase of the research, scientists are trying to map the biological steps that induce the brain cell proliferation in the runners. One participant in the growth phenomenon may be brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which supports the function and survival of brain cells. The factor increased in the hippocampi of rats that voluntarily exercised on running wheels, according to an earlier report.
In addition, scientists are studying whether exercise alters the molecular mechanisms that are important for learning and memory. It seems likely since the cell research shows that changes occur in the brain's learning and memory center. In addition, past behavioral research on mice indicated that treadmill running improved certain learning and memory tasks. Even members of a family of mice that were poor learners improved their performances on the tasks. The exercise also prevented an age-related decline in mouse performance.
Researchers also are finding biological evidence that exercise can help the brain on other fronts. For example, animal studies are determining that exercise prevents the negative effects of chronic stress on the brain at the molecular level and boosts the brain's biological battle against infection.
Together the group of studies suggests that an active lifestyle, whether filled with exotic gym classes or simple jogs, plays an important role in maintaining the function of the brain. Furthermore, the research indicates that specialized exercise regimens may help repair damaged or aged brains. Scientists are currently investigating this possibility.

[scansinboy]

try crossword puzzles. Or other mental puzzle/latteral thinking excercises. Do a search on paradoxes. Makes your head hurt after a while.

[Rodney]

Apparently, playing a musical instrument is also good brain exercise. Music keeps the brain busy.

[arhat]

Classical Baroque music with a largo beat is proven to increase intelligence. Something about increasing brain wave patterns.

Also, some form of meditation is said to help. If you try meditation, make sure you do it correctly. Find a decent teacher to help you with this...harder than you may think.

My current Martial Arts teacher brought up a recent article in Time magazine, August 4,2003. He said the science was good, but the practice procedure was incorrect. It's not a bad article.

Best of luck.

[bundy]

Originally posted by scansinboy

try crossword puzzles.

totally what i was going to add.
i believe theres even some research being done into the prevention or just the delay of the onset of senility in the elderly based around doing a crossword every day.

[BubblegumTeflon]

Memorize something new and interesting to you, something you think is really cool and fun to know, every day. Maybe some Shakespeare or a short scene from your favorite movie or stats for a baseball player. Start small with a paragraph of info or half of a song's lyrics and build up from there. Make sure it's something you like so you're motivated.

Then place a note in a book or on your computer that you memorized the info (just a comment, not all of the info). If you want you can place the actual info somewhere else but don't cheat. If you do it every day it gets to be a lot of stuff, 365 things after a year, so check your list once a week. If you forget one just go back through the list to refresh yourself.

Keep it up and you'll start memorizing small bits of information very quickly. Actors do this kind of thing all the time and a lot of them get really good. I've seen them memorize a short script in 15 minutes.

[Lunchbox7]

Meditation

[wwcd101]

Can you get meditation teaching without getting a strong dose of some religion thrown in?

Thanks for listening.

[meff]

Originally posted by Rodney
Apparently, playing a musical instrument is also good brain exercise. Music keeps the brain busy.

Yeah I've heard this alot too, try taking up a musical instrument, for some reason it seems to improve test scores and everything, so I'm sure your mind will love it. I wonder if it has to do with you producing music or the patterns you go in to make the instrument make music..

[Thraeryn]

Originally posted by wwcd101
Can you get meditation teaching without getting a strong dose of some religion thrown in?

Try looking around for some beginner's Zen sites. Part of the beauty of Zen is in its simplicity, so they don't usually subject you to a lot of hoo-ha up front.

I'd totally be into Zen if it wasn't an offshoot of Buddhism, which is an offshoot reaction to Hinduism. *sigh*

[sapiens]

Originally posted by arhat
Classical Baroque music with a largo beat is proven to increase intelligence. Something about increasing brain wave patterns.

Do you have a reference for this? My understanding is that intelligence (IQ) is a relatively stable individual difference. Doing crossword puzzles would increase your ability to do crossword puzzles. I don't think that it would increase IQ. If anyone has ever seen research to the contrary, I'm curious. I would love to see the references.

[fuzzix]

Try drawing and writing with your non-dominant hand.

[AragornZ]

Also on the easy side of things dont forget just reading espically textbook style books on areas of intrest. Also picking a few new words a day will increase vocabulary. The more you do something the more the body strives to help you do that thing.

[Lunchbox7]

I saw a documentry the other week on savants. people with exceptional inteelligence. There is a professor at Sydney university who is meant to be a world leader in this type of research. He has not only discovered which parts of the brain are stimulated to produce intelligence for several types of intelligence. But he created a helmet doohicky to stimulate those areas. What he effectively does is temporarily turn you into a savant. You would see these people draw a picture or identify errors in litrature, they would undergo the procedure and then suddenly their drawings are heaps better an they noticed heaps more errors. I found it facinating. You could go and ask him if you could have a go at it....