Yeah, just ask Stephen Hawkings
Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
31–40 of 133 posts
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#32What I'd like to know is how this boils down wrt work. If an increase in mental ability represent a greater work-done-per hour; But the cost is time spent exercising -> less time working (maybe somewhat compensated for other positive non-work benefits), Then what would be the perfect amount of exercise to boost productivity? i.e. would an hour spent exercising pay for itself in productivity boost?
You can get in a decent intense squat session in only 15 minutes. The really big time sinks associated with lifting include: - commute to/from gym - changing clothes - another shower If you don't live in cramped quarters such as SF/NYC, I recommend a small home/garage gym to address these.
The Times produced a great little app for seven-minute workouts, which apparently provide many of the benefits of more intensive exercise regimes and can be done entirely at home. The app: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/workouts/ The science: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-mi...
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#33Strong legs are also associated with people who run a lot, which has been already shown to be associated with healthy brains.
It's possible this study is a proxy for the common health advice of 'just do more cardio'
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#34Just started to read the book "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School". It basically starts with this "For starters, we are not used to sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out, walking as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves that experience, especially in sedentary populations like our own. Tha…
> Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem-solving tasks I'm pretty sure the cause/effect is reversed here. It's more likely that people who are smart and have better focus/are less impulsive are more likely to take care of their health and exercise.
So how come Stephen Hawking isn't a mental slouch by now ?
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#35Strong legs are also associated with people who run a lot, which has been already shown to be associated with healthy brains. It's possible this study is a proxy for the common health advice of 'just do more cardio'
Or just an overblown observation that smart people do more exercise. Similar to the massive bullshitstorm over the observation that people who are healthy sit less.
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#36Strong legs are also associated with people who run a lot, which has been already shown to be associated with healthy brains. It's possible this study is a proxy for the common health advice of 'just do more cardio'
Or weightlifting, squatting and deadlifting heavy on a regular basis will give you substantially stronger legs than any runner.
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#37Anecdotal confirmation: Bill Gates, who is widely believed to have a very healthy brain, in more youthful years used to perform silly jumping feats, like jumping out of garbage cans.
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#38This is actually a fairly old idea and hinges on the role of leg muscles in general circulation and brain irrigation. I don't have the other papers on hand, but I recall there being studies relating sitting time with cognitive performance, the idea being that there's a bit of hypoxia associated with immobility.
Edit: An anecdote which I think will resonate with many. Very often I start getting drowsy in front of my computer and decide to get a cup of coffee. By the time I make it to the coffee machine, I'm no longer drowsy ...
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#39Maybe but not always, kangaroos o frogs do not seem to be much smarter than deer or salamanders...
Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study
#40Anecdotal confirmation: Bill Gates, who is widely believed to have a very healthy brain, in more youthful years used to perform silly jumping feats, like jumping out of garbage cans.
Anecdotal counter-example: my dog likes jumping into garbage cans but isn't very smart.