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Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

well.blogs.nytimes.com

51–60 of 133 posts

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#51
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 ?

A single data point is hardly an argument.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#52
post #8
post #2

TL;DR "muscle fitness (measured by leg power)" is correlated with cognitive ageing.

inversely correlated I hope?

The term "inversely correlated" is a new one for me, since correlation is two-way, and, as they say, not necessarily causal.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#54

What 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?

This would only be a problem if you currently spend every waking hour working effectively. It is now 7:18am my time, and I already worked out for an hour, mostly lifting weights. I didn't cut into my work time at all and I'll be way more capable of working than if I just woke up and started work.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#55
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends completely on how you define "strong". I think legs that can carry a 50 pound pack to the top of a mountain are "stronger" than a guy who can lift twice as much as me, but can't even run a 5K.

That's endurance, which is objectively different from strength.

Objectively?

Because last I checked, the english language was flexible, with multiple definitions for most words. I looked a few up for "strength". I did not find any dictionary that solely defined it as the ability to move heavy objects.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#56

What 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?

Can I flip this question around? If your job is to solve problems and You take a long 2-hour walk through the park, Come back to the office with a really great solution to a big problem Would that not have been worth your company's time?

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how come Stephen Hawking isn't a mental slouch by now ?

A single data point is hardly an argument.

I think he was pointing out that correlation does not equal causation. Strong legs => healthy brain is just silly. Could it be better eating habits => both? Just because they're twins doesn't mean one doesn't like their vegetables. Also, this data point is just as valid as the "Bill Gates jumped out of trash cans!" point.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#58
post #52
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

inversely correlated I hope?

The term "inversely correlated" is a new one for me, since correlation is two-way, and, as they say, not necessarily causal.

"Inversely correlated" roughly means "correlated in opposite directions", e.g., when one variable goes up, the other goes down, i.e., the correlation factor is negative. It does not imply causation.

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#59
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or weightlifting, squatting and deadlifting heavy on a regular basis will give you substantially stronger legs than any runner.

I'm not entirely convinced 'strong legs' are the causative factor in healthier brains. It is possible the researchers measured an artifact of people that do running cardio.

Particularly damning is that the research participants were all female. Anyone who's set foot in a gym knows that women do cardio disproportionately, and that the cardio they do increases thigh musculature...

Re: Strong Legs Associated with Healthy Brains in Twin Study

#60

I go to therapy to manage my depression. I don't have a severe case, but it's bad enough that it affects my productivity at times. Once a year or so I'll have a bout where I am almost completely unable to function. The tools I use to manage depression are (wait for it) diet, exercise and prayer (or meditation, if you want to keep it secular). Exercise is particularly useful. Depression affects the mind, so it's diffi…

Spinach, that's interesting. Apparently, tryptophan + vitamin B6 + vitamin C converts to serotonin.

https://thomasmcgregor.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/cure-depress...

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