Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health • Hacker News Board

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#21

Post by anon73044 » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

macintux wrote: post #8

dnhz wrote: post #2

The claim is that by running around outdoors, the brain gets used in a variety of ways such as navigation, decision-making, and sensory processing. Then why doesn't driving around in a car have similar benefits? Or does it?

I doubt driving (or video games) engages the brain the same way. Driving, you're heavily insulated from most noise (or, like in my Jeep, your hearing is overwhelmed by road noise). You're not smelling your environment, nor feeling it, and certainly you're not exercising as many muscle groups. I'd speculate (ok, wild guess) that it's the combination of blood flow, muscle exercise, all of your senses, which is so benef…

I think the key is the amount of stress induced while driving. If you're driving an appliance like a Tesla or Camry you're getting next to zero stimulation. If you're driving,say, a clapped out, no powersteering, manual trans G-body, the level of stress and multitasking is an order of magnitude greater. Though in that case let's level of stress might be more if a detriment than a benefit.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#22

Post by jjtheblunt » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

dnhz wrote: post #2

The claim is that by running around outdoors, the brain gets used in a variety of ways such as navigation, decision-making, and sensory processing. Then why doesn't driving around in a car have similar benefits? Or does it?

Guessing, but i bet all the hardware subsystems are in play when actually moving all available limbs in space and time.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#23

Post by SensateCreature » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

honopu wrote: post #16

SensateCreature wrote: post #11

Could it simply be because of exercising providing much needed break from focusing on worries in one's life? If so, any activity that one can enter into a state of flow can be beneficial.

It's easy to say, but if you are focusing on what worries you, without doing anything to work toward or resolve what is worrying you, it's really just wasted mental energy. Once you can be honest with yourself about having done everything you possibly/reasonably can to mitigate whatever you are worrying about, then you can let it go.

Definitely easier said than done.

There is even a tendency to fool ourselves into thinking that we have broken free of it, whilst still having that feeling of worry simmering in the background.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#24

Post by tus88 » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:13 PM UTC

I think if you are a programmer you are working out every day.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#25

Post by gherkinnn » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:17 PM UTC

dnhz wrote: post #2

The claim is that by running around outdoors, the brain gets used in a variety of ways such as navigation, decision-making, and sensory processing. Then why doesn't driving around in a car have similar benefits? Or does it?

They are vastly different things. Feeling the ground, constantly adapting your gait, managing your resources (consciously or otherwise), navigating, pacing yourself, the smells, the sounds, wind and weather. Your thoughts. Eventually hunger, thirst, and maybe an ache or so become noticeable. Pushing through anyway.

A car on the other hand has layers and layers of abstraction between you and your environment. Satnav, ABS, suspension, petrol gages, heated seats, lane-assist, gear boxes, seatbelts, AC, and automatic windscreen wipers.

Unless you're a racing driver in a suitably setup car, of course.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#26

Post by newnewpdro » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:24 PM UTC

This is something I've observed personally, especially with running and mountain biking.

It had me pondering if perhaps humans evolved to become smarter in response to these frequent physical stressors. Like if we find ourselves regularly having to outrun predators and/or chasing prey to survive, it would probably be advantageous to grow smarter and depend less on endurance and speed.

So I've been taking an attitude that exercise is a faux form of brute-force survival. That the body will respond both by becoming stronger and smarter, as long as it continues experiencing having to run miles regularly to survive.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#27

Post by fasteo » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:25 PM UTC

>>> Cognitively challenging exercise may benefit the brain more than physical activity that makes fewer cognitive demand.

This. I have noticed a significant mental “clearing” since I started boxing. Being forced to think when you are really tired is key.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#28

Post by levythe » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:36 PM UTC

tus88 wrote: post #24

I think if you are a programmer you are working out every day.

Care to elaborate? The connection is not clear to me. Fine movements of fingers and arms isn't exactly the same as intensive full body work.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#29

Post by tus88 » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:42 PM UTC

levythe wrote: post #28

tus88 wrote: post #24

I think if you are a programmer you are working out every day.

Care to elaborate? The connection is not clear to me. Fine movements of fingers and arms isn't exactly the same as intensive full body work.

Some scumbag changed the title and makes my comment look wrong. The title was something about working out your brain.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#30

Post by mmmrtl » Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 7:43 PM UTC

throwaway_tech wrote: post #19

>Less clear has been why physical activity affects the brain in the first place. I think the studies are looking at this backwards. Physical activity should probably be looked at as the natural state of humans and ask why lack of physical activity affects the brain. Then it probably makes a lot more sense, the brain is comprised of cells, just like muscles, that are either anabolic or catabolic. A lack of physical ex…

Why do you consider anabolism/catabolism a binary classification? All living cells, and especially terminally differentiated ones like neurons will have a mixture of anabolic and catabolic metabolic processes taking place constantly, and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells.