Running Improves Thinking

"To strengthen your mind, you may first want to exert your leg muscles, according to a sophisticated new experiment involving people, mice, and monkeys," reported Gretchen Reynolds in a New York Times article, "Can Running Make You Smarter?."

The study’s results suggest that long-term endurance exercise such as running can alter muscles in ways that then jump-start changes in the brain, helping to fortify learning and memory.  The study found that it all has to do with the production of the muscle recovery protein Cathepsin B.  The study found...

"Most striking, in the human volunteers, the men and women whose fitness had increased the most - suggesting that they had run particularly intensely - not only had the highest levels of Cathepsin B in their blood, but also the most-improved test scores...."

"The lesson of these experiments is that our brains appear to function better when they are awash in Cathepsin B and we make more cathepsin B when we exercise, says Henriette van Praag, an investigator at the National Institute on Aging at the N.I.H. who oversaw this study."

Save

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site