don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

I have as much respect for the brain as the next guy. In fact, I might have a little more than the next or at least the average guy or gal, given that I just finished a book about the brain entitled "A General Theory of Love." This book is actually about the science of human emotions. The authors, Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon, explain our thought processes from an evolutionary point of view, focusing upon three distinct brains that evolved over millions of years. "A General Theory..." is a fine introduction to or, depending upon where you went to school, perhaps a refresher course in neural science. The latter can be utilized to explain our emotions and how we relate to others. It can also be employed, as the authors demonstrate, to better understand our search for love -- or wellness, happiness, meaning, god or whatever you might want to search for!

The authors of "A General Theory..." explain how emotion plays a powerful role in our ability to develop self-management skills and do the things that are consistent with the search for love (and/or wellness, happiness, god, etc.) Love, for example, is most influenced, the good doctors tell us, not by the higher order, most recently evolved part of our brain, the neocortex, but rather by the limbic brain, the middle or next layer up from our ``reptilian'' brain. The latter is responsible for lower level survival responses that constitute programmed, hard-wired or involuntary, autonomic aspects of our being.

I mention all this to introduce a related area of study that has attracted the attention of a New Age genre of scientists, such as Larry Dossey, a physician who promotes the idea that prayer and other forms of religiosity can make you healthier. Some studies have been done, in fact, on the relationship between brain activity and physical fitness. More specifically, there is new research that suggests you can enjoy the benefits of exercise merely by thinking you are exercising. These findings might be a great comfort, if true, for the sedentary set, which of course includes the vast majority of Americans.

One such study, conducted in England and reported in "New Scientist" a few years ago (4-4-98), was cited by Dr. Dossey as evidence that thinking about exercise is almost as productive as doing it. It seems that one small group who "exercised" mentally, that is, imagined they were working out but did not really do any of it, gained a degree of improved fitness! Another group who actually sweated and otherwise worked out improved 33 percent, while controls who neither exercised nor THOUGHT about exercise did not become more fit. The key finding, however, was that a sub-group of non-exercisers who thought about exercise realized a 16 percent fitness gain. While this is not half as good as 33 percent, it's not bad for only thinking about exercising. I know lots of people who only think about exercise, and they do not look as if they have enjoyed any 16 percent fitness gains. Maybe something is wrong with the reptilian part of their brains!

The Manchester investigators hypothesized that thinking about exercise gave "neural input" to the affected muscles, which in turn led those muscles to recruit more fibers and exert more isometric force, thereby producing fitness advances in the muscles.

A related Japanese study was published a week ago. In that investigation, the neural pathways went in the other direction, in that running was found to give the brain certain benefits. Of course, I have long felt that running made me smarter, so this research comes as no surprise. (Just kidding.) The Japanese researchers found that individuals consistently scored higher on intellectual tests after having started a running program. Test results fell when exercise routines were discontinued.

Isn't that something? The conclusion? "Ongoing exercise is required to maintain the benefit,'' according to Dr. Kisou Kubota of Nihon Fukushi University in Handa, Japan. Dr. Kubota noted that oxygen intake levels were found to rise along with the test scores of subjects. In addition, a Duke University study last year also hinted at memory improvements, lower depressive feelings and other cognitive benefits in seniors who engaged in regular workouts (real workouts, not just thinking about exercising).

Of course, scientists have long held that exercise strengthens mental sharpness in a variety of ways, though the manner in which this occurs is not fully understood. No doubt, an exercise-boosted flow of blood and oxygen to the three brains has to help.

Dr. Kubota concluded that all this research might eventually enable physicians to ``find a way to use exercise and running to help aged people and those with Alzheimer's disease."

I conclude that you ought not to wait until you are aged or afflicted with Alzheimer's or other misfortunes to do more than just think about exercising, even if it will give YOU a 16 percent gain in fitness benefits. After all, your three brains probably need all the oxygen they can get. I know mine do -- especially that reptile part!

Be well, have fun and look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of exercise and fitness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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