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In the recent study, conducted on rats, has important implications for all of us. Scientists put rats in two separate cages – one with running wheels where the rats were encouraged to run and one without running wheels. The scientists wanted to investigate a portion of the brain that controls breathing and other activities such as our blood pressure. They found, after 12 weeks, a noticeable difference between the brains of the different rats and the rats than ran or kept exercising had their brain in the same condition as before the test began.
The neurons in the brains of the sedentary rats had more branches meaning that the neurons would be more sensitive to stimuli and to send off much more messages to the rest of the body than a normal brain would. In other words, the brain becomes overactive and that is apparently problematic because an overactive sympathetic nervous system causes your blood vessels to constrict too much. This ultimately leads to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The importance of this study, according to the scientists is that they always thought that activity changes the brain, but now they realise that it is actually inactivity that changes the brain. Scientists apparently plan to demonstrate this to their colleagues in a slide show and the message of the slide show will ultimately be, “This is your brain – and this is your brain on the couch”.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Tuesday 04-Feb-14
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Henrietta said:
on Friday 07-Feb-14 04:49 PM
I feel that when I sit to long I feel tire easily that when i stand up to walk around about and it really works.... So I can believe inactivity changes the brain
Catherine said:
on Wednesday 05-Feb-14 01:57 PM
Yes we all know exercise is beneficial to ones health and this goes to prove even further it's importance. It is actually sad when one comes across people who say they do not like to exercise.
Alexis said:
on Wednesday 05-Feb-14 07:46 AM
I agree with David as well i must admit. You need to keep active, get the oxygyn flowing - do what you need to do - we do not need scientists whom clearly have nothing better to do to tell us this
Angelique said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 11:57 AM
I don't think it was necessary to scientifically prove this as it seems pretty logical. The more you don't exercise, the more lazier you become. When one is lazy, you become more lazy to work, think, study etc.
Bianca R said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 10:54 AM
Interesting study.. Exercise is extremely good for anyone and encourages feeling better about yourself as well as gives you a lot of energy. If you are not exercising at all, you tend to feel more tired and lethargic most of the time whereas if you do exercise you feel the energy growing day by day.
Lizanne said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 09:23 AM
Exercising is an important aspect of your day to day lifestyle. It helps you concentrate more, its good for your body, mind and sole. It's food for your brain, like Liesl said. Also, eating healthy is very important in keeping the brain active.
Sally said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 08:50 AM
It all boils down to the fact that exercise is fatal for a healthy you.
zelda said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 08:49 AM
I agree with David, i also don't understand why there has to be a study to state something that all of us are supposed to know already. who ever thought they were going to get smart and be alive by lying on the couch, obviously has no clue as to what is going on in life
Brenda said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 08:42 AM
Exercise is a very important part of life, as it not only keeps your brain functioning, but also keeps the rest of your body in shape as well. I would never be able to go through life as a couch potato, i always wonder how people can just lay doing nothing for long periods of time. I always feel good and better about myself after a good exercise session and i think you'll find people become less lazy when they actually get themselves into the habit of exercising even if its just once a week to start off with.
david said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 08:10 AM
i am amazed that they need to do a study to discover that exercise is good for the brain. i have solved the worlds problems before whilst running.
Juliet said:
on Tuesday 04-Feb-14 08:00 AM
This links back to yesterday's blog about marijuana. Scientists have proven that smoking marijuana really does make people less motivated. Long-term use of the drug destroys dopamine, the feel-good chemical in the brain that motivates you. So users become withdrawn and lazy. Dopamine levels in the brain are lower in regular users so users sit around doing nothing. Like the rats their brains then change due to this inactivity. Everyone knows saying marijuana is a harmless herb is nonsense. No one can give one example of someone who smoked weed and then jumped up and said let's go for a run. No, they then lie on the couch playing PSP.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
