Your Brain on Movement & Muscle!

What's your move?

A Cognition Prescription

Bigger - Faster - Sharper - Happier! That's your brain on movement and muscle!

If there is one prescription the experts can agree upon it's this - Keep moving and feed your muscle: Protect it. Grow it. Tone it. Your brain (and body) will thank you.

Leading experts also agree there is no age limit for the benefits and no marathon, gym or money required! Want to start at 80? Go for it!

We all know exercise (aka Movement) is good for us. Getting oxygen to our brain and body, protecting against frailty and falls. Here we profile three high-impact pathways needing more care and attention as our body changes over time.

#1 The Brain's Neurons on BDNF

BDNF Brain Bath

Effortful movement triggers the release of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)

Why care?

• BDNF maintains and builds synaptic connections between neurons,

• Strengthens the axons that connect various parts of the brain, and

• Triggers neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus - the primary brain region for short term memory and its conversion to long term memory.)

Fun Fact: The hippocampus is one of the few brain regions capable of neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) in adult brains.

Net effect More BDNF → larger hippocampus → better memory, cognition and mood.

The Trick Push your personal limits enough to feel the effort. Go for a brisk walk - not a stroll!

#2 Waste & Bad-Actor Removal - Mitochondrial Mitophagy

Effortful movement (exercise) triggers oxidative stress and energy demand which in turn trigger the mitophagy process

Why Care?

• Mitochondria are the energy life-source of every cell in our body and mind!

• Our ability to replicate healthy mitochondria declines with age. They become needier.

• Mitophagy cleans up damaged mitochondria and replaces them with more new, more efficient ones. (Healthy MitoC absorb unhealthy, senescent MitoC)

• Removing damaged Mitochondria reduces the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and metabolic dysfunction while improving energy.

Net Effect Movement at any age will help slow and/or reverse this decline while helping us feel more energized and vital!

The trick It's all relative. You only need to do what it takes to push your personal boundaries. It's your body feeling some challenge that matters - not a specific intensity value.

What about intermittent fasting? Fasting windows can trigger mitophagy, but we have much yet to learn about the possible sarcopenia risk - loss of muscle mass and functionality - through regular long fasting windows as we get older. I've chosen a 12--14 hour window.

#3 Cooling the Fires of Inflammation

Cooling the Inflammaging Fire

The effort of movement and the resulting lean muscle mass both reduce oxidative processes that create inflammation that damages cells in our body and mind .

Why Care

• Exercise builds glucose (glycogen) reserves, so our immune system can combat acute situations like an infection - while lowering chronic inflammation.

• Resulting improved insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism quiet the fire of chronic inflammation - a key driver in Type 2 diabetes, many cancers, dementia and most common chronic conditions.

• The Glucose Sponge Effect Skeletal muscle (leg muscle in particular) soaks up glucose creating an energy reserve to supply brain and body needs when stressed. This mechanism also improves insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism by taking glucose out of blood circulation.

• Signaling and molecule release Muscle acts as an endocrine organ, storing signaling proteins during contraction. This supports our immune system's ability to fight infection and insults to our body while also reducing chronic inflammation.

Example A 10-20 minute brisk walk after eating drops blood glucose spikes by roughly 30% on average - your leg muscles-in-motion soak it up.

Net effect High-glucose producing meals will have a lower impact on inflammation and insulin resistance - both harmful to the brain. Resulting increase in lean muscle translates to bigger reserve tanks for our immune system to leverage.

The trick As above, do what you can do on a regular basis. It's all relative.

It's all relative!

Recap

As our bodies change, we have the need and opportunity to support...

• Brain size and function through BDNF stimulation.

• Mitophagy for increasing total healthy mitochondria while removing damaging ones.

• Immune system function while reducing chronic inflammation.

These mechanisms help us do so by...

• Building brain and muscle reserves.

• Reversing muscle and brain function loss.

• Growing new brain cells.

• Fortifying the brain connections we do have!

Do what you can and build from there. The biggest new benefits come to those with the most room to grow!

Now What?

To learn more and get actionable specifics to trigger these pathways, we suggest:

• Exploring the Playbook Movement Portal for links to expert resources - Quick Bytes to Deep Dives.

• Sign up to receive update alerts for our new posts - at a glance you will see any new post alert for Movement and Exercise (along with other post alerts).

Wishing you well,

Janice