Believe it or not. Physical exercise can make you more intelligent. We’ve been here before. But, our schools are in the grip of speech and prize-giving days.
Time to re-visit the message. If your ward is regular at physical exercise (=exercise), that can help him or her become the best student for the year. That way, you can celebrate with the The Prize.
THE SPARK
“Train Your Brain” was an article in The Independent – London, 25 March 2008. It sparked off this debate. Readers know all about other benefits of exercise. Exercise helps you keep fit, lose weight and cholesterol.
Exercise boosts the heart and immune system with which we fight infection.
You need not know how exercise weaves its magic on the brain to derive the benefits.
All the same, the physiology is interesting. Prof. John Ratey of Harvard Medical School, USA, found that exercise stimulates the brain to produce what he calls “Miracle-Gro”.
Tests [on mice] showed that exercise activated a gene called VGF. [VGF is not Viagra.] It is linked to a “growth factor” chemical involved in the development of new nerve cells.
HAPPINESS
Readers may also recall that folks who exercise are happier than folks who don’t. Exercise releases our brain’s own secret supplies of dope - substances called endorphins. Exercise staves off depression. “Exercise is good as any anti-depressant I know.” John Ratey.
THE GERMAN CONNECTION
Participants in a German survey were asked to walk quickly on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day over a 10-day period. At the end of the experiment, researchers recorded a significant drop in depression.
STRESS
Busy days are hard days. It can be in office, market or lorry station, class room, barracks or prison. At the close of such fiendish days, chemicals called stress hormones build up in the body. If denied exit, these chemicals become attack dogs.
They turn on their master because he has failed to provide them with rabbits to chase and kill. So, they mess up your gut and brain. They cause loss of appetite, as well as indigestion, anxiety and foggy mind.
“FIGHT OR FLIGHT”
What is the intended use of stress hormones? “Fight or flight” is the answer. In this context, fight or flight means exercise. You can pick a fight – literarily! Go to the gym and do kick-boxing. Or, take flight—literarily. Jog. Run. Walk.
Be brisk as if the devil were giving you chase, and that your life depends of how swiftly you flee!
Prof. Ratey says that exercise helps in the long term. “It builds up antioxidants such as Vitamins E and C. “These help brain cells protect us from future stress.”
AGGRESSION
Games and sports release pent-up aggression. But, the process goes deeper than “get it out your system”. “Exercise changes your brain such that you don’t feel aggression in the first place.”
A RED CARD
A part of the brain decides whether you should throw a punch, or, take it on the chin. It puts on the brakes when the ref wrongly gives you a red card, and, you feel like spitting into his eyes.
When brain activity in this area becomes a cold squid, you can no longer smoothly control violent urges. Exercise increases activity in this cherry zone. Therefore, exercise boosts rational thought. This makes us less likely to lash out.
GYM TIME
I once received three consultants from the USA: two ex-vice chancellors and a dean. Their first question was: “Where is the gym?” One of them said: “At the end of the day, you don’t want to be near me…If I don’t get my gym-time. I become bad tempered!”
We all have tiny parcels of time which we protect jealously. It can be lunch break, siesta or closing time, church time, bed time. It is high time we added GYM TIME.
A HOLY GRAIL
And now, we return to the message. It is a holy grail: intelligence and exercise. The next few are among the most important paragraphs this columnist will ever write. They set down and develop this argument. There is a direct link between physical exercise and intelligence.
This is about our sons and daughters. It’s more than Joseph Gago winning a coveted prize. It’s about our collective intelligence and national development. It is also about parents’ right to choose, or, reject what they know is good for their wards.
Here is the notion re-stated. Exercise leads to greater intelligence. “Exercise doesn’t make you smarter. It optimizes the brain for learning.” (Prof. John Ratey). It boosts the flow of blood to the part of the brain which is responsible for memory and learning. Exercise promotes the production of new brain cells.
EVIDENCE
To me, this claim was startling. The evidence includes this observation. Pupils at Naperville Central High School start the day with a fitness class they call “Zero Hour PE”. What was the result? Please, wait for it. “Exam results soared since the keep-fit initiative kicked off.”
Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, a test involving 241 people, aged 15- 71, compared exercise with the results of cognitive tasks. Those who were more active showed improved results.
INTELLIGENCE IN THE VERY YOUNG
There is more to come. Research suggests that exercise boosts intelligence in the very young. Experiments on rats at the Delbrck Centre, Berlin, showed that rats born to mothers who were more active during pregnancy had 40 per cent more cells in the brain area responsible for intelligence.
SUPPOSE IT’S TRUE…
We are men, not mice. All the same, won’t you like to apply this info? Suppose, just suppose, it is true for humans also that:
* Exercise boosts blood flow to the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
* Exercise promotes the production of new brain cells.
* Exam results soar with keep-fit at school.
* Because Auntie Akwele, fish monger, was active during her pregnancy, her baby, Oto, has 40 per cent cells for intelligence more than Auntie Docia’s Kofi because Docia, the admiral’s wife, snored throughout her pregnancy.
THE PRIZE
And, now, The Prize. “For her we strive, no matter our walk in life. About her we gather yearly and chatter. Under her roof, no man remains aloof. To attack the podium and grasp from the chair the noble opium: the coveted Prize. That is the moment. Parents and teachers drag their wards to her sports, and, pay dues of all sorts. We fast and pray that they too may woo excellence and win the Prize.”
So, so, so. We know two things. Exercise is cassava for the brain. Exam results soar with keep-fit at school. What are we to do? Sit on our hands and continue with business as usual? Or, go and fight for the restoration of compulsory PE in schools? Your school…Your ward….
Time to re-visit the message. If your ward is regular at physical exercise (=exercise), that can help him or her become the best student for the year. That way, you can celebrate with the The Prize.
THE SPARK
“Train Your Brain” was an article in The Independent – London, 25 March 2008. It sparked off this debate. Readers know all about other benefits of exercise. Exercise helps you keep fit, lose weight and cholesterol.
Exercise boosts the heart and immune system with which we fight infection.
You need not know how exercise weaves its magic on the brain to derive the benefits.
All the same, the physiology is interesting. Prof. John Ratey of Harvard Medical School, USA, found that exercise stimulates the brain to produce what he calls “Miracle-Gro”.
Tests [on mice] showed that exercise activated a gene called VGF. [VGF is not Viagra.] It is linked to a “growth factor” chemical involved in the development of new nerve cells.
HAPPINESS
Readers may also recall that folks who exercise are happier than folks who don’t. Exercise releases our brain’s own secret supplies of dope - substances called endorphins. Exercise staves off depression. “Exercise is good as any anti-depressant I know.” John Ratey.
THE GERMAN CONNECTION
Participants in a German survey were asked to walk quickly on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day over a 10-day period. At the end of the experiment, researchers recorded a significant drop in depression.
STRESS
Busy days are hard days. It can be in office, market or lorry station, class room, barracks or prison. At the close of such fiendish days, chemicals called stress hormones build up in the body. If denied exit, these chemicals become attack dogs.
They turn on their master because he has failed to provide them with rabbits to chase and kill. So, they mess up your gut and brain. They cause loss of appetite, as well as indigestion, anxiety and foggy mind.
“FIGHT OR FLIGHT”
What is the intended use of stress hormones? “Fight or flight” is the answer. In this context, fight or flight means exercise. You can pick a fight – literarily! Go to the gym and do kick-boxing. Or, take flight—literarily. Jog. Run. Walk.
Be brisk as if the devil were giving you chase, and that your life depends of how swiftly you flee!
Prof. Ratey says that exercise helps in the long term. “It builds up antioxidants such as Vitamins E and C. “These help brain cells protect us from future stress.”
AGGRESSION
Games and sports release pent-up aggression. But, the process goes deeper than “get it out your system”. “Exercise changes your brain such that you don’t feel aggression in the first place.”
A RED CARD
A part of the brain decides whether you should throw a punch, or, take it on the chin. It puts on the brakes when the ref wrongly gives you a red card, and, you feel like spitting into his eyes.
When brain activity in this area becomes a cold squid, you can no longer smoothly control violent urges. Exercise increases activity in this cherry zone. Therefore, exercise boosts rational thought. This makes us less likely to lash out.
GYM TIME
I once received three consultants from the USA: two ex-vice chancellors and a dean. Their first question was: “Where is the gym?” One of them said: “At the end of the day, you don’t want to be near me…If I don’t get my gym-time. I become bad tempered!”
We all have tiny parcels of time which we protect jealously. It can be lunch break, siesta or closing time, church time, bed time. It is high time we added GYM TIME.
A HOLY GRAIL
And now, we return to the message. It is a holy grail: intelligence and exercise. The next few are among the most important paragraphs this columnist will ever write. They set down and develop this argument. There is a direct link between physical exercise and intelligence.
This is about our sons and daughters. It’s more than Joseph Gago winning a coveted prize. It’s about our collective intelligence and national development. It is also about parents’ right to choose, or, reject what they know is good for their wards.
Here is the notion re-stated. Exercise leads to greater intelligence. “Exercise doesn’t make you smarter. It optimizes the brain for learning.” (Prof. John Ratey). It boosts the flow of blood to the part of the brain which is responsible for memory and learning. Exercise promotes the production of new brain cells.
EVIDENCE
To me, this claim was startling. The evidence includes this observation. Pupils at Naperville Central High School start the day with a fitness class they call “Zero Hour PE”. What was the result? Please, wait for it. “Exam results soared since the keep-fit initiative kicked off.”
Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, a test involving 241 people, aged 15- 71, compared exercise with the results of cognitive tasks. Those who were more active showed improved results.
INTELLIGENCE IN THE VERY YOUNG
There is more to come. Research suggests that exercise boosts intelligence in the very young. Experiments on rats at the Delbrck Centre, Berlin, showed that rats born to mothers who were more active during pregnancy had 40 per cent more cells in the brain area responsible for intelligence.
SUPPOSE IT’S TRUE…
We are men, not mice. All the same, won’t you like to apply this info? Suppose, just suppose, it is true for humans also that:
* Exercise boosts blood flow to the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
* Exercise promotes the production of new brain cells.
* Exam results soar with keep-fit at school.
* Because Auntie Akwele, fish monger, was active during her pregnancy, her baby, Oto, has 40 per cent cells for intelligence more than Auntie Docia’s Kofi because Docia, the admiral’s wife, snored throughout her pregnancy.
THE PRIZE
And, now, The Prize. “For her we strive, no matter our walk in life. About her we gather yearly and chatter. Under her roof, no man remains aloof. To attack the podium and grasp from the chair the noble opium: the coveted Prize. That is the moment. Parents and teachers drag their wards to her sports, and, pay dues of all sorts. We fast and pray that they too may woo excellence and win the Prize.”
So, so, so. We know two things. Exercise is cassava for the brain. Exam results soar with keep-fit at school. What are we to do? Sit on our hands and continue with business as usual? Or, go and fight for the restoration of compulsory PE in schools? Your school…Your ward….
