Good Lifestyle

It's not a secret thatAerobic exercise can help wretchSome of the ravages ofaging. But oneGrowing research body suggests that swimming could offer a unique boost to brain health.

Regular swimming has been shown to improveMemory,Cognitive function,immune response andmood. Swimming can also help repair the damage caused by stress andForge new neural connections In the brain.

But scientists always try to unravel the way and why swim, in particular, produces these effects improving the brain.

Like aNeurobiologist formed in the physiology of the brain, a fitness passion and a mother, I spend hours at the local pool during the summer. It is not uncommon to see children splashing and swimming in a judicious way while their parents bronze remote - and I have been one of those parents observing many times the pool. But if more adults have recognized the benefits of cognitive and mental swimming of health, they might be more inclined to jump into the pool alongside their children.

New brain cells and improved connections

Until the 1960s, scientists believed that the number of neurons and synaptic connections in the human brainwere finished And this, once damaged, these brain cells could not be replaced. But this idea has been demystified while researchers have begun to see many evidence for the birth of neurons, norneurogenesis, in adult brains ofHumans and other animals.

Now, there is clear evidence thatAerobic exercise can contribute to neurogenesis and play a key role in the opposite or repairDamage to neurons and their connections in mammals and fish.

Research shows that one of the main methods of these changes occurs in response to exercise consists of increasing the levels of a protein calledNeurotrophic factor derived from the brain. Neath plasticity, or brain capacity to change, that this stimulating protein has been demonstrated to stimulateCognitive functionincludingLearning and memory.

Studies in people have found a strong relationship betweenNeurotrophic factor concentrations derived from the brain circulating in the brain and an increase in the size of the hippocampus, theBrain region responsible for learning and memory. Increasing levels of neurotrophic factor derived from the brain have also been demonstrated tosharperate cognitive performance and to helpreduce anxiety anddepression. On the other hand, researchers have observed mood disorders in patients withLower concentrations of neurotrophic factor derived from the brain.

Aerobic exercise also promotes the release ofSpecific chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. One of them is serotonin, which, when it is present at increased levels - isknown to reduce Depression and anxiety andmood.

InFISH STUDIESScientists have observed changes in genes responsible for rising neurotrophic factor levels derived from the brain as well as to strengthen the development of dendritic spines - proprietary pristubakes or elongated portions of nerve cells - after eight weeks of exercise compared to controls. This complete studies among mammalswhere the neurotrophic factor derived from the brain is known to increase the density of the neuronal vertebral column. These changes have been demonstrated to contribute toImproved memory,mood andImproved knowledge in mammals. The highest density of the spine helps neurons create new connections and send more signals to other nerve cells. With the repetition of the signals, the connections can become stronger.

But what is special to swim?

Researchers do not yet know what the secret sauce of swimming could be. But they are getting closer to understand it.

Swimming has long been recognized for itsCardiovascular benefits. Because swimming involves all major muscle groups, thethe heart must work hard, whoIncreases blood flow through the body. This leads to theCreation of new blood vesselsa process called angiogenesis. The biggest blood flow can also lead to aLarge release of endorphins- The hormones that act as a gearrine of natural pain throughout the body. This overvoltage brings the meaning of the euphoria that often follows the exercise.

Most research to understand how swimming affects the brain has been made in rats. Rats are a good laboratory model because of theirGenetic and anatomical similarity with humans.

In a study in rats, swimming has been shown atStimulate cerebral paths which suppress inflammation in the hippocampus and inhibits apoptosis, or cell death. The study also showed that swimming can help support the survival of neurons and reduce the cognitive impacts of aging. Although researchers do not yet have a means of visualizing apoptosis and neuronal survival in people, they observe similar cognitive results.

One of the most attractive questions is how swimming specifically improves short and long-term memory. To identify how long the beneficial effects can last,Researchers formed rats Swim for 60 minutes a day for five days a week. The team then tested the memory of the rats by swimming them through a labyrinth of radial water containing six arms, one of which with a hidden platform.

The rats have six attempts to swim freely and find the hidden platform. After only seven days of swimming training, researchers saw improvements in short- and long-term briefs, based on a reduction in the errors rats performed each day. The researchers suggested that this stimulation of the cognitive function could constitute a basis for using swimming as a means of repairing learning and memory damage caused by neuropsychiatric diseases in humans.

Although jumping among rats in humans is substantial, research on productive people is important.similar results suggesting aClear cognitive advantage to swim at all ages. For example, in a study on the impact of swimming with mental acuity in the elderly, researchers concluded that swimmers hadImprovement of mental speed and attention compared to non-wheels. However, this study is limited in its research design, as participants were not randomized and those who were swimmers before the study of having had an unfair advantage.

Another study compared the cognition between land-based athletes and swimmers in the adult age of young adults. While the immersion of the water itself has not manufactured a difference, the researchers found that 20 minutes of greased swimming with moderate intensityImproved cognitive function in both groups.

Children also receive swimming

The benefits at the brain-enhancing swimming also appear to increase learning in children.

Another research group recently examined the link between physical activity andHow children learn new vocabulary words. The researchers taught children aged 6 to 12 the names of unknown objects. Then they tested their accuracy in recognizing these words after three activities: coloring (resting activity), swimming (aerobic activity) and exercise resembling cross-conflict (anaerobic activity) for three minutes.

They found that the accuracy of the children was much higher for the words learned after swimming in relation to coloring and crossfit, which resulted in the same level of recall. This shows a clear cognitive advantage of swimming over anaerobic exercise, although the study does not compare to swim with other aerobics exercises. These conclusions imply that swimming, even short period, is very beneficial for young people, developing brains.

The details of the time or tricks required, the style of swimming and what are activated adaptations and cognitive paths by swimming. But neuroscientists are very close to putting all the indices together.

For centuries, people have been looking for afountain of Youth. Swimming could be the closest we can get.

This article is republished byThe conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read itoriginal article.