Science increasingly links exercise with cognition

I have an appreciation for running. When I'm injured or otherwise unable to run, I feel it--and not just physically. When I run, my mind recharges. It solves problems. It helps me think clearly.

Lenny Bernstein feels similarly. He is the author of an article about how a growing body of evidence links exercise with mental acuity. As a runner, he experiences that cognitive boost, and he writes in The Washington Post : "The tantalizing question for those of us in middle age and beyond (I am 52) is whether this short-term cognitive benefit can be replicated over the long haul. Can exercise help keep our minds sharp? And if so, can it help delay or prevent the truly terrifying mental deterioration of dementia, most commonly seen as Alzheimer's disease?

"Researchers studying both animals and humans increasingly say the answer is yes."

OK, we're not entirely there yet. The link has been observed.

Dr. John Ratey's book, "Spark, the Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," ($24.99, Little, Brown and Company) gives lots of examples. It says aerobic exercise has been shown to be as effective as antidepressants; that women who exercise, lower their chances of developing dementia by 50 percent; that a revolutionary fitness program helped put one U.S. school district of 19,000 kids first in the world in science; and that exercise has been shown to spark new brain-cell growth.

"The evidence is incontrovertible: aerobic exercise physically transforms our brains for peak performance," Ratey's promotional materials say. "The major implication is that exercise not only keeps the brain from rotting, but it also reverses the cell deterioration associated with aging," the doctor told the newspaper.

The Washington Post article.