Reading Improves Brain Health
By Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, East Sierra Branch
I can prove it.
If you read about the proper care of your thinking apparatus, and if you follow the guidance you encounter, you will likely benefit your mental performance. For example, I recently came across the following while sorting through my magazine pile:
“’Exercise may increase blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain,’ says Nicole Spartano, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University School of Medicine. ‘Over a lifetime, this can prevent cognitive decline.’” (Family Circle Sept 2016)
“When overweight postmenopausal women shed about 18 pounds, activity in regions of their brain responsible for episodic memory – being able to remember events in the past like your first day of school – changed for the better, according to Swedish research. Plus, excess weight, especially in midlife, has been linked to an increased risk of dementia later.” – Heather M. Snyder, PhD, senior director, medical and scientific relations, Alzheimer’s Association (Woman’s Day March 2016).
“A recent study is setting off alarms in the sleep-research community by suggesting that chronic sleep deprivation kills brain cells…. University of Pennsylvania researchers experimenting on sleep-deprived mice detected measurable damage to, and loss of, neurons responsible for alertness and optimal brain functions.” (AARP magazine December 2016 / January 2017)
Sage wisdom, indeed. On the other hand, I found this one in a magazine pull-out prepared by a leading pharmacy chain, urging me to “Trade just two minutes of sitting time per hour with just two minutes of light activity (even housework) and you cut your risk of dying by one-third, according to a 2015 study at the University of Utah School of Medicine.”
Really?” asked I aloud, then answered myself. “This particular reporter has screwed his or her pinwheel beanie on too tight. I would have thought we all have the same risk of dying no matter what we do, a whole 100%, no exceptions.”
I’ve decided to stick to a strategy of exercise, losing weight, and getting more sleep. Rather than putting my reading aside in a misguided attempt to take on the Grim Reaper by rounding up the dust bunnies under my bed.