Monday, May 25, 2015

Brain tone, with headstand

While preparing a quiz on the brain for rediff.com, I made some new discoveries about our good old brain that seems to show why doing the headstand keeps your mentally spry.
No, the research was not talking about the headstand -- I was just linking the dots and came up with this amazing insight:)
* When there is more blood rush to the brain, the myelin sheath, which is around the axon or brain cell, is protected. Damage to it is what causes age-related diseases (Alzheimer's, memory loss)
* More blood to the brain meant more white matter volume: white matter was related to learning, cognitive skills, co-ordinations, speed of firing between the cells. I think of this as young muscles for the brain.
* More blood meant more neurotrophic factors which helped regenerate new brain cells.
* More blood meant the new cells, which otherwise die when remaining unchallenged, get to live longer and help your brain become more plastic.
* It meant that you could ward off the problems of stress which literally eats/suffocates your brain cells to death.

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