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Becky Behling is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais practitioner, in full standing with the Feldenkrais Guild of North America | Austin, Texas

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Archives for November 2013

Great Sleep, Healthier Brain

November 14, 2013 by Becky Leave a Comment

1174-brain-in-profile-vector.htmlIn an NPR broadcast on October 17, 2013, it was reported that the brains of sleeping mice clean themselves of toxins. Researchers have been surprised to discover that brain cells of mice shrank and cerebrospinal fluid was pumped in and out of the brain by the nervous system at “a very rapid pace”. Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, neurosurgery professor at the University of Rochester, thinks this can help explain the link between brain diseases and sleep disorders. Alzheimer’s disease is in that group of disorders.
Sticky beta amyloid proteins are among the wastes removed from the mice brains during sleep. Dr. Nedergaard likened this process to the way a dishwasher works to clean dirty dishes. As the mice snoozed, the circulatory action of cerebrospinal fluid increased and was pumped in and out of the brain to rapidly to clean away toxic debris. Beta amyloid proteins, among other wastes, collect in brain tissues when mice are awake. Over time, their gummy quality gives amyloid proteins the ability to form plaques.
Although we would think this type of brain cleansing is an ongoing process, it is not. Dr. Nedergaard said that such scrubbing takes a lot of energy, noting, “It’s probably not possible for the brain to both clean itself and at the same time [be] aware of the surroundings and talk and move and so on.” This may be why people don’t think clearly after a sleepless night and could help explain why a long-term sleeplessness may result in death.
Although this cleaning phenomenon has not yet been observed in humans, it offers insight into brain diseases affecting humans. Dr. Randall Bateman, neurology professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has also been researching the effects of sleep on brain tissue. He thinks Nedergaard’s study may provide new ways to prevent Alzheimer’s by making it possible to “control sleep in a way to improve the clearance of beta amyloid and help prevent amyloidosis that we think can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.”
(http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/18/236211811/brains-sweep-themselves-clean-of-toxins-during-sleep)

Filed Under: Fitness

I have WHAT?? Getting Wise About Sarcopenia

November 9, 2013 by Becky Leave a Comment

Sarcopenia means muscle wasting. It is the decline in muscle mass beginning around age 40. It is partially responsible for declines in strength and power associated with growing older. Data from the National Institute on Aging reveals that “only 11% of people 85 and older engage in any regular exercise…and fewer than 15 % of people 65 and older do any regular strength training at a time in life when sarcopenia…contributes to some of the most troubling, and preventable, conditions of old age.”
Maria Fiatarone Singh is a professor at the University of Sydney School of Medicine. For the past 25 ears, her name has been seen frequently on much of the research investing the effects of regular strength training for older adults. “If I had to do only one thing for the frail older person, it would clearly be weight lifting exercise, and not any other form of exercise, ” she said. Here’s some of the data she’s collected from studies spanning those years:
  • nursing home residents soon doubled and tripled their strength with an appropriately intense resistance exercise program (1988)
  • people who suffered hip fractures and engaged in a year of weight lifting after injury reduced nursing home admissions and mortality by more than 89% compared with other therapies (2003)
  • balance exercises and strength training programs significantly reduced falls among older people (2012)
Dr. Singh and others contend that up to 95% of all older people can safely engage in regular exercise, even those with chronic conditions such as arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, many problems that are common in older adults are simply the result of low levels of fitness. Read the story of a 102  year old man who began working with a personal trainer three years ago here: http://www.timesofoman.com/Features/Article-354.aspx
For more information about the role of nutrition and resistance training in treating sarcopenia, view this 5 minute interview with Professor Roger Fielding of the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. (http://sarcopenia.com).

Filed Under: Fitness

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