What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0024

1151.  People who exercise consistently report a general sense of well-being that people who lead a sedentary lifestyle do not experience.  Getting your heart pumping allows more of the natural mood-enhancing amino acid L-tryptophan to enter the brain.  L-tryptophan is the precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which balances moods;

1152.  One study compared the benefits of exercise to those of the prescription antidepressant drug Zoloft.  After twelve weeks, exercise proved equally effective as Zoloft in curbing depression.  After ten months, exercise surpassed the effects of the drug;

1153.  Research shows that high intensity activity can soothe anxiety and reduce the incidence of panic attacks;

1154.  Canadian researchers conducted a large-scale, five-year study to determine the association between physical activity and the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.  Physical activity was associated with lower risks of cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia of any type.  High levels of physical activity were associated with even further reduced risks.  The researchers concluded that regular physical activity could represent an important and potent protective factor against cognitive decline and dementia in elderly people;

1155.  Research has shown that in people over sixty-five, mild to moderate exercise reduces the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease by about 50 percent;

1156.  The more TV people watch, the less they tend to exercise.  People who watched two or more hours of TV a day (couch potatoes) were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.  In contrast, people over forty years of age who exercised at least thirty minutes per session two or more times a week reaped many protective benefits;

1157.  Australian researchers found that memory-impaired older adults who followed a six-month exercise program experienced a decrease in cognitive decline over an eighteen-month follow-up period;

1158.  Teens who were more physically fit were less impulsive, felt happier, and were more likely to do good things with their lives than their less-fit peers;

1159.  Engaging in exercise on a routine basis normalizes melatonin production in the brain and improves sleeping habits;

1160.  Although regular exercise is advised, it is best to avoid doing vigorous exercise too close to bedtime.  Try to complete physical activity about four hours before going to bed;

1161.  Regular exercise increases the chemical nitric oxide, which tells the smooth muscles in your blood vessels to relax and open, allowing blood to flow more freely throughout your body.  With consistent exercise, your blood vessels become more robust.  That helps keep blood pulsing to your heart, organs, and tissues.  This boosts the health of vital organs and reduces the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, and heart diseases–all of which have been linked to cognitive decline;

1162.  Exercise increases the production of glutathione, which is a major antioxidant in all cells.  Pumping up the levels of glutathione protects muscles and other tissues from free radical damage and premature aging;

1163.  Exercise improves blood flow to every organ in your body, so it makes sense that it would benefit your skin, which is the largest organ.  Thanks to increased circulation, greater amounts of oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your skin cells.  This encourages cell renewal and the production of collagen, the supportive protein that helps your skin from sagging and wrinkling.  It also helps skin battle back against the daily assaults from pollution and other environmental toxins;

1164.  When you are physically active, you are more likely to eat foods that are good for you, to get more sleep, and to take better care of your health in general;

1165.  When firing a shotgun, make sure the stock is firmly in your shoulder.  Otherwise, you might end up with some nasty bruises;

1166.  Running in mud really tires you out;

1167.  Exercise that requires coordination activates the cerebellum and enhances thinking, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed;

1168.  Aerobic activity spawns new brain cells, but it is coordination exercises that strengthen the connections between those new cells so your brain can recruit them for other purposes, such as thinking, learning, and remembering;

1169.  For better brain function, try a variety of activities that combine aerobic exercise and complex movements;

1170.  Make it a rule to exercise.  Don’t give yourself the option of exercising or not.  It should be a daily habit just like brushing your teeth;

1171.  The health of your skin is directly tied to the health of your brain.  It is your brain that tells your skin to produce more or less oil.  It is your brain that supervises the production of supportive collagen.  And it is your brain at the command post of skin-cell regeneration;

1172.  The same things that boost blood flow to the brain and enhance overall brain function will rejuvenate your skin and give it a healthy glow.  By the same token, many things that harm the brain also damage your skin and make you look older;

1173.  When we feel anxious or upset, our skin temperature immediately starts to become colder and we start to sweat;

1174.  Don’t bottle up your emotions or it might cause skin problems;

1175.  It is possible to study the biological roots of mental health diseases like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia by looking at certain skin cells rather than having to take tissue samples of the brain.  That’s because certain skin cells function similarly to the brain cells that are believed to be involved in these disorders;

1176.  Scans showed that scratching activated certain areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobe, and cerebellum.  At the same time, it deactivated the anterior and posterior cingulated cortices.  These areas are associated with unpleasant emotions and memories.  The simple act of scratching your skin changes your brain and can make you feel better;

1177.  Avoid too much alcohol, too much caffeine, or too little water.  They dehydrate the skin and make it look dull and wrinkled;

1178.  Skin cell regeneration revs up while you sleep to rejuvenate your skin.  Getting adequate sleep is a better antiaging treatment than anything you could find at the cosmetics counter.  Sleep also repairs skin from daily pollution and toxins and helps prevent breakouts by regulating the body’s hormones;

1179.  Having great sex–and a lot of it–can boost the levels of hormones, such as estrogen and DHEA, both of which promote smoother, tighter skin.  According to fascinating research, making love on a regular basis is so good for your skin, it can make you look ten years younger;

1180.  Try to get twenty minutes of good sun exposure during the day, after which you should protect yourself with sunscreen;

1181.  On average, men lose 10 percent of their testosterone every decade after age thirty, or about 1 to 3 percent each year.  As testosterone drops, there’s less blood flow to the brain, which causes problems with sexual and cognitive function;

1182.  Men with the most testosterone are the least likely to get married and stay married.  That may be why so many men tend to wait until they’re older to tie the knot;

1183.  If you want to attend the National Memorial Day Concert (PBS.org/memorialdayconcert) produced by PBS, but you want to avoid the crowds, go to the dress rehearsal held the night before;

1184.  Insulin is a storage hormone rather than a mobilizing hormone, it also stops the body from mobilizing and utilizing fat as a fuel source.  Too much insulin stops fat burning.  Eating too many simply carbohydrates, like candy, cake, or white bread, causes your blood sugar to spike, which triggers intense insulin production to remove the glucose from your bloodstream.  Once insulin has removed the glucose from your blood, your blood sugar drops, causing cravings for even more sugar;

1185.  Natural ways to stimulate the production of growth hormone include getting adequate sleep, doing intense physical activity, and eating protein at every meal, while reducing the consumption of sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates;

1186.  People who suffer a depressive episode after a heart attack are three times more likely to die in the next two and a half years than those who do not have depression;

1187.  A study where researchers asked ten thousand men one question, “Does your wife show you her love.”  The men who answered no had significantly more illnesses and, in fact, died early;

1188.  Scientific studies report that grief triggers a storm of hormonal activity.  Stress chemicals, such as adrenaline and cortisol, are pumped into the bloodstream.  They cause the heart to beat irregularly, causing the feeling of fluttering in your chest, and they cause spasms of the blood vessels that supply the heart, also causing pain.  If the heart is already compromised by atherosclerosis, it can set the stage for a heart attack by constricting blood vessels, rupturing atherosclerotic plaques, and forming blood clots or triggering dangerous abnormal heart rhythms;

1189.  Hostility, anger, depression, loneliness, frustration, sleep deprivation, obesity, diabetes, air pollution, and chronic stress all decrease heart rate variability (HRV).  Positive emotion, gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, holding your puppy, listening to soothing music, smelling lavender, losing weight, exercising, and eating more fruits and vegetables have scientific evidence showing they increase HRV and overall health.  Your brain’s decisions can improve your heart!

1190.  Constant exposure to stress hormones kills cells in the brain’s memory centers and also decreases HRV and heart health.  Research has found that higher self-ratings of anxiety and stress within a week were associated with lower levels of HRV.  Stress hormones may also constrict narrowed blood vessels.  Tension, frustration, and other negative emotions often led to heart monitor recordings that pointed to decreased blood flow in the arteries to the heart.  This decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack;

1191.  Grief can send stress signals to the heart, causing vasospasms and abnormal heart rhythms.  In one study, Dr. Ivan Mendoza of Caracas, Venezuela, found that when he reviewed 102 cases of sudden death in people ages thirty-seven to seventy-nine, thirteen of the deaths occurred on the anniversary of a parent’s death.  Ten of the sudden deaths occurred in men, who typically internalize their feelings, and four of the thirteen died at the same age their parent did.  Learning to deal with grief through talking, crying, processing your feelings, and correcting bad thinking habits can save your life;

1192.  Trouble with the important people in your life predisposes people to depression, anxiety, and heart problems.  There is solid scientific research that working on your relationships can help heal depression and soothe your heart;

1193.  In small to moderate amounts, alcohol is reported to be good for your heart and, some studies even suggest for your brain.  HRV is improved with small amounts of wine, but not beer or hard liquor;

1194.  Daily drinking is associated with a smaller brain, which means poorer decision making, stress, and heartache;

1195.  It is well established that chronic anger and negative emotion can have a damaging effect on your brain and your heart, while positive emotion can improve HRV and overall brain and heart health.  Focus on what you love about your life and those around you, and your heart will be healthier and happier;

1196.  In a unique study, researchers from the University of Maryland found that while watching funny movies, such as There’s Something About Mary, nineteen out of twenty people had increased blood flow to the heart.  Conversely, watching stressful movies, such as the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan, decrease blood flow in fourteen out of twenty people.  Specifically, blood flow decreased by about 35 percent after experiencing stress, while blood flow increased by 22 percent after laughing, which is equivalent to what happens after a fifteen- to thirty-minute workout;

1197.  The ability of blood vessels to expand is known as vasodilation and is a sign of heart health.  Decreased blood flow limits the body’s ability to react to physical or emotional stress and results in an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.  Past studies have found that stress hormones like adrenalin and cortisol, which are released when a person is stressed, may harm the body by suppressing the immune system and constricting blood vessels.  On the other hand, laughing causes the body to release chemicals called endorphins, which may counteract the effects of stress hormones and cause blood vessels to dilate.  In a similar manner, laughing may also boost the immune system and reduce inflammation, which is thought to increase the risk of various health problems;

1198.  Our heart beats faster when we inhale and slower when we exhale.  Most meditation and yoga techniques have us exhale slowly, which can slow our heart rate and calm our entire body;

1199.  The 2011 “Hooters Dream Girl,” Victoria Brown, works at the Hooters of Harborplace in Baltimore, Maryland;

1200.  By directing attention to your hands with warm mental images, such as putting your hands in front of a warm fire, holding a cup of hot green tea, holding your partner’s warm skin, or sitting in a hot tub, many people can actually increase the temperature in their hands and induce a generalized relaxed brain and body state;