What's good for the body is good for the brain

The implications of such findings are significant for adult education. While many adults enter formal learning activities to enhance career opportunities or meet some immediate need, engaging in active learning activities may be a key to longevity, health, and survivability. Of course, the adult is more than just a brain; brain productivity and longevity require more than brain exercise. Research increasingly connects adults' physical and psychological health with brain productivity and health.

In other words, what is good for the body and the soul also seems good for the brain. Exercise, diet, resilience, personal choice, environment, and genetics also play significant roles in brain development.

Sleep

Researchers are finding that the busiest period for the brain seems to be during sleep (Stickgold & Ellenbogen, 2008). During sleep, the brain performs vital database functions that process experiences from the day; sifting, categorizing, relating relevant information, and discerning or disregarding irrelevant information. This database function strengthens memory and aids in problem-solving. Memories are created by changing the strengths of connections among millions of neurons, which increases the likelihood that patterns of activity will occur.

When an individual activates these activity patterns, he or she recalls a memory. The brain cells that fire together wire together, which locks the pattern for recall. While people sleep, the brain reactivates the patterns of neural activity that it performs during the day. The unconscious activity selectively rehearses challenging aspects of tasks we perform, activates analysis of new memories, enables problem-solving, and infers new information. In short, the brain learns while the individual sleeps. Missing a night’s sleep can compromise memory and disrupt cognitive processes vital for learning.

Diet

Researchers are finding that what is good for the body also tends to be good for the brain. Diet and exercise have long been understood as ways to keep the body healthy but are now being connected to brain performance and longevity (Anthes, 2009). Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, delivering oxygen to the neurons. The blood also delivers chemicals necessary for brain development and performance. Called brain-derived neurotrophic factors, these chemicals encourage brain cell growth, promote neurons' survival, and facilitate communication. Likewise, diet may affect brain performance and longevity, with researchers identifying vegetables and Omega-3 fatty acids as “brain superfoods”. Fruits and vegetables provide antioxidants that counteract atoms that damage neurons. At the same time, the Omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish, nuts, and seeds, feed the fatty acids in the brain and may help to offset depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other disorders.

Resilience

While pop culture identifies stress as a culprit underlying the inability to learn effectively, rising depression rates, heart attacks, rising obesity, and soaring health costs, neuroscientists Kelly Lambert (2008) suggests that “cushy, digitally-driven, contemporary lifestyles… may be at the root of soaring depression” (p. 32). Lambert believes the brain is hardwired to derive satisfaction from meaningful action from effectively managing complex and challenging tasks. In other words, rising affluence directly correlates with decreasing resilience; what should be a stepping stone seems to be a crutch for some people.