Simple life changes may lead to more efficient brain
26 May 2006
by Carina Lee
Brain efficiency and cognitive skills can be significantly improved by simply modifying behavioural lifestyle habits, according to research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). These small-scale changes such as memory exercises, controlling levels of stress, maintaining a healthy diet, and incorporating regular exercise, induces brain metabolism to decrease in memory working regions thus promoting efficiency in many day-to-day tasks. Some of the experiments consisted of a group of participants who followed the modified behavioural lifestyle and a group who were not affected by these conditions. A PET (positron emission tomography) brain scan of the healthy lifestyle group afterwards showed that the brain’s metabolism linked to working memory had decreased by 5% and verbal fluency increased as a result. Dr. Gary Small, who is a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences, explains “The finding suggests that for participants who had followed the healthy longevity program, the brain functioned more efficiently and didn't need to use as much glucose to perform effectively. The research demonstrates that in just 14 days, simple lifestyle changes can not only help overall health, but also improve memory and brain function.” |
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