WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BRAIN

SHARED From;

theSun ON THURSDAY, 21 November 2013

Fitness In The City By Jonathan Tan

FOR A HEALTHY BRAIN

The human brain, just like a body, needs movement to keep it in tip top condition and its cognitive abilities sharp

 

Bosses, who are looking to have more productive workers, should perhaps realign the KPIs for productivity by starting their employees on a movement programme.  Studies and research have shown that the brain functions better when the body feels good.

BASIC INFORMATION ON HUMAN BRAIN
1	Weighs: 1.5 to 2kg
2	The size: about the size of our cupped hands
3	The size of the brain has no correlation to the level of intelligence
4	Weight: about 2% of body weight
5	Consumes about 20% of your resting metabolism (average resting metabolism of an adult is about 1,200cals)
6	Composition: approximately 78% water, 10% fat, 8% protein, and 4% assorted compounds
7	Contains 100 billion neurons or nerve cells ( by comparison, the entire human body has about 1,000 billion neurons)
8	After age of 35, the human brain starts to lose its mass and therefore function)
9	It is estimated that by the age of 65, approximately 10% of adults have some form of cognitive impairment
10	By the age of 80, approximately 50% of adults suffer some form of cognitive impairment
11	Greater brain shrinkage is linked to problems with memory
12	Exercise is potentially one important pathway to maintaining a healthy brain and its cognitive function
13	People over 70 who are physically active had fewer ‘damaged’ areas in the white matter that transmits messages around the brain
14	Movement is two-faceted.  Movement needs brain function and brain function increases with more movement
15	After about 20 minutes of sitting motionless listening to lectures, our brain may interpret this as a progression towards sleep, thus shifts into auto-save mode, shutting off various functions and conserving energy
16	The brain, just like the body, needs constant movement or activity to keep the brain humming along
17	Exercise keeps cognitive abilities sharp and has a direct impact in preventing risk of Alzheimer’s by 50%
18	Stress is sometime caused by the brain being overworked.