See? All that exercise made her forget which way gravity works. Happens to me all the time.
It turns out that Sammy Sosa and Floyd Landis may not be lying – new research says they may reallynot remember how all those drugs got in their system. Apparently all the exercise got to ‘em. For myself, not being a professional athlete, I thought my steadily declining memory was all my children’s fault. Seriously, when you have to remember the exact location of 4 sippy cups, 3 lovies, and 6 flip-flops at all times things like the periodic table and who was president before Regan go right out the window. And who can forget the time Gym Hubby and I accidentally left one of our kids at the gym after a good sweaty workout? (Don’t worry! We came back for him! And now all the gym staff ask us if we’ve done a head count before we leave.) A study out of the University of Toronto exonerates the lot of us, saying that chronic strenuous exercise may be partly to blame for cognitive decline.
Awesome.
Following in the footsteps of money, fame and Jell-O, exercise provides yet another example of when some is good, more is not necessarily better. While many studies have shown a positive correlation between exercise and memory improvement, that goes out the window when you separate moderate from strenuous exercise. This new study performed on recently menopausal women with a long history of exercise showed that when the women performed consistent moderate exercise such as “brisk walking, golf, volleyball, cycling on level streets, recreational tennis, and softball” their cognitive functions improved. In a sad twist of research karma, women who consistently performed strenuous activities defined as “swimming laps, aerobics, calisthenics, running, jogging, basketball, cycling on hills, and racquetball” showed a sharp decline in eight different measures of cognitive ability, the most pronounced losses being in memory, recall and attention. And no, boxing was not mentioned in the study so y’all can rule out blows to the head as an explanation.
And this wouldn’t be the first study to show that prolonged, intense exercise may actually be detrimental to our health. Remember last year when it was discovered that running a marathon made people more prone to heart attacks and it took 3 months for the body to return to baseline afterward?
While the lead researcher Mary C. Tierney, PhD, cautions that one study does not prove causation and other variables may be present, she adds, “It wouldn’t hurt to do a trade-off. Don’t be sedentary, but don’t push yourself too far either. After 15 minutes on the treadmill, take a brisk walk rather than a long run.”
The Downsides of the Study
– It only studied 90 women. That’s not a very big pool from which to make generalizations. And why only women?
– Other variables, such as stress, could be causing the women to exercise too much and it could be the stress doing the brain damage. (Although seeing as I, and many people I know, use strenuous exercise as a way to moderate stress this doesn’t really help.)
– It was based on the women’s recall of how much and how intensely they had exercised over the past few years. Self reporting is notoriously inaccurate. (Although one would assume women would would lie saying they’d done more exercise than they really had, not less thereby reinforcing the study’s results.)
– It only talked about cardio. Does weight lifting affect this phenomenon at all?
The Upsides of the Study
– It has a scientific premise backed by other research. The study is based on previous research that showed that strenuous exercise reduces breast cancer risk by reducing estrogen levels. Unfortunately estrogen protects brain function so long-term estrogen reduction would, theoretically, lead to brain deterioration. Which is what the study found.
– This is not justification to sit on your butt. The findings support other studies that have found moderate exercise to enhance cognitive function. In fact, the more moderate exercise a woman did, the sharper her memory.
– Researchers did account for “age, education, smoking, and other risk factors for cognitive impairment.”
– The study is backed by animal research that showed similar findings in rats.
Conclusions
So much for the “go hard or go home” mentality. Seeing as I am one of those people who likes to push myself till I puke and loves nothing more than a really intense workout, this is not good research news for me. Back when I was in eating disorder counseling for compulsive over exercise, I remember my therapists telling me all the ways that strenuous exercise harmed the body and while impaired cognitive function wasn’t on their list then (although amenorrhea, injuries, heart damage and other fun things were), that reason might have been the one that would have affected me the most.
You know that game everyone plays: Would You Rather? Basically you make up two awful scenarios and then ask the person which one they would rather do. My kids adore this game – their fave is “Would you rather jump into a volcano or have a boulder of poo fall on your head?” But one I’ve heard a lot of adults ask is the sobering, “Would you rather get Alzheimer’s (where you lose your mind but keep your body) or Parkinson’s (where you lose bodily control but keep your sanity)?” At the risk of sounding insensitive to the horror of either disorder (please don’t e-mail me or comment than I’m making a joke at the expense of people with a serious illness – truly, I do not think this is funny), I’ve always answered Parkinson’s. Not that I want either one but my mental acuity is far more important to me than my body.
Thankfully, if the findings of this research are true, the answer is simple: get plenty of moderate exercise but keep the strenuous stuff low and short. Either that or be born with a freakishly large heart like Lance Armstrong so you don’t need the drugs to do the exercise.
Your turn: What do you think of this study? Does it support what you already thought or was it as surprising to you as it was to me? And, if you must, Volcano or Poo Boulder?
Um, I don’t think we can blame exercise for this one.
Wow thanks for sharing, that is quite an interesting study.
I don’t think your Parkinson’s/ Alzheimer’s example is wrong or making fun but I know firsthand it is sadly inaccurate. While Parkinson’s does affect your body first it goes for your mind second as I have now seen in two of my grandparents. I don’t know if this is always the case but it has certainly been my experience. The first time we weren’t prepared for it at all when we thought it would just be physical but the later mental affects were even more debilitating and horrible. Both diseases are truly devastating on every level.
p.s. the hat picture at the end totally cracked me up.
Yes, I have to agree. My dad had Parkinson’s – and with it came dementia. So it can go after your body AND your mind. He didn’t know who we were anymore.
Interesting. You know, my mom has the worst memory of anyone I know, and she’s not exercised at a strenuous level in years. Decades even. She did have five kids though. Not to scare you or anything. 😉
Anyway, this doesn’t really surprise me. Like you said, it is constantly being reinforced through research that more exercise isn’t always better, and it really makes sense from a (nerd alert) physiological perspective. Those hormones are fickle little buggers.
Also, poo boulder. Easy.
That’s interesting! I wonder if there’s a connection with blood glucose levels? Because moderate exercises will bring it down, while high intensity can drive it up at first, with it dropping later. (Lots of good info in Dr. Shari Coberg’s book, The Diabetic Athlete.)
Poo vs. volcano? Poo, of course, unless we’re talking *dormant* volcano…
Oh that’s interesting! You may be right since insuline affects directly the estrogen secretion (too much insuline causes inhibition of estrogen production) and insuline is highly secreted when bloog sugar level rise up fast (like when we eat ice delicious cream).
“After 15 minutes on the treadmill, take a brisk walk rather than a long run.” – Mary C. Tierney, PhD
This statement has left me very perplexed. Is she saying that anymore than 15 minutes on the tready is considered strenuous exercise?? So 20 minutes on the treadmill is considered a “long run”? I’m sorry to miss the forest for a tree but she cannot seriously mean 15 minutes! However, if she does it would explain a lot! 😉
While it sounds depressive of me, I cannot without hesitation declare Poo Boulder. Poo comes in many different forms and, well, without a few more details I am not standing under any sort of excrement!
Poo Boulder, obvi. I’m pretty good at showering, now that I’m an adult and all, so clean up (while annoying) would be possible. It’s not possible to recover from a Volcano (I went to Pompeii, I saw the body casts…those people did not live).
Also, I think perhaps this study falls under the ‘nothing to excess/everything in moderation’ rule- it really applies to mostly everything. Except Volcanoes and Poo Boulders- in which case, the rules is “as little of both as is possible”.
What is their definition of too strenious to cause a measurable effect? I myself do strenious cardio three times a week, that is my goal. Is there a caveat like I remember for the marathon study that it only affected people with less than X number of miles run per week to cause heart attack risk (I think I remember that study Steve Runner from pedipidations was a participant and he talked about it http://www.steverunner.com/ while back)?
I want to know how and when the cognitive function was tested. If, f’r instance, I was given an IQ test immediately after an intense exercise session, I’d flunk abysmally: My mind would still be on physical activity. But give me some time to shower up and eat, and I’d be back to my normal, brilliant self.
It is interesting (and maybe I’m just being defensive b/c running is my main form of exercise), but I think the small sample space is definitely and issue. I also have to wonder if they took amount of rest into consideration. I’m sure if you’re exercising strenuously and not resting enough, then cognitive function will be impacted. I’m also curious as to how one gets from moderate to strenuous. I often train for marathons and now when I go for an easy 6-8 mile run it doesn’t feel strenuous at all. It almost feels like I didn’t do anything. Finally, I have to wonder if age plays a role. I ran more miles in high school and college than I do now, and I did very well in school. My memory recall was much better then, than it is now.
Not sure about the poo thing… If it is so big that you can’t come out, you’ll die drowning in poo. eurk!
About the “why not men” interogation, they are looking at the potential long term effect of estrogen on brain activity… men and estrogen don’t go along.
Those kind of article tend to take studies (not facts, just observations) and put affirmations in the scientist mouths. I’m pretty sure this study is exploratory, meaning that this lab is probably conducting a bigger and more accurate study right now.
Are we allowed protective gear from the poo boulder? ‘Cause I’d totally choose that, too.
While I’m somewhat skeptical of studies like these, they DO give me permission to be my somewhat lazy-butt self. I’d rather do a lot of moderate exercise than have to push myself very much or often. Am I working twice as much to get half as far? Perhaps. But I’m just too darn tired to move faster or jump higher.
Interesting. I find when I exercise my mind is clearer…
but I can see how overexercise would be detrimental. I struggle with that sometimes…how much is too much? How can I stay happy with what I do now?
And as gross as it is – tI’ take the poo – it would wash off. Burning lava? Not so much…Interesting about the Alzheimers/Parkinsons thing. J and I have talked about this in the past and I think if I were to go senile, but be happy, I’d be all over that. I don’t think I’d want a body that failed me and be sharp as a tack inside of but unable to do anything…
It’s interesting you say this, because I (like Goldie Hawn in First Wives Club) think clearer and get some of my best ideas when running – HOWEVER, when I’m done running it’s like I can’t remember what I was supposed to do afterward.
I wonder if it has to do with the chemicals your body releases when you exercise?
(you have the best commenters)
Im totally like the amazing dragonmamma
Im a dud immediately after exercise but afterafter? post snack and shower and sitting for a moment and just BEING? Im an Einstein.
Or as close as I get these days anyway.
so interesting! I’ve never heard anything regarding this topic so thanks for sharing! unfortunately on the “would you rather” question, I actually have a set of grandparents where one has alszheimers and the other has parkinsons…such a sad predicament, but I’m like you, I’d rather be able to remember my grandchildren then walk on my own…when it comes down to it, my mental capacity is far greater than my physical one.
so does this whole study mean that I can slack off in my workout today?? 😉
Sooo, I’m back after accidentally clicking on the CVS Pharmacy ad (good sale going on over there, thanks) …. one time I forgot to drop the child off a daycare, but when I looked into the backseat, she wasn’t there. So I figured I’d just forgot that I had dropped her off already. Crossed my fingers all day until I got back there after work. YES! I did drop her off. Kewl. #badmom
I barely know my name after a hard workout, it’s kinda funny, many leave my gym looking more like zombies than people. After about a half hour, I’m recovered. I’d pick the poo boulder, probably.
I have already forgotten what you wrote! 😉
I don’t know – I am just going to do what I do & what feels right to me & see what happens. Heck, I could be hit by a bus or car tomorrow…. my hormones have attacked my memory thru that process so I think I am going to just do what I do.. they may debunk this in 5 years like so many other studies. 😉
But very interesting!!! So glad you are here to do the research! I am lazy about that!
a) Sometimes after a long run I have issues remember tasks I need to get done, so I DEFINITELY relate
b) That picture makes me glad being a cheerleader was never on my list of aspirations
c) I wonder if they only used women, because research shows that women have better memories than men? Even greater emotional memory than men… so odds are they’d be more apt to retain information??
d) regardless, in my Criminology based research class I took (and I actually remember it from my Statistics class from my mathematics minor days) we discussed how the margin of error decreases GREATLY the larger the sample pool. With a sample pool of 50 the margin of error is 14, with a sample pool of 100 it’s 10. AND that’s if the best sampling method was chosen…
How often and how long was this “consistent strenuous” activity? The exercises listed were mostly aerobic with the exception of possibly basketball depending on how hard the game was played (more than likely it was aerobic too). What about anaerobic exercise? Did it make a distinction?
Personally, I’m kinds looking at this as good news since I don’t like to exercise andy longer than 30 minutes and most of the time it’s more like 20. However, I have the spaciest brain ever and I’m wondering if exercise is to blame.
In the western diet reducing estrogen levels will protect against cancer and will actually help the brain. The estrogen is protective for the brain the western diet produces too much estrogen in women, so reducing the amount of estrogen in the body will also help produce normal level of estrogen to protect the brain.