{"id":349,"date":"2012-01-27T00:39:30","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T00:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bexleymastersswimmingclub.com\/?page_id=349"},"modified":"2021-10-31T15:34:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T15:34:33","slug":"health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bexleymastersswimmingclub.com\/?page_id=349","title":{"rendered":"Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The fountain of youth hasn\u2019t been found \u2014 but swimming may come close<\/strong><\/p>

Aug 11, 2021 \/ Seena Mathew PhD<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

It\u2019s no secret that\u00a0aerobic exercise can help<\/a>\u00a0stave off\u00a0some of the ravages<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0aging<\/a>. But a\u00a0growing body of research<\/a>\u00a0suggests that swimming might provide a unique boost to brain health.<\/strong><\/p>

Regular swimming has been shown to improve\u00a0memory<\/a>,\u00a0cognitive function<\/a>,\u00a0immune response<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mood<\/a>. Swimming may also help repair damage from stress and\u00a0forge new neural connections<\/a>\u00a0in the brain.<\/p>

If more adults recognized the cognitive and mental health benefits of swimming, they\u2019d jump in the pool alongside their kids.<\/p>

But scientists are still trying to unravel how and why swimming, in particular, produces these brain-enhancing effects.<\/strong><\/p>

As a\u00a0neurobiologist trained in brain physiology<\/a>, a fitness enthusiast and a mom, I spend hours at the local pool during the summer. It\u2019s not unusual to see children splashing and swimming while their parents sunbathe \u2014 and I\u2019ve been one of those parents plenty of times. But if more adults recognized the cognitive and mental health benefits of swimming, they might be more inclined to jump in the pool alongside their kids.<\/p>

Creating new and improved brain cells and connections<\/strong><\/p>

Until the 1960s, scientists believed that the number of neurons and synaptic connections in the human brain\u00a0were finite<\/a>\u00a0and that, once damaged, these brain cells could not be replaced.<\/strong> But that idea was debunked as researchers began to see ample evidence for the birth of neurons, or\u00a0neurogenesis<\/a>, in adult brains of\u00a0humans and other animals<\/a>.<\/p>

Now, there is clear evidence that\u00a0aerobic exercise<\/a>\u00a0can contribute to neurogenesis and play a key role in helping to reverse or repair\u00a0damage to neurons and their connections<\/a>\u00a0in both mammals and fish.<\/p>

Research shows that one of the key ways these changes occur in response to exercise is through increased levels of a protein called\u00a0brain-derived neurotrophic factor<\/a>. The neural plasticity \u2014 or ability of the brain to change \u2014 that this protein stimulates has been shown to boost cognitive function<\/a>, including\u00a0learning and memory<\/a>.<\/p>

Aerobic exercise also promotes the release of\u00a0 neurotransmitters, including serotonin, which \u2014 when present at increased levels \u2014 is known to reduce<\/a>\u00a0depression and anxiety<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0improve mood.<\/p>

Studies in people have found a strong relationship between\u00a0concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor<\/a>\u00a0circulating in the brain and an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the\u00a0brain region responsible for learning and memory<\/a>. Increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor have also been shown to\u00a0sharpen cognitive performance<\/a>\u00a0and to help\u00a0reduce anxiety<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0depression<\/a>. In contrast, researchers have observed mood disorders in patients with\u00a0lower concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor<\/a>.<\/p>

Aerobic exercise also promotes the release of\u00a0specific chemical messengers called neurotransmitters<\/a>. One of these is serotonin, which \u2014 when present at increased levels \u2014 is\u00a0known to reduce<\/a>\u00a0depression and anxiety<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0improve mood<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>

In\u00a0studies in fish<\/a>, scientists have observed changes in genes responsible for increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels as well as enhanced development of the dendritic spines \u2014 protrusions on the dendrites, or elongated portions of nerve cells \u2013 after eight weeks of exercise compared with controls.<\/p>

This complements studies in mammals\u00a0where brain-derived neurotrophic factor<\/a>\u00a0is known to increase neuronal spine density. These changes have been shown to contribute to\u00a0improved memory<\/a>,\u00a0mood<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0enhanced cognition<\/a>\u00a0in mammals. The greater spine density helps neurons build new connections and send more signals to other nerve cells. With the repetition of signals, connections can become stronger.<\/p>

But what\u2019s special about swimming?<\/strong><\/p>

Researchers don\u2019t yet know what swimming\u2019s secret sauce might be. But they\u2019re getting closer to understanding it.<\/strong><\/p>

Swimming has long been recognized for its\u00a0cardiovascular benefits<\/a>. Because swimming involves all of the major muscle groups, the\u00a0heart has to work hard<\/a>, which\u00a0increases blood flow<\/a>\u00a0throughout the body<\/a>. This leads to the\u00a0creation of new blood vessels<\/a>, a process called angiogenesis. The greater blood flow can also lead to a\u00a0large release of endorphins<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 hormones that act as a natural pain reducer throughout the body. This surge brings about the sense of euphoria that often follows exercise.<\/p>

Most of the research to understand how swimming affects the brain has been done in rats. Rats are a good lab model because of their\u00a0genetic and anatomic similarity to humans<\/a>.<\/p>

In one study in rats, swimming was shown to\u00a0stimulate brain pathways<\/a>\u00a0that suppress inflammation in the hippocampus and inhibit apoptosis, or cell death.<\/strong> The study also showed that swimming can help support neuron survival and reduce the cognitive impacts of aging. Although researchers do not yet have a way to visualize apoptosis and neuronal survival in people, they do observe similar cognitive outcomes.<\/p>

\u00a0In one limited study looking at the impact of swimming on mental acuity in the elderly, researchers concluded that the swimmers had improved mental speed and attention<\/a> compared with non-swimmers.\u00a0<\/p>

One of the more enticing questions is how, specifically, swimming enhances short- and long-term memory. To pinpoint how long the beneficial effects may last,\u00a0researchers trained rats<\/a>\u00a0to swim for 60 minutes daily for five days per week. The team then tested the rats\u2019 memory by having them swim through a radial arm water maze containing six arms, including one with a hidden platform.<\/p>

Rats got six attempts to swim freely and find the hidden platform. After just seven days of swim training, researchers saw improvements in both short- and long-term memories, based on a reduction in the errors rats made each day. The researchers suggested that this boost in cognitive function could provide a basis for using swimming as a way to repair learning and memory damage caused by neuropsychiatric diseases in humans.<\/p>

Although the leap from studies in rats to humans is substantial, research in people is producing\u00a0similar results<\/a>\u00a0that suggest a\u00a0clear cognitive benefit<\/a>\u00a0from swimming across all ages.<\/strong> For instance, in one study looking at the impact of swimming on mental acuity in the elderly, researchers concluded that swimmers had\u00a0improved mental speed and attention<\/a> compared with non-swimmers.<\/p>

However, this study is limited in its research design, since participants were not randomized and thus those who were swimmers prior to the study may have had an unfair edge.<\/p>

Another study compared cognition between land-based athletes and swimmers in the young adult age range. While water immersion itself did not make a difference, the researchers found that 20 minutes of moderate-intensity breaststroke swimming\u00a0improved cognitive function<\/a>\u00a0in both groups.<\/p>

For centuries, people have been in search of a\u00a0fountain of youth<\/a>. Swimming just might be the closest we can get.<\/p>

Kids can get a boost from swimming too<\/strong><\/p>

The brain-enhancing benefits from swimming appear to also boost learning in children.<\/strong><\/p>

Another research group recently looked at the link between physical activity and\u00a0how children learn new vocabulary words<\/a>. Researchers taught children age 6-12 the names of unfamiliar objects. Then they tested their accuracy at recognizing those words after doing three activities: coloring (resting activity), swimming (aerobic activity) and a CrossFit-like exercise (anaerobic activity) for three minutes.<\/p>

They found that children\u2019s accuracy was much higher for words learned following swimming compared with coloring and CrossFit, which resulted in the same level of recall.<\/strong> This shows a clear cognitive benefit from swimming versus anaerobic exercise, though the study does not compare swimming with other aerobic exercises. These findings imply that swimming for even short periods of time is highly beneficial to young, developing brains.<\/p>

The details of the time or laps required, the style of swim and what cognitive adaptations and pathways are activated by swimming \u2014 these are still being worked out. But neuroscientists are getting much closer to putting all the clues together. For centuries, people have been in search of a\u00a0fountain of youth<\/a>. Swimming just might be the closest we can get.<\/p>

This article is republished from\u00a0The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license. Read the\u00a0original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>

How fast is the speed of thought? Watch this TED-Ed lesson to find out:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

About the author<\/strong><\/p>

Seena Mathew PhD<\/a><\/strong> is an Assistant Professor of Biology at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB). She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Kenyon College and her doctorate in Neurobiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She later also earned a Masters in Public Health. Prior to her time at UMHB, she was a lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin and Program Director for the Health Science and Public Health programs at South University. Her research interests are a blend of public health and neuroscience with a focus on learning and memory.<\/p>