2018 May Articles Archives

How Smoking Damages Brain Health

Everyone knows smoking is bad for your lungs, but have you thought about the toll it takes on your brain? Research has shown that smoking can interfere with important cognitive processes, like learning, concentration and memory.

Cigarettes and Your Brain

A ‘smoke break’ can give you the illusion of better concentration by helping you to feel more alert, but it’s actually having the opposite effect. Cigarettes reduce the supply of oxygen to the brain, as the carbon monoxide they contain binds to the haemoglobin molecules in your red blood cells in a much stronger way than oxygen does. The lowered oxygen supply affects your brain by causing mental fatigue and poor concentration.

The long-term build-up of toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide can cause damage to your brain, especially in the areas of learning and memory.

Did you know? Nicotine (cigarette) addiction actually causes physical changes your brain. The brain develops extra nicotine receptors, in order to accommodate the large doses of nicotine it’s getting from the tobacco. That’s why you experience nicotine withdrawal when you try to quit.

What the Studies Say

Studies conducted around the world (including the United Kingdom, America and Sweden) have revealed the following worrying data about smoking and brain function:

Smokers show faster cognitive decline than non-smokers over a period of 10 years.
Adolescents who smoke show lower accuracy in their working memory performance than non-smoking teenagers.
In healthy older adults (35-80 years) smoking leads to poorer performance in challenging cognitive tasks. Tasks that require greater cognitive processing are significantly affected by smoking.

MRI imaging has also revealed that smokers tend to have a thinner cerebral cortex than non-smokers. The cortex is the brain’s outer layer. It’s the biggest and most highly developed part of your brain, and is responsible for functions like language and memory.

The good news is that those who quit smoking were shown to partially recover the thickness of their cerebral cortex with every year of non-smoking. If you’re a smoker, kicking the habit today could protect your brain from serious damage and decline in the years to come.

Sources

Smokers tend to have a thinner brain cortex. Retrieved from: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/smoking-110215
How Smoking Damages Mind as well as Body. Retrieved from: http://www.newsweek.com/smoking-brain-smokers-memory-learning-mind-body-525347
Age and Ageing | Oxford Academic: ageing.oxfordjournals.org
Time | Health: http://time.com/section/health/
Medical Dictionary: medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
Quite Your Smoking Addiction: www.quityoursmokingaddiction.com
Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com

Winter Exercise Tips to Warm You Up

Chilly weather and grey skies can make it much harder to find the motivation to hit the gym. However, winter exercise is important for your physical and mental wellbeing.

Regular exercise keeps your energy levels high, releases tension, and prevents low moods. Those post-exercise endorphins are such a great way to banish the ‘winter blues’. Exercise also promotes a strong, healthy immune system, so you have a better chance of getting through cold and ‘flu season without catching a troublesome winter bug.

Indoor vs Outdoor Workouts

We know it’s tempting to stay indoors with the extra heating, but outdoor winter exercise can be much more beneficial. Jogging, walking and cycling will get you out in the fresh air, away from the germs that are circulating indoors. Plus you’ll be left feeling invigorated and refreshed.

In cases where the weather is just too bad to risk venturing outdoors, you can still easily enjoy an indoor workout at home or the gym. You can also sign up for a fun, action-packed indoor sport, like squash.

Top Winter Exercise Safety Tips

Take 5-10 minutes to warm up indoors. A proper warm-up will help to prevent strains and injuries, which can easily occur when your muscles are cold.
Start slowly and gradually, and avoid stopping suddenly. This will prevent sudden, dangerous increases or drops in your body temperature.
Exercise at the time of day when winter temperatures are at their warmest, i.e. daylight hours (mid-morning or afternoon are the best times for this).
Dress in lightweight layers, so you can stay warm and dry but avoid overheating.
In very cold or windy weather, be sure to protect your extremities (hands, ears, nose) with gloves and a lightweight, breathable scarf.
You might not feel hot and thirsty like you do in summer, but it’s important to stay hydrated in winter too, by drinking lots of fresh water.
Do cool-down exercises indoors afterwards, to prevent your body temperature from dropping too quickly.

Exercising in colder temperatures burns more kilojoules, so a great winter exercise regime will give you a fit and toned summer body. Wishing you all a healthy, happy and active winter!

Sources

Bode, L. Winter exercise tips. Retrieved from: http://thyroid.about.com/b/2005/12/01/winter-exercise-tips.htm
How to exercise in winter weather. Retrieved from: http://www.wikihow.com/Exercise-in-Winter-Weather
How to keep working out in the winter. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/how-to-keep-working-out-in-winter