Written by Paul R. Burghardt, PhD

A recent paper in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory by Bernward Winter and colleagues investigated the effects of a single session of exercise of different intensities on individuals’ ability to learn and remember new words.

College students were asked to sit quietly for 15 minutes, walk at a moderate pace for 40 minutes, or sprint two times for three minutes per sprint. Fifteen minutes after finishing one of those intensities of exercise, they learned a pairing between a made up word and a picture (e.g. glump/ picture of a car). The subjects were rated on the speed at which they learned the new pairings, and their accuracy when recalling the pairings between pictures and novel words one week and eight months after the single exercise session.

For the record, my money was on the moderate intensity group to perform the best, but……the high-intensity group learned the pairings 20% faster than both the control and moderate intensity exercise groups. Translated that means that after two sprints of less than three minutes each increased peoples’ speed of learning by 20% compared to the other conditions. And that, folks, is the reason why I am not a gambler.

Another interesting finding was that after intense exercise, the students not only learned faster, but recalled those word-picture pairings more accurately after 1-week and 8-months. So do some sprints….you’ll learn it quicker, and remember it longer!

Along with the learning component, this group of researchers also examined levels of hormones in the blood for potential association with peoples’ ability to learn in the word-picture paring task.

Levels of the growth factor BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) and other hormones involved in our flight-or-fight response were elevated after sprinting. Further, these hormones were associated with better short-term and long-term learning success. This indicates that enhanced learning after this intense, but brief, exercise may be modulated by these hormones.

One of the main questions to ask is whether this type of exercise would produce the same learning effects in non-athletes? Since the subjects of this study were athletic to begin with, their perception of intense exercise is likely to be much different than that of an individual who rarely or never exercises but decides to go out and does some sprints. In fact, this study showed a subtle association between increased mood after intense exercise and overall greater success in learning. What I’m trying to say is that these people probably felt pretty good, amped-up (so to speak) after the sprints. It’s possible that a positive emotional spin on the situation enhanced learning.

We know that the emotional value of a situation influences how strongly a memory is stored, and this happens at both ends of the spectrum. Very happy events often stick in our memories. Unfortunately very unhappy events also stick in our memories, and can cause a lot of problems, for example post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Now I don’t think that an out-of-shape individual would suffer PTSD from doing a couple of sprints (unless the sprints caused an asthma or heart attack). However, for someone that really enjoys exercise and is familiar with exercise this may have been just enough of a “rush” to make learning a little easier and more memorable.

Another important point to highlight is that this study was specifically looking at the effect of one session of exercise. There are numerous studies indicating that increasing moderate physical activity as a part of one’s daily life has positive benefits on learning and cognition. So don’t feel like you need to start incorporating sprint work into your daily routine to enhance learning. The intriguing thing about this current study is that it provides another way to try and enhance learning, and also starts to address issue of when to learn new things after you have exercised.

Although there is some obvious follow-up that needs to occur after this study, this is a very nice experiment that illustrates the critical issue of timing in maximizing one’s efforts.

The old cliché “timing is everything” should be looked upon as a tried-and-true adage. Much of our biology works on a daily rhythm. Along with that, our bodies respond to environmental ‘pressures’ (eating, exercise, temperature, interacting with other people, etc.) with a variety of finite behavioral, and biological responses. Basically, when our current state of living is interrupted by some environmental (outside) factor, we will respond until those factors are neutralized.

This paper illustrates how we could capitalize on some of that compensatory biology to do a little multitasking. Get some quick exercise in, and while you’re recovering teach yourself a new language. I’m not saying this approach will work for everyone, or for every type of learning, but the possibilities are there; and the combinations will be virtually endless.

Written by Simon J. Evans, PhD

Do you have a sweet tooth in the morning? Do you crave that bowl of high-sugar cereal or a donut with your coffee? We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and getting something for breakfast is likely better than getting nothing at all. However, a new study from a group in Australia tells us that if you must eat those sweet, high carbohydrate foods, you would do much better putting them off until lunch and grabbing some more protein in the morning.

A g’zillion different studies show us why it is so important to eat a morning meal. Breakfast eaters have an easier time controlling their weight, better energy throughout the day and higher performance on the job or at school. We also know that foods with a lower glycemic index (meaning they are less likely to spike your blood sugar because they have less simple carbohydrates) are better than high glycemic breakfasts for all this stuff.

A new study took this logic a step further and asked what would happen to your blood sugar if you spread out all your carbohydrates evenly throughout the day, or, conversely, loaded most of them up at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Researchers expected that the peak in blood sugar would be highest right after eating the high carbohydrate meal. In a sense, they were right, but with one big surprise.

A high carbohydrate breakfast meal caused a much bigger spike in blood sugar than a similar meal at lunch or dinner. It appears that our bodies can tolerate a dose of carbs much better in the afternoon or the evening, than we can in the morning. This study utilized type II diabetics to provide and exaggerated normal blood-sugar response, but presumably, this applies to everyone.

Why is this important and what does it have to do with the brain? Your body needs to control its blood sugar (glucose) in a tight window in order for all your systems to operate at their best. Importantly, your brain uses glucose exclusively as an energy source, whereas the rest of your body can tap into energy from fats and proteins. So giving your brain a steady supply of glucose is important for optimal brain function.

If you are constantly eating a big chunk of your daily carbs at breakfast (by scarfing down the donuts, pancakes, French toast or high sugar cereals), then you are probably spiking your blood sugar fairly high in the morning on a regular basis.

This has a couple of problems. First, in the short run, spiking your blood sugar causes your body to respond by releasing insulin to crash it back down. This will cause a drop in energy levels during the mid-morning hours, which is a time when many folks need to be on their toes at work, and kids need to be attentive in school. Second, in the long run, constantly spiking your blood sugar can eventually lead to insulin resistance and type II diabetes, which increases your odds for heart disease and cognitive problems as well.

Obviously it’s best to get rid of the high sugar foods from your diet completely, but let’s be reasonable. Most people, me included, enjoy a fresh-baked cinnamon roll every now and then and we aren’t willing to deprive ourselves of all of life’s pleasures.

So here’s the solution – just don’t eat this stuff for breakfast. It’s the worst possible time of day for these kinds of foods. Unfortunately, these are the common breakfast foods that we feed our kids on a regular basis and find littering the morning menu of our favorite restaurants.

Still, try to switch to higher protein meals in the morning, like eggs or a quick breakfast shake and you will likely notice an increase in energy throughout the morning and the rest of the day. If you just can’t go cold-turkey on the morning office donuts, grab one to stick in your desk and eat it with lunch instead (just keep it to a minimum).

Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2008) 87:638-44

Written by Dr. Rob Borer

So you’ve done all the right things to enhance your brain’s function. You’ve modified your diet to optimize the raw materials needed by your brain. You’ve adopted healthy habits of mental and physical exercises to keep your brain in top shape.

But what have you done to ensure that the messages being generated in the brain are effectively transmitted throughout your body?

After all, your brain controls and regulates every function in your body from respiration and circulation to digestion and motion - to name just a few. In fact, every tissue and organ in your body is completely dependent on the messages coming down from your brain to know how to function on a moment-by-moment basis. And the demands change every moment you’re alive. Are you running or are you sitting? Did you just eat a meal or are you hungry? Are you hot or are you cold? Your body must adapt and modify to its environment continuously. And what is coordinating all this function in your body? None other than your brain!

Then should you be keeping your brain in tiptop shape? Absolutely! But could you be undermining all the good things you are doing for your brain by neglecting a critical area of the body that affects how these messages are transmitted? Very possibly!

To find the area of concern we need to first trace a nerve’s pathway. The vast majority of all nerve connections happen in the brain. From the brain, nerves travel down out of the skull and through the middle of your bony spine as part of the spinal cord. At some point the nerve branches away from the cord, passes between two bones and travels to the tissue or organ that it controls.

The most critical and vulnerable area of the nervous system is the junction between the spine and the skull as it passes through the first cervical vertebrae or atlas bone.

The atlas bone is particularly susceptible to misalignment due to its design and the task it is given to perform. The atlas bone has the fewest overlapping bony structures to help in maintaining it’s proper alignment compared to all other vertebrae in the human spine. Thus the atlas bone relies strictly on muscles and other soft tissue to maintain its alignment. Additionally, the weight of the head is equivalent to an average size bowling ball. The atlas is attempting to keep this very heavy object of yours balanced upright. This task becomes very difficult to achieve when the head is moved too rapidly, such as during a fall from a height, an auto accident, or a sporting or recreational accident. Research has shown that the muscles of the neck are incapable of controlling the weight of the head in these situations and misalignment will result. Chiropractors refer to these misalignments as subluxations.

When subluxation occurs in the spine, irritation and pressure on the nerves passing through or between the involved bones results. The irritated nerve is no longer able to pass information efficiently and effectively and improper function occurs and health problems result. Subluxations have been shown to cause a wide range of health problems such as:

• neck pain
• back pain
• numbness
• digestive problems
• immune problems
• migraine headaches.
• allergies & congestion

Subluxations at atlas are particularly concerning. When we consider that 90% of the nerves traveling down from the brain pass through atlas we understand that a subluxation at this level can affect virtually every nerve in the entire body and can play a large role in many of the health problems one may experience.

Additionally, when atlas is subluxated the entire body must contort and distort to keep you upright. To understand what happens to the spine when atlas subluxates, try holding a bowling ball with you hand upright in front of you with your forearm straight up and down. Then bend your wrist slightly so the bowling ball is leaning to one side without changing the position of your forearm (this will be simulating an atlas subluxation). Notice the affect it has on the position of your entire body as you try and keep from falling over (or dropping the bowling ball!). Roger Sperry, a 1980 Nobel Prize winning scientist in brain research, best captures the impact of the distortions on the body in the following statement:

“Better than 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body in its gravitational field. The more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy available for thinking, metabolism and healing.”

So regardless of how many good things you are doing to keep your brain in shape you may be undermining all this beneficial effort due to a subluxation at atlas.

So what can you do to avoid subluxation from occurring at atlas? What can you do to keep your spine from getting on your nerves? There are some healthy habits you can adopt to keep your self out of trouble. First of all buy yourself a headset for both your home phone and your cell phone. Bending your head over as you try to cradle the phone between your head and shoulder has been shown to cause subluxation. Sleeping on your stomach should also be avoided. Having your head twisted as you sleep on your stomach is extremely bad for your spine and has been shown to cause subluxation as well. Lifting something from the ground using your legs with your back straight up and down is tried and true advice you’ve probably heard before, but bears repeating. You should also always avoid using your head to raise or turn your body. Additionally, you might begin an activity that strengthens and tones the intrinsic muscles that hold the spine in place. Activities like yoga and pilates are especially beneficial for achieving this.

Finally, if you have had some type of unfortunate accident and believe that you might have an atlas subluxation or are experiencing some of the symptoms of an atlas subluxation, you should be evaluated by an upper cervical specialist. Some of the most common symptoms of an atlas subluxation are:

• neck pain
• headaches
• restrictions in the normal motion of your neck
• popping or grinding sounds during neck motion
• migraines

There are several good resources for finding a good specialist near you. Two of the best ones are www.upcspine.com & www.uppercervical.org.

About the author: Dr. Rob Borer is an upper cervical specialist. He has been in private practice for the past 8 years with his wife Dr. Sherri Borer. Dr. Rob has delivered over 30,000 upper cervical atlas corrections and regularly speaks on the detrimental effects an atlas subluxation has on ones health. For more information about Drs. Rob & Sherri Borer they welcomes you to visit www.borerchiro.com.