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Good morning and welcome to Episode 013 of the Train Your Brain Podcast with Dr. Michael Trayford. Every Monday we produce a 30-minute episode. Tuesday through Sunday we produce episodes with five-minute tips. Every episode of the Train Your Brain Podcast features a tip, so you can receive pointers 365 days a year that will help enhance the performance of your brain!

In Episode 013, Dr. Trayford reminds us to get up off the couch. He explains that when we exercise our brains become more powerful! This can come into play for school, in addition to work: If you are trying to learn something new or if you are working, incorporate an exercise bike or some type of physical activity — anything to keep your body moving while your brain is working! So, join Dr. Trayford for this tip, so you can learn how to train your brain while physically training your body

If you have any concerns regarding the information and applications discussed in this podcast, please consult your physician and a doctor who is experienced in functional neurology. Michael Trayford DC, DACNB is available for consultation by calling (828) 708-5274. Thanks for listening.

It sounds pretty simple, just like many of these tips, it sounds pretty simple. But when you get down to the nitty gritty and what’s behind it and understanding why it’s so important to get off the couch than it might make more sense for you to do so!

Where do people spend a lot of their time? On the couch, in a chair. Most people are working behind a desk, behind a computer, sitting all day to come home and sit on the couch and watch several hours of TV. And obviously their kids are doing the same, because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in most cases.

It’s really challenging our brains in a way like it never has before. We don’t see some of the problems that we see in people who are generally very sedentary than the ones that are say outside all day like landscapers or construction workers. They may have different problems with injuries and other lifestyle habits that might make them not as healthy in general.
As far as sedentary behavior goes we need to get a little more active like we’ve been talking about already. So we talked about the sea squirt, right. Once this little creature in the sea moves around and attaches onto a reef somewhere, it digests its own brain and spinal cord, because it’s not moving anymore.

Well you know, it’s not as extreme in humans because we have such a developed brain, so its not that you sit on your couch and all of a sudden your body starts to digest your brain like it does in the poor little sea squirt. But things will go the negative direction. You will lose connections in your brain. Your brain will not be as dense as someone who is moving a lot. Also to it provides a tremendous reduction in the amount of activity that reaches the brain, because we’re not doing other things.
Now there are estimates that people are watching TV anywhere from four to eight hours per day. And that’s just to me is incredibly disturbing. I don’t know about you but that’s an awful lot of time to be watching that. Especially for kids who need to go through very critical stages of brain development. This significantly hampers their ability to achieve certain landmarks and milestones when it comes to brain development.

Factor in the video games and everything else, these kids in particular are spending an awful lot of time where they’re not moving and their brains are simply attending to this passive type of stimulation. I am a fan of certain types of educational TV where, if you’re learning something, I think that’s great. But most people are watching, sitcoms and the network television shows. A NASCAR race here and there. I don’t mind that. I’m a fan NASCAR, so I watch a race here and there myself.
You know, think about it, watching cars go around a track for two hours. What good is that really doing for your brain? Get out there and run around a track for a couple of hours for yourself and for your brain.

Jason: So Dr. Trayford, quick question… As a film critic which I fancy myself as, If I were to exercise or say ride an exercise bike while I’m watching a movie would that help me retain the film better because my brain would be more active?

Absolutely. There are more and more… I’m glad you bring that up, because more and more people are gravitating towards these standing desks or the recumbent bike desks. There’s a lot of different ways. The treadmill desk now. They’re not cheap. They’re quite pricy in some cases, but your health is worth every penny of it, so absolutely, sitting on a recumbent bike or stationary bike, or getting on a treadmill while doing these things will absolutely help improve your brain performance.

If you have to do it, you might as well be moving or standing while you’re doing it. So you know, again most of us don’t have to do it. Most of us are using these TV’s and games and things like that as passive devices to keep kid’s attention while we need to do other things. Or simply just be lazy ourselves. So it’s easier to do. It’s takes a little motivation to get out there and go run when it’s raining, out or something like that.
The more you can do in the positive direction, the better, but standing or being on some type of exercise device while you’re doing these things, would be quite helpful.

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