For years researchers have reported that working out is good for you. Not only is it beneficial physically, but it helps improve cognitive functions as well. You'd be hard pressed to find a doctor or nutritionist or indeed an expert in any health-related field that doesn't preach the virtues of a physical activity. While opting for the stairs or talking a walk certainly counts, most would endorse having a regular regime a few times a week where you sweat and grunt and raise your heart rate, and it's not because you're lifting a few six packs in or out of the fridge.
But then there's this: a new study just published in journal Current Biology says that it appears that there is a direct correlation between physical exertion and your brain slowing down. The paper, entitled "Neuro-computational Impact of Physical Training Overload on Economic Decision-Making," studied 37 male triathletes. According to Bastien Blain, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at University College London, half of them were instructed to continue their usual workouts. The rest were told to increase their weekly training by 40%. All were monitored and put through batteries of physical and mental tests. These were paired with MRI scans, correlating brain activity with the results of the cognitive exams. The questions in the tests were designed to reveal whether a person is more inclined to choose immediate gratification or a long-term reward, couched in economic queries such as "Do you prefer $10 now or $60 in six months?"
Different parts of the brain lit up with more or less activity based on the amount of training the individual did. That was matched against the answers given on the tests. Or in scientific speak, "The activity level extracted from certain regions served as a reference to assess the effects of training overload. As expected, we observed significant conjunction in a bilateral prefronto-parietal network, including the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), with training overload effects were predominant in the left MFG cluster and during the inter-temporal choice task." Or in layman speak (or at least my layman speak), if you work out too much, your brain gets stupider.
The explanation, according to Blaine, is that while athletes are generally able to play down immediate gratification in favor or longer term goals, training too hard may change that balance. Usually they can ignore their screaming muscles telling them to stop or slow down, with their goal being to win the race. "But when an athlete trains too hard, a sort of brain fatigue sets in and the person has less ability to push their body" says Blaine.
This conclusion is backed up by other studies as well. Tanja Mueller at the University of Oxford writes that when the body becomes physically depleted, the brain begins to experience "motivational fatigue," which affects decision-making. When that happens, the brain "may not consider it worth it anymore to wait for higher rewards." And Todd Braver, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis writes, "your brain is doing these kind of cost-benefit trade-offs all the time. Is it still worth the effort? Is it still worth the effort? And when it decides it's not, it changes direction."
To sum it up: workouts are generally good for you. But work out too much, and your brain starts to focus not on the goal of finishing, but on recovering from the punishment you're enduring. It changes your decision making ability so that you focus not on the best outcome over the long term, but on the short term fix. And this appears to carry over from purely physical calculations to other cognitive areas such as economics.
You know those cautions with certain drugs not to take them if you are operating heavy equipment or driving? Well it would seem from this study that if you exercise vigorously you shouldn't then make important business decisions. My takeaway is this: while it's true that I'm not an extreme athlete, everything is relative. So if you consider my normal exercise is taking a walk, a 30 minute run would overtax my brain big time. And so if I have to work on some budgets later, I would be better off not pushing myself, and just take a nap first. Sometimes I just love science.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford tries to work out, but it doesn't always work out. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
But then there's this: a new study just published in journal Current Biology says that it appears that there is a direct correlation between physical exertion and your brain slowing down. The paper, entitled "Neuro-computational Impact of Physical Training Overload on Economic Decision-Making," studied 37 male triathletes. According to Bastien Blain, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at University College London, half of them were instructed to continue their usual workouts. The rest were told to increase their weekly training by 40%. All were monitored and put through batteries of physical and mental tests. These were paired with MRI scans, correlating brain activity with the results of the cognitive exams. The questions in the tests were designed to reveal whether a person is more inclined to choose immediate gratification or a long-term reward, couched in economic queries such as "Do you prefer $10 now or $60 in six months?"
Different parts of the brain lit up with more or less activity based on the amount of training the individual did. That was matched against the answers given on the tests. Or in scientific speak, "The activity level extracted from certain regions served as a reference to assess the effects of training overload. As expected, we observed significant conjunction in a bilateral prefronto-parietal network, including the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), with training overload effects were predominant in the left MFG cluster and during the inter-temporal choice task." Or in layman speak (or at least my layman speak), if you work out too much, your brain gets stupider.
The explanation, according to Blaine, is that while athletes are generally able to play down immediate gratification in favor or longer term goals, training too hard may change that balance. Usually they can ignore their screaming muscles telling them to stop or slow down, with their goal being to win the race. "But when an athlete trains too hard, a sort of brain fatigue sets in and the person has less ability to push their body" says Blaine.
This conclusion is backed up by other studies as well. Tanja Mueller at the University of Oxford writes that when the body becomes physically depleted, the brain begins to experience "motivational fatigue," which affects decision-making. When that happens, the brain "may not consider it worth it anymore to wait for higher rewards." And Todd Braver, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis writes, "your brain is doing these kind of cost-benefit trade-offs all the time. Is it still worth the effort? Is it still worth the effort? And when it decides it's not, it changes direction."
To sum it up: workouts are generally good for you. But work out too much, and your brain starts to focus not on the goal of finishing, but on recovering from the punishment you're enduring. It changes your decision making ability so that you focus not on the best outcome over the long term, but on the short term fix. And this appears to carry over from purely physical calculations to other cognitive areas such as economics.
You know those cautions with certain drugs not to take them if you are operating heavy equipment or driving? Well it would seem from this study that if you exercise vigorously you shouldn't then make important business decisions. My takeaway is this: while it's true that I'm not an extreme athlete, everything is relative. So if you consider my normal exercise is taking a walk, a 30 minute run would overtax my brain big time. And so if I have to work on some budgets later, I would be better off not pushing myself, and just take a nap first. Sometimes I just love science.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford tries to work out, but it doesn't always work out. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment