Dancing Hippocampus and More!

In a recent class I mentioned a podcast with cognitive scientist and author Therese Huston, author of Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science.

Therese is a very down to earth, engaging science communicator. I've never listened to The Ageist podcast before and there is a bit too much product endorsement for my taste but this episode with Therese was interesting and it definitely made me curious about her book.

Link: https://www.ageist.com/category/ageist-podcast/

There is a part where she discusses the aging brain, especially the area of the Hippocampus that is associated with memory, and the benefits of dance for this and other parts of our brain. She says that for people over 60, taking a dance class is one of the best--if not the best--things one can do for their brain.

The benefits of dance (for the brain) being even greater than other forms of exercise, those are still extremely important. The host, David, relays some endearingly funny stories of being a student in an African Dance class for a period of time. And we Playground members know the cognitive challenges that dance choreography can present. She mentions the social aspects as well, and as many of you know from other newsletters that I have sent on the topic, there are so many reasons dance is like a secret sauce for the brain—and for the aging brain even more so. That being said, if dance isn't your thing there are many other great ways that movement can enhance our brain health and function.

She also discusses the value of deep breathing, particularly slow exhalations, and how this practice can increase grey matter volume, especially in an area that diminishes with age, like the prefrontal cortex.

The Prefrontal Cortex, sometimes called our executive command center, is the part of our brain responsible for many things like focusing our attention, predicting the consequences of our actions, impulse control and managing emotional reactions, planning for the future and more. Grey matter matters as it contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, sensory perception, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control (such as the prefrontal cortex).

I know sometimes yoga teachers can argue over terms like deep breathing (yes, some people can get testy if you use the descriptive "deep") or what part of the breath cycle should be emphasized and for what end. I don't think it is helpful to get too caught up in what are the "right" language descriptives, because such a thing doesn't exist for everyone.

Some words (or practices) don't work well for some people for a whole variety of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the practice itself, but how that particular person interprets the cue or executes the endeavor. Finding a way that works for us or a particular student is something that we will (hopefully) continuously explore as we are always changing, as are the circumstances surrounding each of us. Our relationships change, and our relationship to language, or certain practices, can change. 

If you are interested in the topic of breathing and the effects of longer exhalations and various slow regulated breathing practices, here are a couple of papers on breath practices like slow exhalations might be of interest to you:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6037091/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873947/