Stronger Faster Smarter

Stronger, Faster, Smarter By Mary Carmichael A. Account The text â€Å"Stronger, Faster, Smarter† written by Mary Carmichael states that exercise is the key to develop a healthier and smarter brain. According to the text, studies show that exercise such as aerobic doesn’t only increase the size of the muscles via the increased blood flow, the same thing happens to the brain. More blood equals more oxygen, which helps maintain the brain cells nourished better. The same kind of exercise has also coaxed the human brain to produce new nerve cells and caused older nerve cells to form interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. All which results in a stronger, faster and smarter brain. These statements are fully held out by research in the field of neuroscience and kinesiology described in the text and also confirmed in the field of biochemistry. With the view of a biochemist the evidence lies on the molecular level. When exercising, our muscles contract and release and within this particular motion a protein called IGF-1 finds it way to the brain through the bloodstream. This protein informs the brain of the increased activity due to the exercise, which makes the brain crank up its production of different chemicals needed to keep the body working in a new and more stressed state. One of these chemicals is called brain derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF and is indispensable when we talk about growing a bigger, stronger, faster and smarter brain. In fact a book on this subject calls it â€Å"Miracle-Gro for the brain. It fuels almost all the activities that lead to higher thought†. With this piece of information we can conclude in a scientific way that an increase of body exercise results in a higher production of chemicals and molecules in the body, where BDNF is one of them. With an increase of BDNF, blood and also oxygen we can conclude that not only does the process of exercise lead to an increased memory and improved function due to an increase of the size of the brain which occurs of the higher amount of bloodstream, it also leads to creation of new nerve cells and their branching out, connection and communication or what we in normal sayings would call an increased ability to learn. B1. Essay Who should be held responsible is the question. And the answer is pretty simple. The educators. And the reason is simple too. As pupils, high school and college students we spend a total of almost 20 years of studying, some even more. At least a quarter of a day is held in these educational institutions that are meant to transform us from an individual to a working but also thinking part of society. Being smarter is the actual goal you set yourself; it is what the society expects when we go to school. We are taught that by being present and participating in the lessons, we learn. But what we forget or don’t know is that a crucial ingredient of learning is being fit to learn. A statement scientifically proven by numerous professors and biologist. An increase of blood flow to the brain due to exercise increases the flow of oxygen, which creates a more healthier, fresh and clean environment where new brain cells can be formed and interconnect with each other to shape what we call learning. Some people will maybe say that keeping yourself fit is a personal responsibility, but what these people forget is that obese people and people who don’t exercise could actually do more good for the society if they were fit. Everyone nowadays know that people who exercise are less likely to get life-treating diseases and studies in physiology also show that an active life equals a longer life. The society benefits from this in many ways. Not only do we live longer, we use less money on medication and treatment. But there is also a missing benefit that we forget. A fitter and healthier society equals a more intelligent society. When you look at societies with a higher level of education and compare them with societies with the exact opposite you will see a dramatic difference in wealth and happiness. I am not stating that you can’t be happy if you are poor or uneducated, but my point is that a clever and educated population tend to form societies where the foundations are based on higher level of theory and education. When taking little Denmark in perspective to the most of the world you will see that we differ by giving every citizen a chance to become an educated individual. Just by having this opportunity you can live a life in wealth and happiness, which you wouldn’t be able to in many other countries. This is also called the â€Å"Jantelov†, which says that you are no better than anybody else. A garbage man has the opportunity to become a lawyer or a doctor but as a garbage man he can live in a middle-class neighborhood and hold is head high without feeling anyone judging his choice of career. He may not have a high level of education, and his work hours may be awkward but he can enjoy the rest of the day with his family and recharge to next day of work. All of this is possible because the country is built by intellectual and educated people who have learned how to build a well working society where everyone have equal rights and have a place in society. To bare out my statement of a more intelligent society equals a happier society, independent studies and surveys in the field of social science all show that Denmark is the happiest place on earth. Little Denmark is ranked above USA, the richest and most powerful country in human history and even way above those paradise-like places like Hawaii. Based on the values of â€Å"Jantelov†, and the way the Danish society system is built by well-educated statesmen you actually have evidence of not only a wealthy, but also the happiest country in the world. It is therefore a united responsibility that should be held out by educators because their role and job is to educate and teach us how to learn. An increased effort done by educators in the field of exercise will contribute as a social benefit because a more fit and healthy society benefits in not only a wealthier and happier but also a more intelligent society. Another good reason why educational institutes should be held responsible of exercise is that they are the places that young people spend most of their time. They are the places we meet with our classmates and going to school or university is a daily routine. When we wake up we know that within few hours we have to head to one of these educational institutes where the educators have the responsibility to teach us. The main purpose is to learn what the educators teach us. Day after day we go to school to learn, but why don’t we exercise every day? This could become a reality if the educators also were coaches or brain trainers, so they didn’t only have the responsibility to teach but also to train our brains to learn with the help of fun games that motivate us to move our bodies. And motivation is the key element to exercise. If we make these games as important as the lessons we would create a social security net which doesn’t let people complete the educational without completing the â€Å"obligatory games†. The ancient Greeks did this as well, and said â€Å"fitness was almost as important as learning itself†. And an old Turkish saying my mom once told me says, â€Å"a healthy mind rests in a healthy body†. But you don’t have to be a scientist, biologist or even a Greek philosopher to see and feel the change in your body and brain when you exercise. Anyone can feel that they have a lot more energy and think clearer when they have exercise on a daily basis. But in our modern culture things such as game consoles and computers have taken over exercise and increased the proportion of overweight people. And after days and months or maybe years with no exercise we lose the motivational compositor that keeps reminding our brain that exercise is a good and satisfying for not only our body but also the brain that rests in it. And this motivation is then replaced by the fun of video games and socializing on the Internet. But a way we can re-experience the lost motivation is by doing something social and fun such as playing a game of soccer, which replaces the fun in video games and living a social life in cyberspace. By doing so, as an everyday routine in the educational institutes it will become as normal as getting up from bed, eating, brushing your teeth and going to school. It will be a regular everyday task almost an instinctual habit. And this is how and why the educators should be held responsible of training us to become better learners so we can develop stronger, faster and smarter brains.