Comments on: Art Kramer on Why We Need Walking Book Clubs

By: Flip Side of 55 » Blog Archive » Telling Tales

Flip Side of 55 » Blog Archive » Telling Tales — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:08:57 +0000

[...] Lately, I’ve been filling my head withÂ brain health and fitness fodder.Â One of the most intriguing ideas I’ve come acrossÂ is suggested by Art Kramer, a neuroscientist.Â He proposes starting a walking book club as an effective (and time-efficient) way to combine both physical and mental stimulation along with social interactions – three components of a “smart” brain fitness program.Â [...]

By: Hourglass: A carnival of biogerontology « Ouroboros

Hourglass: A carnival of biogerontology « Ouroboros — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:39:11 +0000

[...] Assuming for the moment that long life and intelligence are associated — in which direction does the causal arrow point? We’re still unsure about that at the level of the whole organism, but in the case of brain health we know a bit more. At SharpBrains, Alvaro Fernandez interviews U. of Illinois’ Prof. Art Kramer, who describes ways that everyone can extend their mental healthspans and even delay the onset of age-related neurological dysfunction such as Alzheimer’s disease. That’s just the beginning of the lengthy interview, which goes on to talk about people’s desire for magical solutions to age-related declines in mental function, the results of prior studies, and the synergy between physical and cognitive exercise — among many other subjects. [...]

By: Kenneth Heinrich

Kenneth Heinrich — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:43:58 +0000

Many thanks, Alvaro,
I just received the article

By: Alvaro

Alvaro — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:05:55 +0000

Ward: glad you enjoyed it!

Mark, thank you for those comments, and the lead to Dr. Newberg’s study. We will track it down. And perhaps he already has some good published study we can discuss in detail.

Kenneth: usually scientists offer some of their puublications in their Lab websites. For Dr. Kramer’s, you can request reprints at
https://www.psych.uiuc.edu/reprints/index.php?site_id=9

By: Kenneth Heinrich

Kenneth Heinrich — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:22:20 +0000

Hello again, Alvaro.

Is there a link to the full article published in Nature, for those of us who do not subscribe to that journal?

Ken

By: Mark Waldman

Mark Waldman — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:25:22 +0000

A wonderful interview with Dr. Kramer. There is so much hype surrounding “brain enhancement” programs, and its great to hear a wise and cautionary summary concerning the long-term benefits across the spectrum of cognitive abilities. For example, Dr. Andrew Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania just finished a study on the effects of a 12 minute meditation exercise with cognitively impaired adults. He found 10-20% improvement after eight weeks of training (you guys should interview him ). In his next book, How God Changes Your Brain, he too states that exercise is the best brain sharpener in the world-even 10 minutes a day will make huge improvements-and like Kramer, he suggests that you combine exercise with intense social stimulation. And the more complicated you make the exercise (sequentially touch your fingertips as you spell out personally meaningful words (like peace, compassion, happiness, etc.), the greater the cognitive benefits. Also, creating your own personalized brain/body exercise program increases the beneficial results. Studies also show that a strong sense of optimism is needed to make any of these brain enhancement strategies work.
Mark Waldman
Associate Fellow
Center for Spirituality and the Mind
University of Pennsylvania

By: Ward

Ward — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:26:40 +0000

Great post !

very informative and down to earth. I really liked the idea of a walking book club.