track and field runners at the starting block

Carpe Diem, The Series: Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

Paul Stevens Carpe Diem (but in a relaxed sort of way) “NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!” For any of you that may have seen the 1999 Tim Allen science fiction comedy movie “Galaxy Quest”, you will know what the title line is all about.  It speaks to the attitude of the crew of a galactic

Health Challenges and Cleanses – A Help or Hinder?

Gillian White – MSc, PhD (Candidate), University of Toronto  Health Challenges and Cleanses – Helping or hindering for your resolutions. A personal account. I will start by saying that I am not the type of person to do cleanses, or really any particular diet for that matter. Generally speaking, I do the eat well as

Sweat

How Sweat Helps You Keep Your Cool

Gillian White   BSc, MSc, PhD Candidate Department of Exercise Sciences, University of Toronto How Sweat Helps You Keep Your Cool As summer winds down and we are faced with the grim reality of fall, stress levels can increase as we settle back into the grind. While everyone has an individual motivation for why they

Dance And Neuroscience

A Conversation Between Dance And Neuroscience

Julia C. Basso, PhD Dance and neuroscience may seem like two distinct fields, but Jody Oberfelder, director, choreographer, and filmmaker, knows that they intersect in intricate ways.  Her recent work, The Brain Piece, just had its world premiere at New York Live Arts from June 28th to July 1st.   She notes that, “The Brain Piece

Parkinson's Disease and Exercise

Will Exercise Help Prevent Parkinson’s Disease?

Julia Basso, PhD Affiliation: New York University, Center for Neural Science Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, a part of the brain’s basal ganglia system.  The symptoms of this disease are motoric in nature and include tremor, or a shaking of the extremities;

Strength As A Safety Net

Jon Carlock As time passes and we age, we naturally become more vulnerable to injury. Somewhat of a numbers game, the longer we spend on this planet, the odds increase that we will get hurt at some point. When we get older, we also become more prone to balance-related injuries that can result in significant

Muscles and Mind, Mind-Body

Strengthen Your Muscles, Strengthen Your Mind

Contributed by Julia C. Basso, Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Center for Neural Science, New York University Strengthen Your Muscles, Strengthen Your Mind As we age, we lose approximately 5 pounds of muscle mass per decade (Frontera et al., 2000).  Because our muscles are metabolically active 24 hours a day, our muscle mass contributes significantly to our resting

Managing Chronic Pain

Manage Chronic Pain with Exercise

 Julia Basso, PhD Chronic pain is a serious and debilitating condition for many people. It affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined (American Academy of Pain Medicine).  An initial incident such as a broken bone or physical injury, surgery, infection, or traumatic brain injury can initiate chronic pain. Or, it may be a

Quick Facts

Quick Facts For A Healthier You

Evan Stevens Each day between the morning and afternoon sessions of the conference there was a two hour period of mini presentations. These were short, two-minute talks given by people who just wanted to present their research (they were not necessarily invited speakers). These rapid-fire talks came fast. Some were familiar as they had been

Sleep Better

7 Tips to Get You Sleeping Again

Hadley Seward – certified sleep consultant and certified health coach 7 Tips to Get You Sleeping Again Picture this: it’s 4am and you’re awake. No matter what you try, you cannot fall back asleep. Sound familiar? Insomnia — which includes difficulty falling asleep at bedtime and staying asleep throughout the night — is the most common

Sleep Disorders and Exercise

Exercise and Sleep Disorders — Sleep Series Part 5

Gillian White, MSc., PhD (Candidate), University of Toronto, Graduate Department of Exercise Sciences Sleep Stats And General Information – Sleep Series Part 1 Sleep Physiology – Sleep Series Part 2 Sleep And Health – Sleep Series Part 3 Exercise And Sleep Quality – Sleep Series Part 4 1. Sleep Apnea Figure 1. Deformation of airways

woman working out with trainer

How Personality Affects Workout Habits

Catherine O’Brien Twice a week I switch out my upbeat running playlist for a podcast. Some podcasts cover news and politics; others report episodically on the investigation of a crime. While I have a full arsenal of podcasts at my fingertips now, it all began when I got hooked on Gretchen Rubin’s podcast “Happier”. They