Children playing

Does Physical Activity Help Children With Autism? – Ebook

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed in toddlers.  The disorder is characterized by various behaviors that impair communication and social interactions.  These stereotyped or self-stimulating (SSB) behaviors refer to repetitive and / or restrictive patterns and may include repetitive speech or repetitive motor movements (spinning, rocking, flapping etc.). Because ASD is often diagnosed in young

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

Fat-Burning Exercise

Fat-Burning Exercise May Be The Key To Make Us Smarter

Julia Basso – PhD I am intrigued by the body-brain connection. As a result, I  am constantly thinking about how all of the physiological things that happen in our body — from exercise like fat-burning and muscle building, to exercise-induced improvements in cognitive functioning.  Growth Factors Previously, one piece of the puzzle I wrote about

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;

Exercise Induced Sleep Improvements

Julia Basso Getting a good night’s rest is important for so many aspects of our lives including our overall sense of wellbeing.  The fact that we spend on average 33% of our lives sleeping is an indicator that sleep must serve a very important purpose.  Not surprisingly, research has shown that a variety of physiological

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

woman sprinter

NEWS RELEASE: Can A Single Exercise Session Benefit Your Brain?

Julia C. Basso (Forever Fit Science contributor) and Wendy A. Suzuki Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Abstract. A significant body of work has investigated the effects of acute exercise, defined as a single bout of physical activity, on mood and cognitive functions in humans.

Exercise-Induced Increases in Brain Size

Julia Basso – PhD Carbon dating in the human brain:  Implications for exercise-induced increases in brain size        Do you ever wonder why scientists use animal models?  Are you skeptical of findings in rodents and find it difficult to understand the importance of these discoveries for humans?  If so, that is a totally

American College Sports Medicine Conference

Day 3 of the American College of Sports Medicine Conference – 2017

Neurobiological Effects of Physical Activity Julia Basso – PhD Exercise and neurodegeneration; potential therapeutic role for FNDC5/irisin (Christiane Wrann, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School) We know that exercise improves cognitive functioning, but why?  Recent research has discovered that exercise increases a protein in the muscle known as FNDC5 (fibronectin type III domain-containing protein

Do Female Athletes Need More Sleep?

Sleep Series – Ebook Edition

Gillian White – MSc., PhD (Candidate), University of Toronto, Graduate Department of Exercise Sciences Sleep Series Ebook Edition Sleep is not just a rest for our brain and body but is absolutely essential to our health and function. Sleep deprivation has similar effects of alcohol on how our brain and body functions and, if prolonged

Brain Inflammation and Exercise

Exercise and Brain Inflammation

Julia Basso – PhD The post I wrote last week talked about the exciting connection between exercise and the immune system.  I specifically focused on one immune factor, known as interleukin-6 (IL-6), that not only serves immune functions but also acts to enhance metabolic processes, like burning fats and sugars.  Because exercise affects our immune factors,

Sleep and Health

Sleep and Health – Sleep Series Part 3

Part 3 of Sleep Series – Sleep and Health Sleep Stats and General Information – Sleep Series Part 1 Sleep Physiology – Sleep Series Part 2 We know that sleep is important for functioning and feeling energetic, but it is also an active contributor to our overall health. Our sleep and health are related! Hormones