Kung Fu and Your Brain

I have good news and bad news for you in regard to your brain.
First, the bad news. After the age of 20, thousands of your brain cells die off every single day. The good news? Well, there wasn’t much of that until the late 1990’s. That’s when Elizabeth Gould at Rockefeller University discovered that many new neurons are also born in your brain every day – 5,000 to 10,000, to be precise. These new neurons arise as stem cells in an area of the brain known to be involved with learning, memory and mood – an area called the hippocampus. That gave us new hope for brain health.

But there’s a catch. Within a couple of weeks, the great majority of these new brain cells will dry up like tumble weeds in the desert if conditions aren’t right for them to take root and grow. What makes them take root and grow? Learning does. Not just any old kind of learning, but challenging learning that pushes us out of our “comfort zone.” The need for challenging learning to save brain cells has been well demonstrated in animal studies and evidence points to this being the case in humans as well.

There’s an additional factor to consider in the generation and maturation of new neurons, however. That factor is exercise. Exercise causes the release of “brain derived neurotropic factor” (BDNF) in the brain. BDNF is to neurons what “Miracle Grow” is to plants. It nourishes brain cells and helps them grow and develop. When you combine exercise with challenging learning material, the beneficial effects on new brain cells is maximized. This is the ideal recipe for mental sharpness.

This brings us to training such as we encounter in a well run Kung Fu school. Due to the great depth of beautiful material available for learning in Kung Fu, the student is always challenged to learn more and more complex routines as he or she advances through the ranks. The result is a learning environment that is both highly challenging and, as anyone knows who’s tried it, accompanied by plenty of vigorous exercise. This makes Kung Fu a perfect activity for brain health, as well as general health.

The benefits to brain health go further than mental function and extend into the area of emotions as well. It so happens that healthy neurons in the hippocampus are also associated with a stable mood and less depression. Thus, the total contribution to brain health from regular Kung Fu training gives us the perfect package of physical, neurological and psychological well-being. What more could anyone ask for from something that is also so much fun?