Thank you for this talk! It certainly opened my eyes.

Thank you both for your contributions to science! Question for you Andrew, in your Podcast Ep #6 you discuss that the evidence shows that we don't make new brain cells throughout our life or that it is in very very small numbers. In this talk, Anne mentions that we are constantly remodeling and creating new ones depending on our activities. Curious to hear your thought on this. Are we creating or strengthening the synapses between neurons with exercise or are we actually creating new brain cells as mentioned? Thanks again!

hi Avi.......nice to meet you. Can you my yard next ? thank you so much .

Working on it

A fantastic session! Well explained and clarified a lot of things for me. Thanks Dr. Friedlander and also Maya Adam for the email to direct us here

**Introduction** Body hacking: “To manipulate a biological system to obtain a desired result.” We are born to survive --> we expend as little energy as possible. Conserving energy is in our DNA and the modern world makes everything convenient and therefore it makes us lazy. Exercise compensates for this (modern construct). Result: Exercise & Physical Activity Guidelines. 20% of US adults fully meet them already. Motivation is hard because we are hard-wired to conserve energy. Physical activity is the healthy aging pill. The future of an aging person is grim, but physical activity can slow the decrease of all main contributors to a healthy body (strength, endurance, and function), thereby decreasing the risk of problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. (Shown at 7:46) There are many things we can do to maintain the functionality of our bodies as the years go by. This is called healthy aging. The rest of the class consists of: - Common sense stuff - Nerdy science stuff - Minimum and maximum amounts of exercise for health - Anne’s recommendations for activity as you age o Training for performance o Training for longevity **Common Sense Stuff** Physical activity improves and/or maintains physical function. The gold standard for cardiovascular fitness is VO2 max because of all the variables that are involved (ventilation, diffusion, saturation, cardiac output, blood flow, O2 extraction, O2 utilization). Greater VO2 max --> Greater ATP production --> You can do more. VO2 max falls over time, but there’s a lot of variability (because of the many variables). As we get older, not only does VO2 max naturally decline, the ability to train and sustain it drops as well, leading to an even faster decrease. Those who exercise regularly will notice, those who do not will be unaware of this decline. This is problematic because there is a threshold of disability above which we must aim to stay. Dipping below the threshold will lead to a loss of independence (the ability to perform daily living activities is under threat). With training, you are more likely to stay above this threshold. (Nice graph at 14:45) There exists a well-established relationship between exercise capacity and all-cause mortality. With age, muscle mass decreases. Strength training is very important to combat this, but increased strength, power, and aesthetics aside, there are some serious health benefits to it: Improved bone density, improved insulin sensitivity, reduced systemic inflammation, reduced depressive symptoms, increased longevity and functional capacity and better bodyweight maintenance. You’re never too old to train, resistance training works. **Nerdy Science Stuff** Physical function, cellular age and senescence, mitochondrial health, etc. How is it all connected? Crosstalk between systems --> myokines (signaling molecules). When released in response to exercise they are called exerkines. Myokines alert other tissues (brain, vascular system, adrenal gland and many more) about what’s going on with the muscles. Key function (one of many): Anti-inflammation. Targeted, acute inflammation (IF) --> good Systemic, chronic IF --> bad Physical activity increases acute IF and decreases chronic IF. How? The myokines are used for something useful (repairing processes in muscle tissue). Not only do they restore muscle fibers, but they also repair any other damage they come across (e.g. mitochondria). Exercise also impacts the brain. Myokines stimulate the brain to release growth factors. This increases angiogenesis (new blood vessels) and neurogenesis (new brain cells). It increases blood flow to the brain, improves cardiovascular function and reduces risks of obesity, type II DM and other vascular issues. It increases brain size as well (yeah, this is big brain time). There’s a difference between types of exercise. Resistance training works, HIIT works well, endurance training seems to have the greatest effect. Stimulating the brain during exercise (enriched environments, new activities) allows for new neural pathways to be formed. Theory: Adaptive Capacity Model --> When foraging food, many cognitive functions are working together: - Motor control - Spatial orientation and navigation - Executive function, memory & planning - Sensory & attention systems This effectively increases: - Brain blood flow - Myokines - Growth factors - Cognitive multitasking World record times for all ages in running increase exponentially. At some point, physical activity can no longer compensate for the aging process. Around that age, there is also a reduction in spontaneous activity, so maybe people try less hard? **Minimum and Maximum Exercise for Health** --Minimum-- Physical Activity Guidelines: Cardio: - 150-300 min of moderate-intensity / week - More intensity = less duration - Can be broken up into shorter sessions throughout the day Resistance + flexibility exercise - All muscle groups: 2-3 times / week Neuromotor exercise (balance, agility) - 20-30 min, 2-3 times / week - Avoid sitting There is a relationship between moderate-vigorous physical activity and all-cause mortality. The big health gains come at little physical activity, after that it’s mostly performance gains. Sitting Interrupting sitting helps (stand up for a few minutes). Not all sitting is the same. Using postural muscles is important. --Maximum-- At a certain point, health benefits are lost. This point probably varies from person to person. It also depends on the kind of exercise you do. The data is not robust, though. The difference between training for performance and longevity is like the difference between a Formula 1 machine and a Honda Accord. F1 goes FAST but is not built to last. **Anne’s Recommendations** Performance: - Focused training - specificity of training, progressive overload - 80/20 training - polarised training (80% low intensity, 20% high intensity) Longevity: - Meet PA guidelines - Bouts of high intensity - Move throughout the day - Reduce sitting - Variety of activities - Some resistance training - Get outdoors, be social, play Advantages: Increased life expectancy, enjoy movement and life more, increased function, independence Disadvantages: Won’t win any marathons, life may be less “convenient” That's what I picked up from this video. I hope it saved you some time.

@@rintje6507 post it as a separate comment. Thank you

@@tatianahawaii13 As you wish