12 ms·

How Exercise May Help the Memory Grow Stronger

174 points by montrose 9y ago

Sharma 9y ago
Not sure about others but I have noticed increase in the number of articles published on nytimes.com on the front page on HN. And because I am not a paid user for them, I hardly get to read these articles(it seems they have limit of free articles/month). Just curious, as these articles are on the front page(one nytimes article almost every day), most of the HN community pay for their subscription? Or there is something else going on e.g. voting ring with paid subscription to promote and increase their sign up rates?
- jenny_say_qua 9y ago
  I think they just tend to be well written and well researched, so people upvote them. That being said, if you want to get around the paywall, just open the link in a private browsing window.
  - criddell 9y ago
    Or, you know, subscribe.
    - rorykoehler 9y ago
      Why would you pay for what is essentially sophisticated blog spam? The quality of 95% their 'journalism' is abysmal.
      - benbreen 9y ago
        I keep seeing comments like this about NYT and I truly don’t understand where they’re coming from. And I don’t mean that in a dismissive way, I’m genuinely curious. Yes, the Economist and the New Yorker often have better writing, but their authors also have far laxer deadlines. What is the better alternative to the journalism of the likes of NYT that I am apparently missing? (I’m referring to English-language dailies here, but it doesn’t have to be US based).
        disgruntledphd2 9y ago
        I'm a big fan of the Financial Times, but if you're not as in to the finance/business stuff then it may not be worth it for you. I do think that more people should pay for news (the turning point for me was Brexit).
        dominotw 9y ago
        There is only so much trump news one can read. > What is the better alternative to the journalism of the likes of NYT I think HN is a good alternative to any online news site.
- grzm 9y ago
  The NYTimes is widely known, read, and linked to across the web, so it's not surprising that it shows up on HN as well with regularity. There's nothing going on with respect to voting rings or whatnot: I'd be surprised if there weren't more than a few NYT (or WSJ or WaPo) submissions on the front page every day just due to their prominence as publishers. While I'm sure there are HN members who have subscriptions, as you note, there are a few articles available for free, and there are a few workarounds for the paywall as well, often posted in the comments.
- mncharity 9y ago
  > it seems they have limit of free articles/month My recollection is that count is stored in a cookie. And articles accessed via google (news?) may just work? As a long-time reader, I wonder if the NYTimes might have a higher conversion rate if their banner ad theme, instead of being "Truth" and "The journalism you deserve", was more like "we often get things wrong, and we're coming from the Town and City chattering groupthink bubble, but at least we're trying". :)
wufufufu 9y ago
(in healthy, male mice)
hacker_9 9y ago
Mind body connection is real, who knew.
joshvm 9y ago
This article should probably be titled "Exercise may prevent memory degradation under stressful conditions". The study, as reported, doesn't imply that exercising improves memory, only that it cushions you against stress which might make you forget things (or cause you difficulty to store things in the first place).
- mamon 9y ago
  There's also some evidence [1] that exercise promotes hippocampus neurogenesis in adults, which could improve your memory in more permanent way, not just remedying stress effects. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5281566/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5281566/
andy_ppp 9y ago
For anyone here interested I can’t recommend https://stronglifts.com https://stronglifts.com enough. I sleep much better since starting it (and wake up feeling great rather than groggy) and there is loads of information on how to get started lifting weights. It’s all free apart from some extra features on the app which is a £9.99 one off fee. My mind is much clearer and it’s very quick to do... it’s much more enjoyable than dragging myself around the park.
- otherdave 9y ago
  I second the sentiment but would also suggest https://startingstrength.com/ https://startingstrength.com/ :) Mainly for the wealth of online videos & other training materials I've found to help learn the lifts. I do recommend the book and the app costs a few bucks if you want it.
  - bproven 9y ago
    Both of these are excellent. Even if you don't want to follow these programs exactly at least grab Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" (3rd edition). It is a great reference for all the big lifts - very well illustrated with detailed explanations. Getting stronger (especially as you get older) is critical to good quality of life. Once you have hit your limits on those two programs move to Wendler's 5/3/1 :) I've done SS and now 5/3/1 for the last 4-5 years and I'm the strongest I've been in my life in my early 40s! EDIT: Also another great thing about Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is that it doesn't require much of a time commitment. You can easily be in/out of the gym in an hour or less - if you are not goofing off, 40-45 minutes is pretty typical.
    - ryanchants 9y ago
      I just finished my second week of my first cycle of 531 Triumvirate + FSL and I'm loving it. In the next week or two I'll probably start tacking on some conditioning(prowler/ropes/kettlebells) after cause I still feel pretty good.
  - andy_ppp 9y ago
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ultimape 9y ago
Nytimes article title: >Memory Grow Stronger Actual study: >mitigates the negative consequences of chronic stress This is like saying that not pooping makes you gain weight, when the study is on how much you eat affects the weight of your poop. Noncongruent.
- chc 9y ago
  Not really. The abstract of the study specifically lists improved memory as one of the effects the mice experienced. There are obviously lots of caveats you could list (e.g. it's only shown to help mice with chronic stress, not people or even mice in general), but it doesn't seem incongruous the way you're describing.
- kriffo 9y ago
  I don't understand and I hope it doesn't mean I have a concussion.
daryllxd 9y ago
If you're the type to not want to go to the gym (anxiety, or it's too far), I've had immense benefits from cycling, both indoors and outdoors. I can think more clearly about programming when I'm chilling on the bike, so many ideas and bug fixes have come while just pedalling along.
- Z-Widwil 9y ago
  Do you have any recommendations for indoor bikes/trainer that you've used? I agree that it is extremely beneficial. Though my cycling is only done to and from work. I've thought about getting a cycling machine with a reading/laptop platform for indoor use, but it's hard to identify what I'm actually looking for since they're a bit different from bikes and I've never used one.
  - rajjalan 9y ago
    Instead of spending lot of money on cycling machine, look for "Magnet Steel Bike Bicycle Indoor Exercise Trainer" on amazon. Decent stand to use your bike indoors for $50-$60
    - Z-Widwil 9y ago
      Thanks for the recommendation. I've looked at trainers like that and some look solid. I might just have to go for one. It's just hard to gauge quality versus something like a Kickr Snap.
  - rorykoehler 9y ago
    If you have the cash there are some great electronic resistance direct drive indoor trainers you attach a real bike to. Search Google for zwift enabled trainers (brands like tacx)
  - biswaroop 9y ago
    Seconding the recommendations for a cheap trainer + Zwift. Also, if the weather is good, find a local club to ride with outside. Although indoor training is great, nothing releases endorphins like an outdoor ride with some friends.
osivertsson 9y ago
In Sweden Anders Hansen, a well known psychiatrist and researcher, is pushing for people to exercise to improve all parts of well-being. One introduction to his work in english is the TEDxUmeå talk below. Why the Brain is Built for Movement | Anders Hansen | TEDxUmeå https://youtu.be/a9p3Z7L0f0U https://youtu.be/a9p3Z7L0f0U

174 points by montrose 9y ago

Not sure about others but I have noticed increase in the number of articles published on nytimes.com on the front page on HN. And because I am not a paid user for them, I hardly get to read these articles(it seems they have limit of free articles/month). Just curious, as these articles are on the front page(one nytimes article almost every day), most of the HN community pay for their subscription? Or there is something else going on e.g. voting ring with paid subscription to promote and increase their sign up rates?

jenny_say_qua 9y ago
I think they just tend to be well written and well researched, so people upvote them. That being said, if you want to get around the paywall, just open the link in a private browsing window.
- criddell 9y ago
  Or, you know, subscribe.
  - rorykoehler 9y ago
    Why would you pay for what is essentially sophisticated blog spam? The quality of 95% their 'journalism' is abysmal.
    - benbreen 9y ago
      I keep seeing comments like this about NYT and I truly don’t understand where they’re coming from. And I don’t mean that in a dismissive way, I’m genuinely curious. Yes, the Economist and the New Yorker often have better writing, but their authors also have far laxer deadlines. What is the better alternative to the journalism of the likes of NYT that I am apparently missing? (I’m referring to English-language dailies here, but it doesn’t have to be US based).
      - disgruntledphd2 9y ago
        I'm a big fan of the Financial Times, but if you're not as in to the finance/business stuff then it may not be worth it for you. I do think that more people should pay for news (the turning point for me was Brexit).
      - dominotw 9y ago
        There is only so much trump news one can read. > What is the better alternative to the journalism of the likes of NYT I think HN is a good alternative to any online news site.
grzm 9y ago
The NYTimes is widely known, read, and linked to across the web, so it's not surprising that it shows up on HN as well with regularity. There's nothing going on with respect to voting rings or whatnot: I'd be surprised if there weren't more than a few NYT (or WSJ or WaPo) submissions on the front page every day just due to their prominence as publishers. While I'm sure there are HN members who have subscriptions, as you note, there are a few articles available for free, and there are a few workarounds for the paywall as well, often posted in the comments.
mncharity 9y ago
> it seems they have limit of free articles/month My recollection is that count is stored in a cookie. And articles accessed via google (news?) may just work? As a long-time reader, I wonder if the NYTimes might have a higher conversion rate if their banner ad theme, instead of being "Truth" and "The journalism you deserve", was more like "we often get things wrong, and we're coming from the Town and City chattering groupthink bubble, but at least we're trying". :)

wufufufu 9y ago

(in healthy, male mice)

hacker_9 9y ago

Mind body connection is real, who knew.

joshvm 9y ago

This article should probably be titled "Exercise may prevent memory degradation under stressful conditions". The study, as reported, doesn't imply that exercising improves memory, only that it cushions you against stress which might make you forget things (or cause you difficulty to store things in the first place).

mamon 9y ago
There's also some evidence [1] that exercise promotes hippocampus neurogenesis in adults, which could improve your memory in more permanent way, not just remedying stress effects. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5281566/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5281566/

andy_ppp 9y ago

For anyone here interested I can’t recommend https://stronglifts.com https://stronglifts.com enough. I sleep much better since starting it (and wake up feeling great rather than groggy) and there is loads of information on how to get started lifting weights. It’s all free apart from some extra features on the app which is a £9.99 one off fee. My mind is much clearer and it’s very quick to do... it’s much more enjoyable than dragging myself around the park.

otherdave 9y ago
I second the sentiment but would also suggest https://startingstrength.com/ https://startingstrength.com/ :) Mainly for the wealth of online videos & other training materials I've found to help learn the lifts. I do recommend the book and the app costs a few bucks if you want it.
- bproven 9y ago
  Both of these are excellent. Even if you don't want to follow these programs exactly at least grab Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" (3rd edition). It is a great reference for all the big lifts - very well illustrated with detailed explanations. Getting stronger (especially as you get older) is critical to good quality of life. Once you have hit your limits on those two programs move to Wendler's 5/3/1 :) I've done SS and now 5/3/1 for the last 4-5 years and I'm the strongest I've been in my life in my early 40s! EDIT: Also another great thing about Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is that it doesn't require much of a time commitment. You can easily be in/out of the gym in an hour or less - if you are not goofing off, 40-45 minutes is pretty typical.
  - ryanchants 9y ago
    I just finished my second week of my first cycle of 531 Triumvirate + FSL and I'm loving it. In the next week or two I'll probably start tacking on some conditioning(prowler/ropes/kettlebells) after cause I still feel pretty good.
- andy_ppp 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

ultimape 9y ago

Nytimes article title: >Memory Grow Stronger Actual study: >mitigates the negative consequences of chronic stress This is like saying that not pooping makes you gain weight, when the study is on how much you eat affects the weight of your poop. Noncongruent.

chc 9y ago
Not really. The abstract of the study specifically lists improved memory as one of the effects the mice experienced. There are obviously lots of caveats you could list (e.g. it's only shown to help mice with chronic stress, not people or even mice in general), but it doesn't seem incongruous the way you're describing.
kriffo 9y ago
I don't understand and I hope it doesn't mean I have a concussion.

daryllxd 9y ago

If you're the type to not want to go to the gym (anxiety, or it's too far), I've had immense benefits from cycling, both indoors and outdoors. I can think more clearly about programming when I'm chilling on the bike, so many ideas and bug fixes have come while just pedalling along.

Z-Widwil 9y ago
Do you have any recommendations for indoor bikes/trainer that you've used? I agree that it is extremely beneficial. Though my cycling is only done to and from work. I've thought about getting a cycling machine with a reading/laptop platform for indoor use, but it's hard to identify what I'm actually looking for since they're a bit different from bikes and I've never used one.
- rajjalan 9y ago
  Instead of spending lot of money on cycling machine, look for "Magnet Steel Bike Bicycle Indoor Exercise Trainer" on amazon. Decent stand to use your bike indoors for $50-$60
  - Z-Widwil 9y ago
    Thanks for the recommendation. I've looked at trainers like that and some look solid. I might just have to go for one. It's just hard to gauge quality versus something like a Kickr Snap.
- rorykoehler 9y ago
  If you have the cash there are some great electronic resistance direct drive indoor trainers you attach a real bike to. Search Google for zwift enabled trainers (brands like tacx)
- biswaroop 9y ago
  Seconding the recommendations for a cheap trainer + Zwift. Also, if the weather is good, find a local club to ride with outside. Although indoor training is great, nothing releases endorphins like an outdoor ride with some friends.

osivertsson 9y ago

In Sweden Anders Hansen, a well known psychiatrist and researcher, is pushing for people to exercise to improve all parts of well-being. One introduction to his work in english is the TEDxUmeå talk below. Why the Brain is Built for Movement | Anders Hansen | TEDxUmeå https://youtu.be/a9p3Z7L0f0U https://youtu.be/a9p3Z7L0f0U