3 ms·

Honestly, this seems like one of those experiments which, in retrospect, provides obvious results. Exercise is a net positive for physical health. Why wouldn'

by eitally 15y ago

Honestly, this seems like one of those experiments which, in retrospect, provides obvious results. Exercise is a net positive for physical health. Why wouldn't forced exercise provide an additional cognitive/neurological health benefit in addition to the cardio/muscular benefits? I know this is a completely simplistic and unscientific opinion, but it seems to make sense.

nodata 15y ago
Why would you expect forced exercise to provide such a benefit to mental health that it's measurable?
michaelfeathers 15y ago
The big question is: why forced exercise?
- sp332 15y ago
  Probably because if you just do what you're comfortable with, you won't learn anything new. If you're forced to do something uncomfortable, your brain learns more about your body.
  - michaelfeathers 15y ago
    Makes sense. They mention other benefits to forced exercise too. I wonder if it is an evolved response to stress. Sort of: if the bear is chasing you your body responds differently to deal with later bears.
    - sp332 15y ago
      I don't think it's that complicated. I just meant learning different ways to move your legs: get your abs involved, pump your arms differently, etc. Parkinson's can make people "forget" how to walk even if they can still run. So learning how to move your body in different ways could help combat that. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html
tlholaday 15y ago
> obvious in retrospect I recommend reading the preface to Everything is Obvious: http://everythingisobvious.com/wp-content/themes/eio/assets/EIO_preface.pdf http://everythingisobvious.com/wp-content/themes/eio/assets/...
- aangjie 15y ago
  I would also recommend reading http://lesswrong.com/lw/7e5/the_cognitive_science_of_rationality/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/7e5/the_cognitive_science_of_rationa... and perhaps trying out this experiment* http://lesswrong.com/lw/7z1/antiakrasia_tool_like_stickkcom_for_data_nerds/#more http://lesswrong.com/lw/7z1/antiakrasia_tool_like_stickkcom_... * - Am just starting out with this one. so no clear data yet
ern 15y ago
Actually, I still find these sorts of results very surprising. Till recently, I always thought that once one was an adult, one's brain lost its self-renewal capacity, and that progressive mental decline was inevitable. This was the general scientific view as well. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity ]

by eitally 15y ago

nodata 15y ago

Why would you expect forced exercise to provide such a benefit to mental health that it's measurable?

michaelfeathers 15y ago

The big question is: why forced exercise?

sp332 15y ago
Probably because if you just do what you're comfortable with, you won't learn anything new. If you're forced to do something uncomfortable, your brain learns more about your body.
- michaelfeathers 15y ago
  Makes sense. They mention other benefits to forced exercise too. I wonder if it is an evolved response to stress. Sort of: if the bear is chasing you your body responds differently to deal with later bears.
  - sp332 15y ago
    I don't think it's that complicated. I just meant learning different ways to move your legs: get your abs involved, pump your arms differently, etc. Parkinson's can make people "forget" how to walk even if they can still run. So learning how to move your body in different ways could help combat that. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html

tlholaday 15y ago

> obvious in retrospect I recommend reading the preface to Everything is Obvious: http://everythingisobvious.com/wp-content/themes/eio/assets/EIO_preface.pdf http://everythingisobvious.com/wp-content/themes/eio/assets/...

aangjie 15y ago
I would also recommend reading http://lesswrong.com/lw/7e5/the_cognitive_science_of_rationality/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/7e5/the_cognitive_science_of_rationa... and perhaps trying out this experiment* http://lesswrong.com/lw/7z1/antiakrasia_tool_like_stickkcom_for_data_nerds/#more http://lesswrong.com/lw/7z1/antiakrasia_tool_like_stickkcom_... * - Am just starting out with this one. so no clear data yet

ern 15y ago

Actually, I still find these sorts of results very surprising. Till recently, I always thought that once one was an adult, one's brain lost its self-renewal capacity, and that progressive mental decline was inevitable. This was the general scientific view as well. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity ]