Tai Chi and Cognitive Function
The human brain is unique. It gives us the ability to speak, imagine and problem solve. It controls body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. It accepts a flood of information about our world via the five senses. It handles physical movement when walking, talking, standing or sitting and it allows us to think, dream, reason and experience emotions. It therefore requires nurturing and stimulation. Intellectually, brain activity includes cognitive and executive functions.
Cognitive functions can be defined as cerebral activities that lead to knowledge, including all means and mechanisms of acquiring information. Cognitive functions encompass reasoning, memory, attention and language and lead directly to the attainment of information and, thus, knowledge.
Executive functions allow for planning, organising and completing tasks. Executive functions gradually develop and change across our lifetime. There are eight key executive functions:
• Impulse control (allows thought before action)
• Emotional control (feelings are kept in check)
• Flexible thinking (allows for adjustment of the unexpected)
• Working memory (keeps key information in mind)
• Self -Monitoring (self-evaluates success and actions)
• Planning and prioritizing (goal setting and planning to meet goals)
• Task initiation (allows for action to be taken)
• Organisation (keeping track of things physically and mentally)
Tai Chi trains the brain to be calm, clear and confident. The mental concentration required for tai chi exercises the brain, just as physical training keeps the body fit. It trains the brain to retain information and to stay focused on the task at hand.
Studies have found that people who meditate 40 minutes a day had thicker cortical walls compared to people who did not meditate. Thickness of cortical walls is linked with slower rate of cognitive decline, quicker decision making, sharper focus and improved memory.
Studies have also shown that practicing tai chi increases brain volume in seniors who practiced three times a week for 40 weeks. There were increases in grey matter in the hippocampus (the area in the brain associated with learning and memory) after an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program.
It has also been found that tai chi helps decrease stress levels. Learning anything new improves neuroplasticity, which is the process by which our experiences help re-organise neural pathways in the brain. The brain learns to rewire itself in response to experiences. This leads to emotional stability, so it is easier to cope with stressors in a more controlled fashion. The tendency to live in the past, or to be stuck in ruminating thought patterns is replaced with renewed focus.
Apart from the general population, specific groups benefit from practicing tai chi. These include people suffering from Dementia, (including Alzheimer’s disease), Parkinson’s Disease, Arthritis and Depression.
Other studies have been completed that compare the effects of ‘aerobic’ exercise with ‘less aerobic’ type of exercise (tai chi) The researchers took a random group of older adults (men and women aged 60-79) from an area in Shanghai and placed them in four groups with equal numbers of men and women. The groups were structured as follows:
1. Aerobic (walking) – this group warmed up and stretched for 10 minutes and then walked quickly around a 400 meter (437 yards) circular route for 30 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of cool-down exercises.
2. Tai Chi – this group participated in Tai Chi.
3. Social Interaction – this group met with a group leader and assistant for one hour three times a week at the neighborhood community center. The researchers initially selected discussion topics for the group, but they soon found their own preferred topics. The group actually continued to meet for discussion for more than 2 years after the study was over.
4. No intervention – this group continued to live as they had before the researchers selected them for the study. They received regular calls during the study period to prevent them from dropping out.
“The results showed that those in the Tai Chi and Social Interaction groups had significant increases in total brain volume and in neuropsychological measures” (tests on memory, thinking, dementia, etc.) On the other hand, there was “no significant difference between the walkers compared to the no intervention group.
“The largest and most consistent changes we observed were in the group practicing Tai Chi with smaller changes in the Social Interaction Group.” The researchers were surprised to find that “a presumably less aerobic form of exercise, Tai Chi, had the greatest effect on brain growth and cognitive performance.”
How tai chi assists brain function
“Tai Chi, which has been described as a type of moving meditation, requires continuous and sustained attention to maintenance of posture. Although advanced practitioners may be able to carry out the forms without much mental involvement, novices like those in the present study would require sustained attention. The higher level of intellectual involvement in this activity in comparison to walking around a circular course may have been a factor in leading to the disparity of results.”
Researchers believe that Tai Chi increases blood flow and the delivery of oxygen to the brain. Specifically, Tai Chi and other exercises may improve the health of brain by improving the brain’s response to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF has been shown to protect neurons and to improve the growth and multiplication of brain cells responsible for thinking and memory. This growth usually slows down as we get older, but exercise may reverse that.
Research has shown that brain shrinkage is somehow connected to dementia. Therefore, if we can reduce or delay brain shrinkage, perhaps we can reduce or delay the incidence and onset of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. This study showed that Tai Chi increased the brain size and memory of the participants and therefore it may delay or reduce the incidence and onset of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, Tai Chi may be a form of exercise that will preserve a sharp mind!
The study can be found at http://www.taichiforhealth.net/cognitive-health
Learning and practicing tai chi over a period of time can:
Improve life coping skills and provide a general sense of well being
Promote a sense of calm and relaxation
Reduce stress and anxiety
Promote a positive outlook
Improve concentration
Prevent negative thinking
Build grey matter by up to 40% with consistent practice
Boost learning capacity
Improve memory and concentration
Prevent cyclical negative thinking
Alleviate mental imbalance
Promote healthier ageing
Other Ways to Improve Cognitive Function
Eight Habits that Improve Cognitive Function (taken from Psychology Today)
• Physical Activity - certain hormones, which are increased during exercise, may help improve memory. The researchers were able to correlate blood hormone levels from aerobic fitness and identify positive effects on memory function linked to exercise.
• Openness to Experience - "The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The Synapse Project" found that learning new and demanding skills while maintaining an engaged social network are key to staying sharp as we age. it is important to get out and do something that is unfamiliar and mentally challenging, and that provides broad stimulation mentally and socially. When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone."
• Curiosity and Creativity - Another study published in July of 2013 found that reading books, writing, and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory.
• Social Connections - In February 2014 Professor of Psychology, John Cacioppo, from University of Chicago, presented findings which identified that the health consequences of feeling lonely can trigger psychological and cognitive decline. Cacioppo's researcher found that feeling isolated from others can: disrupt sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol, alter gene expression in immune cells, increase depression, and lower overall subjective well-being...all of these factors conspire to disrupt optimal brain function, connectivity, and reduce cognitive function.
• Mindfulness Meditation - A 2013 pilot study by researchers at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center identified that the brain changes associated with meditation and subsequent stress reduction may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
• Brain-Training Games - Scientists are beginning to better understand the specific mechanisms of how patterns of electrical pulses (called “spikes”) trigger a cascade of changes in neural circuits linked to learning and memory. In a report published in April of 2013, researchers from Tel Aviv University found that "stimulant-rich" environments and problem-solving puzzles could be a contributing factor in preventing or delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in some people.
• Get Enough Sleep - A February 2014 study from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found an association between poor sleep quality and reduced gray matter volume in the brain's frontal lobe, which helps control important processes such as working memory and executive function. "The surprising thing about this study is that it suggests poor sleep quality is associated with reduced gray matter volume throughout the entire frontal lobe and also globally in the brain."
• Reduce Chronic Stress - Neuroscientists have discovered that chronic stress and high levels of cortisol can damage the brain. A wide range of recent studies have affirmed the importance of maintaining healthy brain structure and connectivity by reducing chronic stress, which lowers cortisol.
Specific activities to stimulate cognitive function
For children:
• Guessing games
• Timeline questions: What did you have for lunch yesterday?
• ‘Which one doesn’t belong’ game
• Yes or No games
• Follow my Directions
For adults:
• Wear your watch on the opposite wrist
• Put your pants on the opposite leg first
• Walk up the stairs leading with your non preferred leg
• Brush your hair/teeth with non-dominant hand
• Change your morning routine
• Change places at the family table
• Change the room diffuser scent
• Open the car windows and FEEL the outside world
• Play with coins and without looking, try to determine their denominations
• Create different ways to use a common object
• Whilst supermarket shopping, look at all the shelves (top and bottom) and take
down items you’ve never noticed before and read the labels
• Study details of objects
• Read aloud
• When using the mobile, use your other hand and listen using your other ear
“To engage the brain and keep it healthy, we need to stimulate it, to keep it guessing and to challenge it, because as soon as the excitement of day to day living fades, the ageing process takes over.” Jenny Harrison
All tai chi forms improve cognitive function, balance, coordination, muscle strength, aerobic capacity and body awareness. Historically speaking, learning tai chi involved years of dedicated practice to learn a long form. In recent years, however, new short forms have been introduced to enable all types of people learn tai chi. Rather than trying to learn 108 postures, which could take a number of years, short forms are now taught, allowing students of all levels of ability and experience to benefit from learning and practicing tai chi.
