Monday, April 22, 2013

Should You do More than One Thing at a Time?

 

Certain physician specialties lead to decreased physical activity, boredom, and may even create dumbness.  This is true of many occupations and doctors are not immune.

Radiologists, pathologists, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, medical directors, and a few others are less mobile and tend to be less physically active during their work days.

Scientists discovered that when we sit all day, "electrical activity in the muscles drops… leading to a cascade of harmful metabolic effects," and sadly even getting regular doses of exercise doesn't offset the damage. But now there's new evidence of the harm of sitting. Not only is it making you fatter, it might also be making you dumber.

Sabine Schaefer, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany, recently looked at the effect of walking on working memory. Your mother may have warned you not to walk and chew gum at the same time, but when Schaefer compared the performance of both children and young adults on a standard test of working memory when they were sitting with when they were walking, her results contradicted mom's advice. The British Psychological Society's Research Digest sums up the research results:

 

The headline finding was that the working memory performance of both age groups improved when walking at their chosen speed compared with when sitting or walking at a fixed speed set by the researchers. This was especially the case for more difficult versions of the working memory task, and was more pronounced among the children than the adults. So, this would appear to be clear case of mental performance actually being superior in a dual-task situation.

What type of activities do you perform that allow ‘duality of thought and exercise during your work day?

    

Of course, not every mental activity can or should be performed while walking, but this new research reinforces anecdotal evidence and other research findings that suggest being too tightly chained to our desks is bad for our minds as well as our physical health. Science shows we often have creative breakthrough when our minds are disengaged from the problem we're wrestling with, hence the common experience of getting great ideas while relaxing in the shower.

My next blog will be outlining these steps which should make you wiser, less dumb and perhaps even less fat.

This topic has some opposite opinions which I will discuss next time.  What activities do you use?

 

8 comments:

bruice adwards said...

Wow! Super kind of stuff you have provided us to read.Vero Beach Dentist

shiry hong said...

That's the blog for I was serving on net for a long time.I have too many questions for my health care but this has solved them all.Thanks for this.
Tucson dentist.

rizwan atta said...

woooo! Awesome dude!Freak what a great blog you have made.I have seen many health blog but this has amazed me so much.
Las Vegas Dentist

Unknown said...

I have never ever seen such kind of outclass informal blog.Thanks for publishing this.
I was thinking to share a "Orange County Implant Dentist" for more info about him Click Here!

marlinda franklin said...

Reading health related articles is my hobby.I like your article so much.Thanks!
Fountain Valley Dentist

Unknown said...

You know what my grand father used to told me about health care.It is the same as you have told me.Thanks for publishing this.
Cincinnati Dentist

Unknown said...

I liked your newest post. I think you should post more frequently.
Burnaby dentist

Unknown said...

I was searching a health related blog for mine own fitness.Then your blog came in front of me.You can't even imagine that how much it has helped me in securing my health.Thanks a lot for this.Beverly Hills Cosmetic Dentist