13 replies to this topic

[FunkOdyssey]

Lifestyle changes! To the dismay of couch-potato pill poppers everywhere:

Lifestyle changes improve cognitive function in just two weeks

A report published in the June, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry revealed the conclusion of UCLA researchers that adopting a healthy longevity lifestyle program involving memory and physical exercises, an optimal diet, and stress reduction amounts to increased brain efficiency among its practitioners after 14 days.

The study included 17 men and women aged 35-69 with normal memory performance scores. Eight participants were assigned to the following daily regimen: memory exercises such as crossword puzzles and brainteasers to stimulate the brain, walks to improve physical fitness, five small meals per day including abundant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and low glycemic carbohydrates to provide an optimal diet, and daily relaxation exercises to manage stress and help decrease the release of cortisol, a hormone that can impair memory. The remaining 9 participants practiced their usual lifestyle routines. The subjects completed cognitive performance tests and self-assessments of memory before and after the study period, and received positron emission tomography (PET) scans to evaluate regional cerebral metabolism during mental rest.

After two weeks, the group following the healthy longevity lifestyle program was found to have a five percent decrease in brain metabolism in working memory regions, which means that their brains did not have to work as hard to accomplish tasks. Participants in the improved lifestyle group also had better verbal fluency, which is controlled by the same brain region. The control group demonstrated no significant changes in any of the areas evaluated in the study.

Lead researcher Dr Gary Small, who is a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior stated, "We've known for several years that diet and exercise can help people maintain their physical health and live longer, but maintaining mental health is just as important. The UCLA study is the first to show the impact of memory exercises and stress reduction used together with a healthy diet and physical exercise to improve brain and cognitive function."

"The research demonstrates that in just 14 days, simple lifestyle changes can not only help overall health, but also improve memory and brain function," Dr Small concluded. "Our next step is to assess the individual effects of each lifestyle strategy, which may help us develop an optimal combination.”

[Elusive]

What a fantastic article! I hope people here take notice of it. Its very unfortunate that this forum is full of stack designers, pill poppers and defenders of nootripics that is why they will need a stronger pill after every little now and then and they will just pass through this "practical longterm approach". Keep posting great articles like these! Thanx

[Ghostrider]

I am beginning to believe that this is the safest, cheapest, and most effective way to go. I have adjusted my sleep pattern such that I go to bed and awake at just about the same time every day. It's made a bigger improvement over anything else I have tried. I am also aiming to eat more fruits, simply because they are good for me as well as refreshing and taste good.

[zoolander]

Understandibly, the media were quick to jump onto this. The study was only release a few days ago

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Jun;14(6):538-545. 

    Effects of a 14-Day Healthy Longevity Lifestyle Program on Cognition and Brain Function.

    Small GW, Silverman DH, Siddarth P, Ercoli LM, Miller KJ, Lavretsky H, Wright BC, Bookheimer SY, Barrio JR, Phelps ME.

    Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior (GWS, PS, LME, KJM, HL, BCW, SYB), Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology (DHSS, MEP, JRB), Brain Mapping Center (SYB), Alzheimer's Disease Center (GWS), and Center on Aging (GWS), University of California, Los Angeles.

    Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a 14-day healthy longevity lifestyle program on cognition and cerebral metabolism in people with mild age-related memory complaints. Methods: Seventeen nondemented subjects, aged 35-69 years (mean: 53 years, standard deviation: 10) with mild self-reported memory complaints but normal baseline memory performance scores were randomly assigned to 1) the intervention group (N = 8): a program combining a brain healthy diet plan, relaxation exercises, cardiovascular conditioning, and mental exercise (brain teasers and verbal memory training techniques); or 2) the control group (N = 9): usual lifestyle routine. Pre- and postintervention measures included self-assessments of memory ability, objective tests of cognitive performance, and determinations of regional cerebral metabolism during mental rest with [fluorine-18]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). Results: Subjects in the intervention group objectively demonstrated greater word fluency. Concomitantly, their FDG-PET scans identified a 5% decrease in activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The control group showed no significant change in any of the measures. Conclusions: A short-term healthy lifestyle program combining mental and physical exercise, stress reduction, and healthy diet was associated with significant effects on cognitive function and brain metabolism. Reduced resting activity in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may reflect greater cognitive efficiency of a brain region involved in working memory.

    PMID: 16731723 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Lesterlong, I agree. It's a fantastic article. Thanks Funk for posting this.

There are plenty of other peer review articles similar to the one above in journals such as the Harvard Health news. Have a search through our forums and I'm sure you will find similar articles here as well. We are not all pill popping, stack designing, nootropics junkies here.

[Centurion]

Welcome news, however I wouldn't see it as jusficication for labelling all nootropic users quick fixers (I know you aren't doing this Funk, but there are those who might)

I for instance am adopting a positive lifestyle approach of good sleep, reduced stress and proper diet, but see it as a solid "base" upon which I can build using effective supplementation with research proven products such as piracetam and centrophenoxine.

The quick buzz approach is always going to be indicative of an unhealthy, impulsive mindset and life view, but there are those who use nootropics as part of a long term improvement regimen.

[FunkOdyssey]

The quick buzz approach is always going to be indicative of an unhealthy, impulsive mindset and life view, but there are those who use nootropics as part of a long term improvement regimen.

Definitely. When I used "couch potato pill poppers" in derogatory fashion, I was really going after the couch potatoes out there. With the amount of supplements I take, I am in no position to criticize the practice of pill-popping.

[Centurion]

Some of you guys must earn an absolute fortune though, to be able to take hundreds of supps a day All I take is whey protein, creatine, AAKG, piracetam, centrophenoxine and melatonin and it costs me a packet!

Though I am so going to start amino supplementation (perhaps GABA aswell) for the taurine benefits you mentioned (I cycle to burn fat) and that nice sounding arginine and lysine GH spike.

[FunkOdyssey]

Nutrition, Physical Activity Boost School Performance; Four-Year Program Improves Test Scores, Discipline, Attendance

US Newswire

06-02-06

DENVER, Jun 1, 2006 (U.S. Newswire via COMTEX) -- An innovative program to increase physical activity and improve nutrition at an elementary school has shown dramatic results over four years, according to research presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) at Denver. The school logged significant gains on standardized tests, and nurse visits declined by 67 percent during the experiment.

Researcher Benjamin Sibley, Ph.D., says the program "Making the Grade with Diet and Exercise" (MGDE) rose out of concerns that increased focus on academic performance would lead schools to cut opportunities for physical activity. "Childhood health is of great concern," said Sibley. "Children now are developing lifestyle diseases such as Type-II diabetes and atherosclerosis which typically are not seen until adulthood. These conditions can be brought about in part by poor nutrition and low levels of physical activity."

Tom Yazvac, principal of Springfield Local Elementary School in New Middletown, Ohio, first sought to boost academic performance through more traditional academic interventions such as summer school and after-school programs. Poor results led school officials to develop the MGDE program, which now has been implemented at a second school.

MGDE consists of three core components:

1. A 10 - 20 minute period of physical activity at the beginning of each school day

2. A simple but nutritionally sound breakfast for all students

3. Recess before lunch, rather than after as is typical in elementary schools. Teachers determine specific physical activities, said Sibley, which increases teacher ownership of the program. Typical activities include walking, running, exercising to videos, calisthenics, resistance training, and gymnasium or playground games.

After the activity period, students pick up brown-bag breakfasts consisting of cereal and/or another bread product served along with milk and juice on most days. Other periods throughout the day are shortened by two to three minutes each to make time for the activity and breakfast periods.

Sibley explained the rationale for scheduling recess before lunch. "After sitting in the classroom all morning," he said, "children are anxious for recess. When recess comes after lunch -- a typical format in many elementary schools -- students are likely to rush through their meal, leaving much of it uneaten, to hurry out to the playground." Furthermore, he noted, "At the end of recess students are frequently over-excited and perhaps quarreling, and it may take classroom teachers several minutes to quiet them down. Placing recess before lunch allows students to burn off pent-up energy, then sit down to eat and return to the classroom ready to learn."

At Springfield, that's just what they did. The school has improved from passing two of the state indicator proficiency tests prior to the intervention to passing all five tests. A significantly higher percentage of students earned passing scores on each of the tests compared with pre-MGDE levels:

-- Reading (28 percent increase)

-- Writing (23 percent increase)

-- Math (23 percent increase)

-- Citizenship (11 percent increase)

-- Science (29 percent increase)

Studies are under way to measure the program's impact on student obesity and physical activity levels. One measure is clear, though: visits to the school nurse are down 67 percent, with the number of visits "out of boredom" (as determined by the school nurse) specifically declining in frequency.

Over the four-year intervention, the school noted a steady increase in daily attendance (from 94.3 percent in 1999 - 2000 to 95.9 percent in 2003 - 2004.) Discipline referrals were down by 58 percent over the same period.

Costs for the MGDE were mainly for food -- about $10,000 annually. "After observing the results of the program," said Sibley, "school administrators and school board members have committed to maintaining the program." He pointed out that schools with a high percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced meals would have minimal costs in implementing such a program.

"We learned several important lessons with this intervention." said Sibley. "Interventions to increase physical activity and improve nutrition may be an effective method to improve student academic performance. Also, schools can make environmental changes that have the potential to improve student health through diet and physical activity with minimal cost and disruption of the school day. Finally -- and perhaps most dramatically -- implementation of a program to increase physical activity and improve nutrition at school led to increased attendance, decreases in nurse visits and discipline referrals, and improved achievement test performance by students."

[xanadu]

centurion wrote:

" Some of you guys must earn an absolute fortune though, to be able to take hundreds of supps a day smile.gif All I take is whey protein, creatine, AAKG, piracetam, centrophenoxine and melatonin and it costs me a packet!"

Try buying in bulk and capping up your own sups. You can save a bundle that way. There is a thread in the nootropic supplier section on how to do it. I get a lot of my stuff from bulk nutrition but there are other suppliers. Typically, it costs from 1/10 to 1/5 the amount of already capped up tabs or caps. Buy a capping machine, you can get a combo deal many places with the machine and a supply of caps for a reasonable amount with a tamper. It only takes maybe 10 minutes to cap up 50. I buy taurine and inositol for around $30 a kilo. No need to cap them, just use a measuring spoon and swallow. Gaba is a little nasty so I cap it.

[Centurion]

180 piracetam from relentless improvement for $30 thats pretty cheap!

[xanadu]

Pir costs $20 for 700gm in bulk. Now that's cheap. You could probably cap up 5 times that 180 you speak of.

[rhakshasa]

Pir costs $20 for 700gm in bulk. Now that's cheap. You could probably cap up 5 times that 180 you speak of.

Powder seems really cheaper than pills then. I hope it's the same thing for other nootropics.

[doug123]

I sell DNP Piracetam for $12.25 for 500 grams, even cheaper. Guaranteed pure stuff is always more expensive, however.

Consider Piracetam is a dietary supplement in the USA; so if you are not buying UCB Piracetam, it's an unregulated food product...

For common problems with dietary supplement products sold in the USA, see:

http://www.consumerlab.com/

See this:

http://nootropics.ip...p?showtopic=172

Peace.

[hallucinogen]

Ya I got a Kilogram of Piracetam, DMAE and Green Tea Extract....I can make shakes with it now 1 scoop Piracetam + 1 scoop DMAE + 1scoop Green Tea Extract ------- mmmmmmmmm!