One of the main benefits of stimulant drugs (such as cocaine, ephedrine, and amphetamines like Ritalin) is their ability to dramatically increase mental energy and concentration. They can make it easier to focus on your work and studies for prolonged periods of time.

How is this achieved? Basically, it’s thought that psychostimulants increase catecholamine neurotransmission in the brain.

Catecholamines are a special category of brain chemicals used for neurotransmission. They include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Unfortunately, however, these drugs often have very harmful side effects (both long- and short-term), and taking them can sometimes result in death. What most people don’t realize is that there is a much safer, more natural way to boost brain catecholamines: Acute Bouts of Aerobic Exercise.

Both stimulants and aerobic exercise exert similarly powerful effects on: norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine. There is quite a bit of evidence in the scientific literature to back this up. [see References 1-6 below].

Since it is widely believed that the beneficial effects of stimulants stem from their ability to boost catecholamines in the brain, it certainly makes sense that aerobic exercise would produce these same beneficial effects (dramatic increases in mental energy and concentration). Is there any direct evidence to support the idea that aerobic exercise actually enhances cognition? Absolutely:

• “Acute exercise can improve learning and mental performance.”[Reference 7]

• “Acute bouts of exercise selectively facilitate multiple cognitive processes; exercise can, under certain conditions, enhance response speed and response accuracy, and it can facilitate cognitive processes that are central to problem-solving and goal-oriented action.”[Reference 8]

• “Exercise produces a condition during which individuals are able to perform both simple and complex tasks rapidly and efficiently.”[Reference 8]

• “Acute bouts of exercise improve the ability to block irrelevant information and to select and respond to task-relevant information.”[Reference 9,10] (Note: This is the basis of concentration)

• “Recent studies have provided the research community with clear support for an improvement of cognitive performance during exercise”[Reference 11]

So yes, it’s true. One of the most powerful nonpharmacologic ways to boost your ability to concentrate and focus while studying is to exercise aerobically beforehand.

References: 

1.Winter B, Breitenstein C, Mooren FC. High Impact running improves learning. Neurbiol Learn Mem. Dec 2006.

2.Ransford CP. A role for amines in the antidepressant effect of exercise: a review. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1982;14(1):1-10.

3.Peyrin L, Pequignot JM, Lacour JR, et al. Relationships between catecholamine or 3-methoxy 4-hydroxy phenylglycol changes and the mental performance under submaximal exercise in man. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1987;93(2):188-192.

4.Meeusen R, De Meirleir K. Exercise and brain neurotransmission. Sports Med. Sep 1995;20(3):160-188.

5.Pagliari R, Peyrin L. Physical conditioning in rats influences the central and peripheral catecholamine responses to sustained exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1995;71(1):41-52.

6.Pagliari R, Peyrin L. Norepinephrine release in the rat frontal cortex under treadmill exercise: a study with microdialysis. J Appl Physiol. Jun 1995;78(6):2121-2130.

7.Cotman CW, Berchtold NC. Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Trends Neurosci. Jun 2002;25(6):295-301.

8.Tomporowski PD. Effects of acute bouts of exercise on cognition. Acta Psychol (Amst). Mar 2003;112(3):297-324.

9.Hogervorst E, Riedel W, Jeukendrup A, et al. Cognitive performance after strenuous physical exercise. Percept Mot Skills. Oct 1996;83(2):479-488.

10.Lichtman S, Poser EG. The effects of exercise on mood and cognitive functioning. J Psychosom Res. 1983;27(1):43-52.

11.Brisswalter J, Collardeau M, Rene A. Effects of acute physical exercise characteristics on cognitive performance. Sports Med. 2002;32(9):555-566.

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There have been several studies lately that reveal how bad sleep disordered breathing can be for your brain.

Now, a recent article published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine shows how harmful sleep apnea can be to even children’s minds. The study, conducted by Dr. Ann Halbower and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, reveals kids who have sleep apnea have:

• significant changes in the hippocampus (the memory engine of the brain) and right prefrontal cortex (important for thinking & reasoning) indicative of brain damage
• lower mean IQ test scores (85 vs. 101)
• poorer verbal working memory and verbal fluency test performance

Halbower notes:

We can only assume that it could turn an otherwise smart kid into a mediocre kid, which could mark him for life

From the article (which you can read here), signs of sleep apnea include: snoring, pauses in breathing, loud or labored breathing, gasping, coughing, and choking.

An earlier study I posted discussed the relationship between ADHD and enlarged tonsils (which leads to sleep apnea).

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Just finished reading about another new “disorder” that, according to a recent study, up to 16 million Americans (7.3 percent of the population) may have: Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

I’m going to add this to a list of other bogus psychiatric diagnosis: (All found in the DSM-IV)

• Sibling Rivalry Disorder
• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• Mathematics Disorder
• Caffeine Related Disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

The findings, released in the Archives of General Psychiatry, “show the disorder is much more common than previously thought”, said lead author Ronald Kessler, a health care policy professor at Harvard Medical School.

Do you get impulsively aggressive? Then you too may have a “disease” that needs to be treated with drugs.

Apparently, the $20 billion per year pharmaceutical companies make selling these antidepressants (the treatment for Intermittent Explosive Disorder) is just not enough.

I suspect most would be shocked to know that the psychiatrists who define the diseases for the bible of psychiatry- the DSM IV- are funded and on the payroll of pharmaceutical companies. For those who doubt, an absolutely amazing statistic was recently revealed by the Washington Post in April 2006:

• Of the 170 experts who contributed to the book that defines psychiatric diseases (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- the DSM), more than half had financial ties to the drug companies that sell medications for those illnesses

“I don’t think the public is aware of how egregious the financial ties are”, said Lisa Cosgrove, who published her findings in the journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

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Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, Concerta, Metadate, Dexedrine, Focalin, Cylert, Attenade. All are stimulants used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD). They are also all drugs that have been tried or used by 15-30% of college students to get ahead academically.

Now a new warning about these drugs comes from Health Canada: All of these stimulant drugs can cause psychotic reactions. A psychotic reaction is characterized by one or more of the following:

• Hallucinations
• Paranoia
• Delusions
• Disordered Thought

In March 2006 in the U.S., the FDA learned that as many as 6% of children may develop a psychotic reaction to these drugs- including cases of “hallucinations, both visual and tactile, involving insects, snakes, worms”. There was even a case of a 6 year old boy who started licking the table one day after his treatment started.

Health Canada is therefore mandating that the labels for all the above drugs be changed by December.

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Many are using Nintendo’s Brain Age game to boost their brain power.
Here are two more powerful tools, however, you can add to your brain
gym:

• Dance Dance Revolution
• In the Groove

[Two videos follow at the end of the article]

Both are music video games that may improve your ability to
concentrate as well as increase your intelligence. The research that
supports this view basically comes from the work done with Synchronized
Metronome Tapping (SMT), a technique that seeks to develop the rhythm and timing circuitry of the brain.

Rhythm and Timing involves multiple brain regions such as the:

• cerebellum
• basal ganglia
• frontal lobes
• thalamus
• motor cortex
• temporal lobes
• sensory cortex
• corpus callosum

Additionally, the crucial neural pathways that interconnect these structures and enable them to communicate with each other are also invoked.

Importantly, several scientific studies have been published on the beneficial effects of SMT; these include:

• A recent exploratory study presented at the learning & Brain
  Conference at Harvard in 2005 revealed that SMT treatment resulted in a
  7-20% greater growth in reading and math achievement
• A study involving 9 to 12 year old boys diagnosed with ADHD showed significant patterns of improvement in attention, coordination, reading and language processing
• A study involving 1500 middle and high school students showed significant increases in reading fluency and math fluency
• A study of 360 9th and 10th graders showed higher scores in
  broad reading, reading fluency, and math calculation skills. Math
  fluency and attention also improved significantly.

[The above were taken from the Interactive Metronome website, which also features other studies showing its cognitive benefits].

If you’d like to see a video of SMT in action via the Interactive Metronome (a commercial product) click here.

As you can see from the video link above, Interactive metronome
training doesn’t look too exciting or like very much fun. And it costs
about $1500 for 15 sessions. Above 15 sessions, the cost runs $80 per
session.

Now, what I suspect is that games like Dance Dance Revolution and In the Groove pack many of the same brain benefits as the Interactive Metronome and SMT, but would:

• cost much less(home versions are available on the Playstation and Xbox)
• be a heck of a lot more fun (you can practice with real music, colorful graphics, and can play with friends)
• Would probably be even more effective, as you’re not only utilizing
  sound for rhythm and timing, but also incorporating visual systems
  (i.e. via the ’step arrows’-see videos below).

Interestingly, there’s been a lot of buzz in the media over the past year about how DDR and ITG games are also being used as fun ways to aerobically exercise and lose weight.

Furthermore, over 756 state schools will be installing DDR games in house as part of their fitness programs [Wikipedia].

Additionally, some universities are also allowing students to fulfill their physical education requirements with these machines.

If you’d like to see these games in action, and compare it to SMT, enjoy these videos:

Dance Dance Revolution: (toward the end of the video, this guy’s feet move inhumanly fast)

In the Groove: (in the U.S., this game seems to be overtaking DDR in popularity).

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A recent Harvard University newspaper article suggests that many Harvard students casually rely on prescription stimulant drugs to get a competitive edge and boost brain power while studying.

The article further suggests that stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin "might be on their way to becoming the new coffee".

I’ve also seen studies that show up to 25-30% of college students in the U.S. are using stimulant drugs to get ahead academically.

Apparently, students are going to health clinics and lying to the doctors there to get their hands on the drugs. They, in turn, pass them out to friends. One student notes: "During exam time, I know I’ve got a steady stream of people who come to me and I don’t turn them away. In my experience I’ve found that if people know it’s available, not a lot is holding them back.

Unfortunately, most students of Generation Rx don’t realize the hidden dangers of amphetamines.

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A new study published in the European Child Adolescent Psychiatry seems to indicate that pine bark extract is effective for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The extract is called Pycnogenol, which is derived from the bark of the French maritime pine.

“The results of this study show Pycnogenol may serve as a safe, effective treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD,” Dr. Peter Rohdewald, coauthor of the study, says. “French maritime pine bark extract reduced hyperactivity among study participants, while improving attention and visual-motor coordination and concentration of these children.”

The study, which evaluated students whose average age was 9.5 years, went on for 1 month.

According to an article written for Medscape Medical News by Dr. Laurie Barclay and Dr. Penny Murata, an earlier report in Mainichi Shimbun indicated a 70% success rate in treating children with ADHD. However, a September 2002 study in the Journal of Attention Disorders found no significant effect for either pine bark extract or methylphenidate (Ritalin) in treating adults with ADHD. A pilot study in 2004 did show, though, that pine bark extract at a dose of 1mg/kg/day improved ADHD symptoms.

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A study out of the University of Adelaide, to be published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, shows that omega 3 fish oil may be better than Ritalin at treating Attention Deficit Disorder.

Within 3 months of treatment with the fish oil capsules, the children started to show signs of improvement, and by 7 months, many of them were doing better at school.

“The most striking improvement was in concentration or attention, which improved by a third.”

There have actually been a number of studies done over the past several years looking at the effectiveness of omega 3 oils in treating attention deficit disorder. Many of these do show a positive effect in a subset of people with the disorder.

Related Post: Brain Enhancement with Flax Seed Oil and Vitamin C

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Ampakines are a class of proprietary drugs that are being developed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals and its partners. These compounds are thought to be potentially useful in improving memory and concentration in people who have ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease. Many are hopeful that the drugs will help improve cognition and performance in those that are normal and healthy.

There have been several studies published on ampakines. A recent study from earlier this year seemed to show one ampakines effectiveness for treating ADHD.

A study that will appear in the August issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology seems to show the mechanism by which ampakines boost memory and learning in middle-aged rats:

• First, long-term potentiation is enhanced
• Secondly, brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) increased in the hippocampus

Ampakines have not been approved yet for use by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Clinical trials are still being conducted. Unfortunately, on March 31, 2006, the FDA called Cortex Pharmaceuticals and told them they must place their clinical research on hold due to ampakine safety issues.

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Not too long ago, I posted how over the long term, meditation can actually increase the size of the brain. Specifically, it thickens the cerebral cortex in areas important for attention and concentration.

I came across another study, though, that shows meditation over the short term can also temporarily increase your ability to concentrate and focus. The study was out of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

How does meditation instantly boost your ability to focus?

My suspicion is that when you meditate, the neural systems important for concentration are given a big rest and a chance to rejuvenate. Kind of like letting the battery recharge. When you come out of meditation, these systems are fully primed and ready to go; your ability to focus will be at its peak.

Note that this improvement in concentration is larger than what you’d acheive from taking a short nap.

Here’s a related short article that appeared in TIME magazine January 2006 that you may find interesting: How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time.

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This helpful bit should be of use to college students, busy executives, and anyone else who is dependent on high levels of concentration and brain power.

It turns out there is a growing body of research that shows, amazingly:

• Exposure to green outdoor settings (parks, trees, grassy backyards, etc…) can significantly improve concentration and productivity.

If you follow the link above, you’ll be taken to a nice website that lists over a dozen research studies showing the benefits.

Nancy Wells, a professor at Cornell University, has conducted several studies in this area. She also notes that green spaces can lead to "profound differences in attention capacities".

Do you study (or work) boxed up in a classroom, library, or office with no windows or natural light?

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A recent study out of the University of Michigan School of Medicine showed that 11 out of 22 children were cured of their ADHD when their enlarged tonsils were removed.

Large tonsils are thought to lead to breathing problems during sleep.

Why is this important? Numerous research studies have come out recently showing that sleep disorders are probably responsible for a large percentage of ADHD cases.

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The results from this recent study out of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are very unsettling:

After just 3 months of use, Ritalin has been found to significantly damage children’s DNA (Cancer Letters 2005;230:284-91).

What is DNA? It is the fundamental blueprint for your body. All of the cells, organs, and systems in your body are entirely dependent on it.

Imagine you hire an architect to draw up plans for your new custom house. After many months of hard work, he delivers the blueprints to the builder’s mailbox. Unfortunately, a vandal gets hold of them, erases lines, changes the scale, draws new lines, reconfigures the electrical layout, etc…

How is your new house going to look? Are you even going to be able to live in it?

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A 2006 study out of the Division of Neuroscience and The Brain Research Center at University of British Columbia Hospital nicely summarizes one of the core teachings of brain enhancement:

• Regular doses of exercise can “massively increase” the growth of new brain cells in your brain.

The best part of it all, however, is the specific location of where many of these new brain cells are created: the hippocampus.

Why would you want new brain cells sprouting up here? The hippocampus turns out to be the memory engine of your brain.

People often ask whether anaerobic exercises can achieve these effects, and I tell them most of the evidence suggests aerobic is the key.

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