In my post about robotic jugglers, Joe Salter humorously quipped that he wanted to know when they would develop a robot joggler.  To that end, I found this video about running robots.  They are really working on them.

But then Matt directed me to this event, the robot marathon. Very cool!

These robot “run” the entire 26.2 mile distance. The winner came in at just around 54 hours. I think most everyone could beat them but give them a dozen years. Human marathoners may be slow in comparison.

I’ve previously reported on studies that showed how juggling can make your brain grow and also on studies that demonstrate that you can probably live longer if you eat less.  But this latest study suggests that not only can eating less make you live longer, it keeps your brain younger.

In the study, researchers put mice on a calorie restricted diet and found a molecule in their brain that triggered longevity genes.  Basically, the mice that ate less had younger brains.

The one hitch in my plan to live until I’m 107 years old is that my brain will start to get old.  I don’t so much mind the rest of my body parts aging but the mind is where the essence of person hood is located.  If that degenerates then so does everything about you.  It would be devastating to me to succumb to something like Alzheimer’s or dementia.  The only plus side of getting those things is that when you have them you don’t really know it.

Anyway, this is just more evidence that I need to start eating less.  Of course, this is just a mouse study and these things are often more complicated than we know.  However, it really wouldn’t hurt me to eat a bit less and if it keeps me smart and lets me live a long time…why wouldn’t I do it?

Joggle on!

It has happened in almost every marathon I’ve run. Somewhere between mile 18 and 22 I start to feel so exhausted that I don’t want to continue. Of course, I do continue but it’s hard.

Well, it seems that it is not really my muscles that are wearing down but rather my brain. According to this research, muscle fatigue starts in your mind.

In a series of studies published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, researchers demonstrated that nerve impulses from the brain (thalamus and insular cortex exactly are what is responsible for making your muscles feel tired. It is not a signal from the muscles which was the prevailing theory.

So, maybe in addition to joggling hundreds of miles to train for my next marathon, I should start trying to reprogram my brain to better withstand the pain.

Or maybe not.

When I first started running back in 1992, I only went 15 minutes a day.  There were a few reasons for this.  First, I wanted to be healthy and live a long life.  Second, I didn’t want to spend money on a gym membership.  Running outside was free and you can do it whenever you want.  It didn’t matter much that I didn’t like running.  The positives outweighed the negatives.

But how did I end up with 15 minutes as my time?

Well, this came from a book called Fit or Fat which essentially said 15 minutes of running was all you needed to get the health benefits that running would get you.  I never saw any good reason to go farther (at least until I learned to love running).

How much exercise do you need?

It looks like Covert Bailey was right, you don’t really need to do hours of exercise a day to be healthy.  According to this research, you can get the benefits of exercise by doing only 10 minutes a day.

I’m not going back to my 15 minute a day routine but it’s nice to know that if I did, I could still be healthy.  What is everyone else’s excuse for not exercising?

It turns out, the reason that people are shaped the way they are shaped is primarily because they started running.

According to research published in the November 18 issue of Nature magazine (a prestigious science magazine), humans evolved from ape-like ancestors because they had to run long distances to hunt animals on Africa’s large savannah.

Specifically, it is our human ability to be excellent long distance runners that convinces scientists that running is what made us who we are. Evolutionarily, humans have a perfect blend of endurance and speed.

Our excellent hand-eye coordination also makes for the evolution of excellent jogglers.

Anatomy of a runner

From the article, here are some of the most useful features that made humans better runners.

1. Skull is designed to help prevent overheating during running.

2. Head is desigend to be nicely balanced while running.

3. Neck ligament that acts as a shock absorber when running.

4. Head can rotate so it can stay forward while running.

5. Tall body enables more cooling during running

6. Shorter forearms makes balance easier.

7. Big butts. Enables stabilization for running

8. Large heel bone for better shock absorption.

An interesting theory. Now I wonder what people will say in the future when runners have evolved into jogglers.

In a study published in Nature back in 2004, researchers discovered that elderly people who learned to juggle could grow their brain. It actually increased grey matter in the motion sensitive area of the brain.

But subsequent studies showed that if you stopped regular juggling the brain growth would recede back to where you started. And if you merely juggled the same three ball pattern each time, the brain benefits didn’t continue either.

How to grow your brain

To grow your brain, you have to keep juggling and additionally, keep learning new tricks.

Fortunately, in juggling, there is always a new trick to learn. If you are getting tired of bean bags, switch to clubs, diabolo, yo-yos, or balancing things on your nose.  All of these can help build your brain and keep it young.

One great way to grow your brain is to figure out juggling siteswaps.

Math + Juggling = Brainiac

When I go joggling, I rarely think about my pace. Of course, it will depend on how far I intend to go but my natural pace is just around 8 min miles. It turns out that this might not be my optimal running pace.

Optimal running pace

Optimal running pace is defined as the running speed that gets you the farthest distance with the least amount of energy expended.

It is normally believed that there is a linear relationship between energy output and pace. So, it doesn’t matter if you do a 5 minute mile or a 10 minute mile, you’ll spend the same amount of energy because of the time difference.

But according to a study in the Journal of Human Evolution, this is not true. Each person actually has an optimal pace that uses the least amount of oxygen to cover a given distance.

In the study, the researchers tested runners at different speeds and measured the amount of energy / oxygen they required. On average men had an optimal speed of about 7:13 min/miles while women were 9:08 min/miles.

Joggling pace

With my “feel good pace” of 8:00 min/miles, I’m a little less than optimal. I suppose, however, that it varies with individuals. If they ever re-run the test, I’ll try to get in the study.

What is your optimal running speed? Leave a comment below.

This bit of research is a bit troubling. According to a UniSA study, kids are not exercising enough. The lack of activity is leading to less healthy children.

I think back on my time in grade school and we weren’t encouraged to do many physical activities. We did have a gym period each day and lunch was outside when we were younger, but it was never seen as a bad thing to not exercise. Guess we just didn’t know any better.

Well, I have a suggestion for increasing physical activity of children. Conduct juggling classes during lunch or gym periods. Juggling is a great activity for kids. It keeps them active, builds their brains, increases confidence and is easy enough for anyone to learn.

I learned to juggle in 5th grade and I am forever grateful to Dave Finnegan & the folks at JuggleBug for coming to our school and teaching us. It literally changed my life.

Every so often I do a post about some scientific study that I read about related to either juggling, running, exercise, or diet. I like science and I like those subjects so that’s why I write about them.

But it’s not easy for me to keep up on everything. That’s why I was pleased to learn about the website Benefits of Juggling. The goal of this blog is to collect all the scientific information about juggling and have it all in one place, accessible to the public.

One of my biggest complaints about science on the Internet is that all the peer reviewed journals require subscriptions so you never get to read much more than the abstract.

Well, this website has some interesting posts. For example,

1. Juggling might be effective for treating anxiety disorders.
2. Juggling enhances brain connections
3. Juggling helps reduce dyslexia

There is a lot for me to get through but I’m glad someone has gone through the trouble of collecting it all in one place.

Unfortunately, they seem to have abandoned the website as it hasn’t been updated since 2009. Oh well, there is still lots to get through. I wonder if there is anything about Joggling.

hmmmm…

When we get older, we naturally become a little less sharp. Science shows that in brain games like chess, mental acumen decreases with age. This is a little troubling, especially since I’m looking to live until 107 years old. I certainly don’t want to be a dumb centenarian.

That’s why I found this recent research about the brain and exercise comforting. According to researchers at the University of Colorado, exercise can counteract the memory decline that happens after an infection. They tested a bunch of mice that either exercised after being infected by E. coli or didn’t. It turns out the ones that exercised had better memories than the ones that didn’t.

While mice studies don’t always translate to human results, there has been ongoing investigations into the idea that exercise could ward off brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. So far all the data says “yes”. But scientists still don’t know why it works.

No matter.

If you want to ensure that your brain works best when you are older, start exercising now. And if you’re already exercising, never stop!

Joggle on.