A unique workshop was hosted by ASICS in collaboration with clinical psychologist and founder of Lighthouse Arabia, Dr. Saliha Afridi about the impact of sports, with valuable insights into the latest innovations in the fields of sports and wellbeing. Melanie Gordon tells us more.
In 1949, just after the second world war, Kihachiro Onitsuka of Japan began to produce his sports clothing brand ASICS. This sports brand is now a multibillion-dollar venture that spans globally and incorporates all kinds of sporting equipment to enhance the athletes of today. The ethos behind the brand has always been to keep the mind and body healthy, ‘sound mind in a sound body.’ Sports can help the human physique in so many ways from psychological to longevity, with this in mind I attended a discussion on how to achieve all of this with Dr Saliha, a clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia, with a view to how exercise helps the mind and body to stay healthy and alert.
The tips:
Movement of the body is crucial not only for our body to work more efficiently, but also for the brain to be able to cope with the stresses that modern day life throws at us. ASICS is about promoting both body and mind wellness. In essence the more you move, the better you feel, feeding into the brain receptors which release endorphins to make you feel good.
To achieve this we need to walk, jog, or run. We have been looking back to the thinking of our ancestors, who had to go and forage for their food, there was no other way. This is the way our brain is originally wired, to run after wild animals for meat and to run from predators. We walked to find water, sometimes over long distances and to find other food sources. This was everyday life for them. Now we live much more sedentary lives with no real threats. We need to look back at our intuitive living.
Making friends within running groups helps in so many ways. Not only with social cognitive skills but also helping make friends and belonging to a team; to becoming addicted to the running high. Running as a pack makes us run longer and faster and therefore achieving goals quicker. The #endorphins and #oxytocin and #dopamine which is released into the brain, which improves mood and can take away depression, just like an anti-depressant, it also dramatically decreases #stress levels.
The brain is also aging daily, we need to keep mental health at the forefront to keep #Dementia and #Alzheimer’s at bay. #Exercise is a way for the neuron’s connections in the hippocampus in the brain to connect and keep the brain healthy. Memory is so important for all our skills as a human, movement can help keep the memory skills intact. The act of walking opens the neuro generative and neuro protective pathways which in turn helps generate brain cells with an antioxidant effect on the brain. The free radicals, which damage cells are removed through exercise and flushed out of the system.
Stress levels are increased in the body from the fight and flight responses when running, walking, or jogging, making the heartbeat faster. A faster heartbeat indicates to the body that there are stressors around but conversely this then trains the brain to become more resistant to stress. This in turn gives the body stress managing techniques, so that in the end a faster heartbeat increases the ability to manage stress. The body now does not release the stress hormone as much as it is used to stress and therefore the brain does not spiral out of control into a negative state. Panic attacks can be averted.
ADHD is helped by exercise. There are now PE classes being set up in schools so that children can run around to make learning easier. Studies have shown that children’s learning abilities are greatly increased by more exercise whilst at school. Movement makes the brain open up and the ability to receive more information is generated. This has seen an increase in learning, the brain becomes alert and can grab onto information more easily.