How To Get a Fluffy Hippocampus with Wendy Suzuki | Get Fit Sanely Listener Picks

We asked listeners to tell us about some of their favorite episodes from our Get Fit Sanely series, and we'll be bringing you some excerpts of those episodes on Fridays this month. Today, we're hearing from listener Cynthia who had a vivid takeaway from our episode on exercise and the brain with neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. Paid subscribers of DanHarris.com will have exclusive access to a set of all-new guided meditations, led by friend of the show Cara Lai https://www.caralai.org/#/, customized to accompany each episode of the Get Fit Sanely series. We're super excited to offer a way to help you put the ideas from the episodes into practice. Learn all about it here. https://www.danharris.com/p/a-month-of-guided-meditationsjust Related Episodes: The Neuroscience of Exercise | Wendy Suzuki https://www.danharris.com/p/the-neuroscience-of-exercise-wendy-16b How To Take Care of Your Body Without Losing Your Mind https://www.danharris.com/p/how-to-take-care-of-your-body-without Get Fit Sanely: the podcast playlist https://www.danharris.com/p/get-fit-sanely-0f2 Join Dan's online community here http://www.danharris.com Follow Dan on social: Instagram https://bit.ly/3tGigG5, TikTok https://bit.ly/3FOA84J Subscribe to our YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/3FybRzD To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:04Dan Harris?

  It's the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

• 0:18Dan Harris?

  Hey, hey. Happy Friday, everybody. As you may know, we just kicked off our month-long Get Fit Sanely series where we talk about how to take care of your body without losing your mind. This is the third year we've done this series, and we were really curious to hear how the previous episodes have affected your life. So we put out a call to our Substack community over at danharris.com, and we asked people to tell us about an episode that really resonated with you and how it inspired you to make a change. And we heard from a bunch of you guys. And so every Friday this month, we're going to hear some voice notes from you that will tee up some gems of wisdom from past Get Fit Sanely episodes. So the

• 1:01Dan Harris?

  listener who suggested them will essentially be introducing them right here on the show. Our first listener was inspired by one of our guests to get more exercise, and not just for the benefit of her body, but also, quite specifically, her brain.

• 1:17Speaker 01

  Hi, Dan. My name is Cynthia. I just wanted to say how much I love your podcast. It's been a meaningful part of my life, especially since I began my grief journey in October of 2022. Listening to you and your guests has really helped me shape a new routine, when this were mindful, grounded, and healthier overall. I especially enjoyed your episode with Dr. Wendy Saseki. I loved how she explained the impact of movement on brain health, how exercise promotes the growth of new hippocampal cells, and can actually make that part of the brain fluffier, which is such a vivid image. All I picture are hippos, because why not? Her focus on the cognitive benefits of aerobic exercise and the value of good workouts really resonated with me. Since then, I've actually been incorporating some of those ideas into my own routine. So on my walks, I've started speed walking and

• 1:59Speaker 01

  even jogging in intervals. I've never thought of myself as a runner, but then I asked myself, why not jog between walking stretches? I've started pushing myself to go a little farther each time, and honestly, my dog loves it, too. I'd also add that strength training, even at a moderate level, has been really important for me. I really don't want brittle bones. Maybe it's because I'm in healthcare and this is something that I track on the day to day, but it's very important for me to incorporate strength training. So thanks again for all the work that you do. Your podcast continues to be a real companion on my personal growth journey. Take care. Bye.

• 2:31Dan Harris?

  Thank you, Cynthia. I too want to fluff your hippocampus.

• 2:35Speaker 02

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• 3:05Speaker 03

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• 3:39Dan Harris?

  Okay, so let's now hear part of that interview with Wendy Suzuki, where she explains what exercise that elevates your heart rate can do for your brain. So you say that the most transformative thing we can do for our brains right now is to exercise.

• 3:55Speaker 04

  Absolutely.

• 3:56Dan Harris?

  Say more about that, please.

• 3:58Speaker 04

  Yes. So I think people don't realize what happens when you move your body. Every single time you move your body, there is a variable waterfall of neurotransmitters and neurochemicals that floods your brain. These include neurotransmitters that you've heard of before, like dopamine, and serotonin, and noradrenaline, and endorphins, but also maybe some neurochemicals that you have not heard of before, like growth factors. And this is the elixir that helps your brain perform today, grow tomorrow,

• 4:37Speaker 04

  and be protected long term from aging and neurodegenerative disease states. And that right there is why I say it is the most transformative thing that is moving your body is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today.

• 4:54Dan Harris?

  This is fascinating, and I have a million follow ups. You said something about growth factors? Did I hear that correctly?

• 4:59Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah.

• 4:59Dan Harris?

  Can you teach me a little bit more about that?

• 5:01Speaker 04

  Absolutely. So, one of my personal motivations to do my workout every morning, which I do, I wake up, I have my meditation over tea, and then I do about a 30 minute kind of cardio strength workout, is because I know that workout that's getting my heart rate up will help my body release growth factors. And the one that's been studied the most is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF. And it's released by muscles that are working. It's released by the liver that goes into exercise mode when you start to work out. And it's even released a little bit by fat cells.

• 5:44Speaker 04

  And so, all of those growth factors released peripherally go through the blood-brain barrier. They go into your brain, and they make a beeline for my very favorite brain structure in the whole brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is critical for our ability to learn and retain new long-term memories for facts and events. And what those growth factors do is it makes shiny new hippocampal cells grow. And as a neuroscientist who specialized in hippocampal function for the vast majority of my career, I am motivated by shiny new hippocampal cells growing in my hippocampus because it means my memory is better. It means my hippocampus is big and fat and fluffy.

• 6:27Speaker 04

  And there's exciting new evidence that the hippocampus is not only involved in memory. This is the historic, that's what all neuroscience, psychology majors learn, but it's also involved in a Imagination, putting things that we have in our brain together in new ways is a really important function of the hippocampus. I want a really strong imagination. It also has affective functions. It affects our mood as well. It does a lot of really fascinating things. And that's what you get when you are literally watering your hippocampus with growth factors that comes with movement, aerobic movement that increases your heart rate.

• 7:07Dan Harris?

  So you made a nod there towards something that we should discuss, which is the specific forms of exercise that we should be focusing on. And let's also just keep in mind that some people don't have bodies that allow them to do all kinds of exercise.

• 7:23Speaker 04

  Yes, absolutely. So to that point, which is absolutely true, that not all of us have the bodies to do exercise. And some people say, yeah, I hate exercise. And so therefore, my body and my whole person isn't conducive to that directive. I would remind people that power walking is also a great way to get your heart rate up. People tend to go immediately in their mind to triathlons and these marathon runners when I talk about aerobic exercise or exercise in general. And that is not the case. You can get a workout that gets your heart rate up without changing into expensive fancy workout clothes and just doing your daily activities, including chasing around

• 8:06Speaker 04

  small kids. They can be very aerobic. It is broader than people realize. And when people say, well, I don't have the body to do that, I'm always inspired when I watch Invictus Games or Special Olympics that encourage people of all body types to move in really inspiring ways. And you may not make the Olympics. I will never make the Olympics. But it shows that there are ways for people with any body type to move their bodies, whatever it is, and get their heart rates up. So it's not exclusive. This is an inclusive suggestion that you can use.

• 8:48Dan Harris?

  Let's just drill down on walking for one second.

• 8:50Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 8:50Dan Harris?

  You said power walking. What do you mean by that? And is taking a 30 minute walk just at a stroll pace? Does that not count?

• 8:58Speaker 04

  So, walking has been shown to be effective particularly for mood. There are many effects of exercise on the brain. We jumped into my favorite one, which is using exercise to grow new hippocampal brain cells. That of course doesn't happen overnight. One power walk is not going to suddenly make your hippocampus big and fat and fluffy. This takes time. Cells in the brain or anywhere in our body take time to grow. And it takes regular watering of your hippocampus with those growth factors to get those hippocampal cells to grow. But if you want the immediate positive fix with moving your body, that comes with a stroll. In fact, a 10 minute walk has been shown to significantly decrease anxiety and depression

• 9:41Speaker 04

  levels in people that are not in major depressive disorder. And that is a stroll. To get the long-term growth factor effect, you need to get your heart rate up. Does a general stroll get most people's heart rate up? No. And that's what I call a power walk. You've done it every time you're late and you don't really want to run, but you're trying to get there. And it's a great way that you can add more aerobic activity to your everyday life. That again, you can do it in your regular work shoes or regular everyday shoes as well.

• 10:15Dan Harris?

  Much of our discussion thus far has dwelt upon cardio.

• 10:21Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 10:21Dan Harris?

  So how do we think about weight training and strength training? And also flexibility training like stretching and yoga?

• 10:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah. So there is good evidence that yoga is great for mood states. Here's the thing.

• 10:36Speaker 04

  There's the most positive evidence that cardio workouts will get these long-term brain changes that we've been talking about. Growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus. We didn't talk about this yet, but the other brain area that is benefited from long-term exercise is the prefrontal cortex, critical for your ability to shift and focus. That doesn't grow new brain cells. It tends to grow new synapses or connections between the brain cells that are there. And then everybody who loves weight training says, well, what about weight training? I love weight training. And there's more mixed evidence that weight training can be beneficial. There's not nearly as many studies on weight training as there have been on aerobic exercise.

• 11:21Speaker 04

  So it could be that weight training sweet spot has not been found yet. Or it could be that weight training is helping your brain in as much as it increases your heart rate. So it's not that weight training, but I do cardio weight training because I know I need the cardio for my bones at the age that I am. And I also know that it ups my cardio when I add weights to the workout. So for me, it's a win win. If you like weights alone, it could be that that, well, I don't know. We're still trying to figure that out. I wouldn't say, don't do it. Keep that in your exercise regimen because it's keeping you going to the gym.

• 12:00Speaker 04

  But we know the most about the benefits of aerobic exercise to give you those long term brain benefits.

• 12:08Dan Harris?

  I have a close friend, his name is Strauss Zelnick. And Strauss does these group workouts at his house. Well, he lives in the city. He moves between the city and the country. He's quite a successful businessman. In the city, he does these group workouts at a gym. And then on the weekends, when he's at his country house, which is near where our only house is, he does them at his house. And he does these group weight training, but stirk it workouts. So you're with a bunch of people and you're moving quite rapidly among a group. Like you're a lat pull down or a bunch of pushups or some sort of abs stuff. And I find when I do that with him, I am kind of simultaneously getting a cardio workout because I'm moving so much so quickly.

• 12:51Speaker 04

  Yeah, absolutely. So it's not pure strength and pure cardio. There's a big mix in there. And so that's why it's unclear what exactly is going on in the weight training kind of studies that have been done. And I don't think it's been controlled well enough exactly how much your heart rate is, is changing with these strength workouts. And we know so many different workouts out there are a combo of both. So that's an important unanswered question at this point.

• 13:17Dan Harris?

  I'll say one thing, we'll come back to this, but just very quickly about the Strauss workouts that I've recently, I've known Strauss forever, only recently started really going to his organized workouts. The community aspect, the social support aspect of it, the fact that I'm looking forward to being with a bunch of people who I like, even though I just met them, although I've known Strauss forever, but a lot of his friends who also work out are new to me, but I really like them and, and there's a lot of camaraderie and high fiving and that is massively motivating for me. And there's a lot of data here to show that in terms of creating a habit, it creates a kind of accountability that can get you off the couch.

• 13:57Speaker 04

  Absolutely, absolutely. In this age of loneliness, having that community, that in-person community that will give you a high five and you sweat with, I'm a big supporter of using that as a motivation. Social interaction is also good for your brain, good for your brain long-term. And we know that the people that have the longest and happiest lives are those that have the strongest social connection. So we cannot ignore that in overall brain health and in our exercise, how we exercise. So yeah, very important aspect.

• 14:31Dan Harris?

  Thank you again to Wendy Suzuki and also to Cynthia, our listener who suggested that excerpt. We'll put a link to the full episode if you want to go back and listen to it in the show notes. And don't forget, please do not forget that this year's version of Get Fit Sanely includes a bespoke meditation that goes with every full-length episode. And these meditations are led by my friend and the friend of the show, Cara Lai. They're available only to paid subscribers over at Dan Harris dot com. So get on over there and sign up if you haven't done that already. Finally, thank you to everybody who works so hard on this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson, Caroline Keenan, and Eleanor Vassili. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great folks over at Pod People.

• 15:14Dan Harris?

  Lauren Smith is our managing producer. Marissa Schneiderman is our senior producer. DJ Cashmere is our executive producer. And Nick Thorburn of the band Islands wrote our theme.

• 15:33Speaker 05

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