Emotional intelligence can predict the finish time of long-distance runners

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, and defuse conflict. It ensures emotional stability, which is an important character trait for social relationships, career success, and overall well-being. Because genuine people learn and create meaning from every interaction, they can handle criticism and challenges. 

Just as energy flows from warmer to colder matter, more stable (less irritable), confident people tend to gather wisdom and understanding from every experience. It leads to the ability to engage with and relate to others and situations through trust, and to find integrated solutions. Thus, the lack of impulsivity and emotional intelligence goes a long way toward individual success and social cooperation. Having no regrets is an open mind that dares to attract help and the humbleness to accept it. These flexible people adapt to opportunities with ease, even in the boardroom or on the trading floor (traders with a positive attitude and trust tend to earn more). Now, scientists have added one more activity that benefits from a well-balanced personality. 

Emotional intelligence can predict the finish time of long-distance runners. In endurance tests, mentally stable people remain emotionally balanced when the going is difficult. A recent paper from the University of Padova explored the links between Emotional intelligence and half-marathon performance. The research found that people with higher marks on this quality ran faster. Long-distance runners with high emotional intelligence handle pain better, blunt the psychological toll of fatigue, and regulate negative emotion through a grueling event. This trait, rather than diet, fitness, coaching, or even training volume or racing history, is the best predictor of finish times in long-distance running. 

Read the whole article in 'The Guardian'

                

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Copyright © 2019 by Eva Deli

The benefits of cognitive and physical training on mental functioning

Older women

Executive function refers to the ability to flexibly select information, maintain, update, and generalize meanings and fluidly innovate ideas, while at the same time sustaining a goal in mind. Older adults consistently perform lower in executive and memory tests, than younger people, because physical, cognitive and memory decline lead to problems in executive function. However, physically active adults tend to maintain greater flexibility, energy (mental and physical) in old age. With increasing life expectancy and skyrocketing costs of end-of-life care, preserving psychological and physical health into old age is also a social, economic issue.

Imaging methodologies can study how cognition and brain function is related to functional changes in the brain. When advanced reasoning training, cognitive training and physical training were compared in a randomized, comparative trial in on older adults (56–75 years), both physical and cognitive exercises were found beneficial. However, while advanced reasoning training could increase the resilience of neural function and overall cognitive brain health, Goal Management Training benefited working memory, verbal and abstract reasoning; it also reduced depressive symptoms. Interval training might stall and even reverse the signs of aging because it triggers the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, a critical brain region for learning, memory and mood regulation. Learning to play a musical instrument also has been shown to prevent mental decline. 

The present results thus provide clinically-relevant evidence that aerobic exercise and cognitive reasoning training improves brain health differently. As life expectancy increases, the cognitive benefits of healthy habits, such as complex reasoning and aerobic exercise is becoming more critical to understand. Future trials might determine the possible additive effects of combined protocols, such as reasoning training/physical activity, in cognitive vitality. Evidence supports the intuitive view that any exercise program is better than none and that exercise improves life functionality more than specific cognitive training protocols. However, there is no better time to start exercising then right now. Do not forget weight-bearing exercises, which improve coordination and balance, and prevent osteoporosis! However, exercise is beneficial at any age, and if you start right now, you will be way ahead of the competition by the time your hair turns gray. 

  
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