Peanut butter and jelly. Bow and arrow. Romeo and Juliet. Some things just work better together. Though seemingly random, the unusual combinations highlighted in our blog posts this week indicate some of the latest findings from the emerging practice that we "synergistic medicine," which pairs health-boosting strategies from fields as divergent as kinesiology, neuroscience and dermatology - with truly amazing results. We have rounded out some of the best duos around to help you knock out memory loss, weight gain and more. Talk about some power couples!
Power Couple #1: Exercise and music - Boost brainpower
Twenty-one minutes of exercise is all it took to lift the moods of cardiac rehabilitation patients in an Ohio State University pilot study. But when participants listened to Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons on headphones, they performed significantly better on a verbal fluency test afterward. Researchers believe exercise boosts cognitive performance by stimulating the central nervous system and the addition of music may help organize thoughts.
So should you make sure to move and groove? Though researchers haven't explored whether these findings can be generalized to apply to healthy adults, it can't hurt to exercise with your MP3 player. Stick to the same routine the study participants followed - gradually increase the slope and speed on your treadmill (or whatever machine you desire) every 10 minutes until you can speak only in short sentences - and make sure to walk for at least 21 minutes. And listen to the music of your choice; any genre should work just as effectively as classical music.
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