Positive thinking

   Colin Moran, University of Stirling ; Naomi Brooks, University of Stirling , and Ross Chesham, University of Stirling If you haven’t heard of the Daily Mile yet, your time has come. Now taking place in 3,600 primary schools each day in 35 countries around the world, it takes children outside during normal lesson time to run or walk laps of the playground for 15 minutes. The ones who run cover around a mile each day. The initiative has an endearing back story . It was developed six years ago by St Ninians Primary School in Stirling in central Scotland after children and teachers felt the pupils needed to be fitter. Other schools quickly realised the value, and it started to spread. It is now happening in around half of Scottish primaries and a quarter of those in England; while schools have also got on board everywhere from the US to the United Arab Emirates to Nepal to Australia. With all this enthusiasm,...

    Michael Wheeler, University of Western Australia ; Daniel Green, University of Western Australia ; David Dunstan, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute , and Paul Gardiner, The University of Queensland In many aspects of life where we need to use our brain power, we also tend to sit down: at school, at work, sitting exams or concentrating on a crossword. In a new paper , we explore how prolonged sitting may affect the brain’s fuel supply and have a negative impact on brain health. The brain is a glucose hungry organ. It weighs about 2% of body mass but demands about 20% of our resting energy requirements, which is mostly in the form of glucose, the primary brain fuel. If this energy supply is disrupted it can impair and even damage brain cells . Therefore, the availability of glucose to brain cells may have implications for brain health. Exposure of the brain to both high glucose levels and low glucose levels can increase the risk of developing dementia. Als...