10 Ways Exercise Fights Dementia
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EmailAny exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementias such as Alzheimer's in healthy people and slow the condition's progression once it starts. The Mayo Clinic did a study, published this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, to examine the role of aerobic exercise in preserving cognitive abilities. They were concerned about an NIH statement that was skeptical of therapies that prevent dementia, so they took a closer look at the research on exercising. The world-famous Mayo Clinic concluded that it is an important therapy against dementia.
10 Ways
Here are 10 ways the Mayo Clinic found exercising fights dementia:
- Midlife Exercising Lowers Risk: Not only does midlife exercise (between the ages of 30 to 50) significantly reduce the risk of dementia. It even reduces the risk of the less devastating conditino sometimes called "pre-Alzheimer's", known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
- People with Dementia or MCI Improve Scores: After 6 to 12 months, people with dementia who exercised had better scores on cognitive tests than those who did not.
- Healthy Adults Test Better: Aerobic exercise improved the cognitive test scores of healthy adults.
- Brain Volume Stays Larger: In one large trial of seniors, one year of exercise was linked to significantly larger hippocampal volumes. Another showed larger cortical volumes.
- Memory Sharpens: Better spatial memory was shown in seniors who exercise.
- Gray Matter Stays Younger: In regular aging, there is a loss of the brain's "gray matter." Aerobic exercise is associated with a reduced loss of age-related gray matter.
- Connectivity Grows: Cortical connectivity improved after 6 to 12 months of exercise. fMRI scans actually showed the improved connectivity in brain cognitive networks.
- Neuroplasticity Revives: Animal studies suggest exercise increases neuroplasticity by several biological routes, resulting in improved learning.
- Neurotrophic Factors Increase: Watch the video above for details on how these biochemicals, crucial to the healthy growth and repair of brain cells, were increased by aerobic exercises.
- Vascular Health Strengthens: The brain depends on a healthy blood supply. Exercise is well-known to cut vascular risk. It reduces the potential for stroke and small vessel disease in the brain, all of which lead to dementia.
The researchers broadly defined exercise as enough aerobic physical activity to raise the heart rate and increase the body's need for oxygen. Examples include walking, gym workouts and activities at home such as shoveling snow or raking leaves.
Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog, M.D., Ph.D., is a neurologist at Mayo Clinic. He explained,
"We culled through all the scientific literature we could find on the subject of exercise and cognition, including animal studies and observational studies, reviewing over 1,600 papers, with 130 bearing directly on this issue. We attempted to put together a balanced view of the subject.
"We concluded that you can make a very compelling argument for exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed."
The researchers note that brain imaging studies have consistently revealed objective evidence of favorable effects of exercise on human brain integrity. Also, they note, animal research has shown that exercise generates trophic factors that improve brain functioning, plus exercise facilitates brain connections (neuroplasticity).
More research is needed on the relationship between exercise and cognitive function, the study's authors say, but they encourage exercise, in general, especially for those with or worried about cognitive issues.
Dr. Ahlskog concluded,
"Whether addressing our patients in primary care or neurology clinics, we should continue to encourage exercise for not only general health, but also cognitive health."
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Mayo Clinic
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This article has such great information on the many benefits of exercise! There is also mental exercise that we can do to strengthen our brain and delay the onset of memory loss. Mental exercises can include Kirtan Kria meditation, crossword puzzles, learning a new language; anything that engages your attention, breaks your routine, and involves more than one of the sense! To learn more about mental exercise and what it can do for you, go to www.alzheimersprevention.org!