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Fitness Topics
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are now more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease. This represents a 10% increase over the prior national estimate of 4.5 million. Research has long supported the view that to curtail any form of cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s, it’s important to continually challenge the mind with new learning experiences.
Oversight
Unfortunately, what had been overlooked for so long is the link between physical activity and brain health. The irony is that as Americans have become more cerebral, attempting to attain higher standards of living through increased intellect, they’ve been neglecting the very element that keeps the mind strong, healthy, and sharp – a fit, healthy body.
Body over mind
All physical activity increases blood flow – delivering oxygen and nutrients – directly to the brain. While mental exercises (reading, crossword puzzles, leaning new languages) are good for mental functioning, physical exercise remains the most powerful direct approach to regenerating brain cells. Mounting scientific evidence has been demonstrating that, in addition to keeping brain cells alive and stronger, exercise actually helps regenerate brain cells that had already been dormant – something deemed impossible up until recently.
According to Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, “the brain cells become more resilient and more pliable and more ready to link up;” this allows the brain to retain new information. In a nutshell, exercise optimizes your brain to learn. One study that was published in the January 2006 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that older people who exercised at least three times per week were roughly one third less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia than people who exercised less frequently.
In addition to increases in oxygen flow (circulation) to the brain, some researchers have speculated that exercise may reduce amyloid levels in the brain; amyloid is a starchy protein that clogs the brain in patients with Alzheimer’s. Another variable to consider is that as people age, there is a deterioration of gray and white brain matter, causing a decline in cognitive capabilities. A number of studies have shown that there is less deterioration in older adults who were active than those who were less fit, or sedentary.
Exercise modalities
The modes of exercise which have been shown to help prevent / mitigate Alzheimer’s are aerobics and strength training. While aerobics exercising directly increases blood flow throughout the body, as well as the brain, strength training improves physical endurance and aerobic power. With increased muscular strength is an increase in muscular endurance and, thus, the ability to sustain aerobic activities for longer periods of time and with greater intensity. This leads to even greater oxygen flow to the brain. One recent study showed that yoga, also, appears to help Alzheimer’s patients function better, through practicing meditation.
Conclusion
The take-home message here is that to prevent Alzheimer’s (or nearly any other cognitive disease),or to manage it if symptoms have begun to emerge, move your bodies - perform physical activities and exercise on a regular basis. Before beginning your crossword puzzle or opening your new encyclopedia, lace up those exercise shoes and begin moving.
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