| Getting enough exercise grows the brain at any age! |
Research
Studies Examining the Effect of Exercise on Cognitive Functioning in
Older Adults
Evelyn
E. Smith, M. S. in Library Science (2012)
Developing
a reputation as the local health guru means that friends on Facebook
often send me pertinent articles. Accordingly, last month a friend
sent me an article touting resistance training, which made me wonder
whether resistance training or aerobic exercise is better for
maintaining a healthy mind. A little research, however, revealed
that both aerobic exercise and strength training improve cognitive
functioning result in the growth of the brain's hippocampus and delay
and possibly prevent cognitive decline. That means both of them need
to be part of a regime that also includes a diet that features
several servings of baked or broiled fish each week, activities that
daily stimulate the mind, and getting together with friends.
As for myself, I've trained with weights after I completed physical therapy after ulnar nerve entrapment surgery in 2012, but research has also motivated me to spend 30 minutes on an elliptical training machine each day last week since wintery weather has kept me indoors.
Putting
Exercise in Its Place
| Take the time for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise six days a week. |
Three
hours of heart-raising exercise weekly, whether it's
on a treadmill or brisk walking at a neighborhood mall, or taking up
square dancing, remains the most important factor in preventing
cognitive decline for middle age and older adults. However, it also
needs to be part of a healthy regime that also includes getting
together with friends regularly, adopting a Mediterranean diet, in
other words, enjoying at least two servings of broiled, grilled, or
baked fish weekly, along with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables,
and exercising the mind, perhaps learning a new language, taking a
continuing education class, or learning how to build Web sites.
Aerobic
Exercise vs Strength Training
Anstey,
K. J., Cherbuin, N., Pushpani, M. H. (2013, August). Development
of a new method for assessing global risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
for use in population health Approaches to prevention. Prevention
Science. 14 (4), 411-421. doi: 10.1007/s11121-012-031301. [Free
article]. Retrieved from
| The trick is to balance a healthy diet, active lifestyle, and daily exercise. |
Focusing
on risk instead of diagnosis, Anstey, Cherbuin, and Pushpani develop
a risk assessment strategy for Alzheimer's that identifies eleven
risk factors—age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, depression,
serum cholesterol level, traumatic brain injury, smoking, alcohol
intake, pesticide exposure, and low levels of social interaction—and
four protective factors—getting out and about regularly with friends,
a high
level of daily physical activity,
challenging the mind by learning new skills, .and including several servings of baked, grilled, or broiled fish in the diet weekly. They then combined these
factors into an algorithm to combine the odds ratio in to an
Alzheimer's risk score. They also asked questions to assess
each individual's risk. This approach to preventing Alzheimer's takes
a lot of different factors into consideration. Thus, when adopting any exercise program, it's best to assess all risks and protective advantages. For example, a smoker might want to quit smoking while starting an exercise program, since he or she might be worried about otherwise gaining weight.
Williams,
J. W., Plassman, B. L., Burke, J., et
al. (2010). Preventing
Alzheimer's Disease and cognitive decline. NIH
Evidence Report.
Retrieved from
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/alzcog-evidence-report.pdf
The
over 300 page NIH Evidence Report links the following factors
with an increased risk for Alzheimer's:
- Inheriting the APOE e4 gene (high risk)
- Taking conjugated equine estrogen with methyl progesterone (high risk)
- Taking certain non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Hyperlipidemia, or high lipid levels, in mid-life (possibly caused by diabetes, diuretics, beta blockers, estrogen, hypothyroidism, renal failure, Nephrotic syndrome, alcoholic consumption, and endocrine and metabolic disorders
- Traumatic brain injury (particularly in males)
- Pesticide exposure
- Never marrying/lack of social support
These
risk factors, however, can be partially ameliorated by the following habits:
Because the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease doubles after age 65, and since over 100,000 older adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer's year, medical researchers need to research potential prevention and treatment strategies. Just as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer are negatively associated with physical inactivity, the observational studies that Balsamo and his fellow researchers selectively catalog indicate that physical activity provides a measure of protection from dementia (2013, para. 1-2).
Eggermont, et al, have found an inverse association between cognitive impairment
and lower-limb functional capacity, undertaking a four-meter walk, sitting and standing for 30 seconds, and timed tests standing up from a seated position, even though osteoporosis and Parkinson's can affect how well older adults can use their legs (Balsamo, 2013, para. 3-4).
Venturelli, M., Scarsini, R., & Schena, F. (2011, August). Six-month walking program changes cognitive and ADL performance in patients with Alzheimer. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 26 (5), 381-8. doi: 10.1177/1533317511418956. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21852281/
Burns, et al, have demonstrated an inverse relationship between cardio-respiratory fitness and lower levels of brain atrophy (Balsamo, 2013, para. 8).
Lautensclager, et al, however, reported no significant differences in cognitive responses between a group that exercised and a control group that didn't after a cardio-respiratory intervention period of six months, followed by an 18 month follow-up assessment (Balsamo, 2013, para. 9).
Lautenschlager, N. T., Cox, K. L., & Flicker, L., et al. (2008, September). Effect of physical activity on cognitive function in older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease: A randomized trial. JAMA. 301 (3), 1027-37. doi: 10.1001/jama.300.9.1027. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18768414/
Evaluating the relationship between quadriceps muscle strength and cognitive impairment, Petrella, et al, found an inverse correlation between muscle power and cognitive impairment in the physically-independent elderly.
Structured physical exercise, including strength training and cardiorespiratory exercise may be a promising way to prevent cognitive decline for older adults at risk of developing dementia while physical activity in individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia might prevent [or delay] their inability to perform ADL's independently (Balsamo, 2013, para. 21).
Methods
Researchers conducted a 12-month follow-up study from May 2008 to April 2009 on 109 of the original 155 participants whose average age was 71.6 years, comparing the executive cognitive differences of selective attention and conflict resolution in the two groups of resistance-training participants and the control group of Balance and Toning participants as measured by the Stroop test (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 3-4 & 6 & 8). They also calculated the cost per fall prevented for the resistance training and the Balance and Toning group (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 7).
Results
The group that took part in resistance training exercises once a week sustained their improved Stroop test performance a year later compared with the balance and toning group. No “significant” between group differences existed between the group in their set shifting, working memory, and activity level (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 9).
While pharmaceutical interventions have proven only “modestly effective” in controlling obesity, hypertension, depression, and physical inactivity, preventing these risks factors could decrease Alzheimer's cases by 10 to 25 percent worldwide while also increasing lifespan and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 1-2).
Animal models, using lab rats, has allowed researchers to examine molecular activity within the brain resulting from physical activity that would be impossible to analyze in humans (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 3).
Older adults who regularly exercise consistently outperform sedentary seniors in thinking skills and reaction time, and women who exercise as teens exhibit “better cognitive function” later in life, according to Middleton, et al, or perhaps the cognitively fit are more likely to exercise (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 9).
Research has established that the effects of exercise most influences executive functioning, since the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex remain malleable well into late adulthood. Hence neuroimaging explores the association between exercise in these parts brain, which also ordinarily atrophy at the rate of about one to two percent annually after age 55 as memory loss and the ability to perform executive tasks accompanies this shrinkage (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 11-12).
The Cochrane Collaboration Study has identified 32 trials that reveal that exercise ameliorated symptoms of depression. Eight of these studies focuses on older adults, six analyzing the effects of aerobic exercise, and two dealt with resistance trainings ability to alleviate depression (Erickson, 2013, March, 21-22). For instance, Singh, et al, discovered that progressive resistance training for ten weeks in older adults with the mean age of 71.3 improve depressive symptoms, quality of life, social functioning, and strength (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 23). Researchers also speculate that biological mechanisms related to brain health also correlate with the ability of exercise to elevate mood, although they haven't yet carefully studied this connection (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 24).
A thorough review of research concludes that physical activity consistently improves thinking skills and reduces neurologically-based psychiatric disorders (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 25). Specifically, exercises influences the growth of brain cells in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, thus improving how the brain works. Researchers theorize several reasons for this association:
This University of Illinois, Urbana, meta-analysis examines the hypothesis that aerobic-fitness training enhances “cognitive vitality in healthy sedentary older adults”, and after reviewing 18 intervention studies published between 1966 and 2001, Columbe and Kramer conclude that physical fitness training produces “robust but selective benefits for cognition” primarily favorably influencing executive function, or the ability to organize and plan, shift focus, remember details, and restrain inappropriate speech and behavior—all tasks that the brain's frontal lobe regulates. If this is true, exercise might better control the impulses associated with frontal temporal lobe syndrome.
Erickson, K. I., Raji, C. A., & Lopez, O. L., et al. (2010, October 19). Physical activity predicts gray matter volume in late adulthood: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Neurology. 75 (16), 1415-22. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181f88359. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/209440
Rosano, C. Venkatraman, V. K., & Guralnik, J. (2010, June). Psychomotor speed and functional brain MRI 2 years after completing a physical activity treatment. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 65 (6), 639-47. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glq038. Epub 2010 Mar 26. [Link to free article]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20348185
Researchers in this Exercise for Cognitive and Everyday Living (EXCEL) study conducted a six-month, randomized trial, giving resistance training to 28 women, aerobic training to 30 women, and balance and toning training to 28 women in a control group after choosing participants for the study based on their making scores lower tan 26 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. All groups received this instruction twice weekly. Although researchers also assessed the participants' associative memory and everyday problem-solving skills as well as analyzing regional patterns of functional brain plasticity by using Magnetic Resonance Imaging during an associative memory task and noting their general balance and mobility and cardiovascular capacity (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 4-5).
Certified fitness instructors conducted 60-minute classes for all the groups. Resistance training participants used both the Keiser Pressurized Air system and free weights performing two sets of six to eight repetitions. The aerobic training program aimed at increasing the participants' heart rate while walking on an indoor track from 40 percent to 70 to 80 percent of their Heart Rate Reserve. The Balance and Toning control group took part in stretching, range of motion, and balance exercises and relaxation techniques. Researchers then determined whether the different exercise program improved the women's executive function skills by administrating the Stroop Test (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 5-6).
Compared with the balanced and toning group, the resistance training group scored significantly higher on the Stroop tests as well as an associative memory task. The cortex of the resistant training participants in the lingual, occipital, and right frontal pole region showed beneficial functional changes while participants were encoding or recalling associations. The aerobic training group improved their general balance and mobility as well as their cardiovascular capacity when compared with the balance and training control group (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 7-8).
Regular aerobic exercise may delay or prevent cognitive decline in older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder or in the early stages of Alzheimer's while frequent aerobic exercise in mid and late life not only prevents cognitive decline, but it enhances brain growth. Most authorities recommend 30-minutes of aerobic exercise at least five days a week.
Chapman, S. B., Asian, S., Spence, J. S., et al. (2013, November 12). Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 5, 75. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2013.00075. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24282403*
Previous studies validating the positive effects of aerobic exercise on executive function have focused on medium to long term time periods of training that take more than six months to accomplish, however, this study assesses the effects of exercise upon cognitively healthy sedentary adults between the ages of 57 and 75 after only 12 weeks of training. A physical training group received supervised aerobic exercises for three sessions of one hour each for twelve weeks, and researchers assessed their cognitive, cardiovascular fitness, and resting cerebral blood flood at baseline, mid-study, and after the study ended, finding a higher resting CBF in the anterior cingulate region of the physical training group then the control group. The exercising group also experienced improved memory performance that correlated with an increase in both left and right hippocampal CBF. These findings indicate that even short-term aerobic exercise can reduce the consequences of aging on the brain in sedentary, older adults.
A randomized, controlled trial of 120 older adults shows that aerobic exercise increase hippocampal volume by two percent, reversing age-related loss in volume by 1 to 2 y. This increased hippocampal volume correlates with greater serum levels of BDNF. While hippocampal volume declined in the control group, researchers maintained that “pre-intervention fitness partially attenuated the decline” (Abstract).
Varma, V. R., Chuang, Y., Harris, G. C. (2014, December 7). Low-intensity daily walking activity is associated with hippocampal volume in older adults. Hippocampus. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22397. [Epub ahead of print]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25483019
While gerontologists for over a decade have associated vigorous aerobic exercise as a promising strategy to prevent or delay Alzheimer's, most older adults have difficulty starting and sustaining an aerobic exercise program that substantially raises their heart level and leaves them out of breathe.
Exercise Improves Executive Function
A combination of exercise and diet is necessary if older adults are to keep Alzheimer's at bay (AD Plan, 2013, January 24, para. 1). [Aerobic] exercise reduces the risk of dementia by 30 to 40 percent because it cleans out the plaques in the hippocampus as evidenced by a study in which University of Chicago researchers compared the brains of exercising mice with the brains of sedentary mice and found that their brains contained 50 to 80 percent less amyloid plaque (AD Plan, 2013, January 24, para. 2-3).
In a Dutch study of 560 men with the ApoE4 abnormality, those that were active for less than an hour daily were four times more likely to experience cognitive decline than those who exercised for more than an hour a day. Another study that took place over 21 years similarly found that if older adults aged 65 to 79 with the the ApoE4 gene” broke into a sweat and increased their breathing rate for 20 to 3o minutes” for two or three daily weekly decreased their chance of developing Alzheimer's by one-third. Additional studies have shown that exercise slows the rate of cognitive decline of those diagnosed with early Alzheimer's (Barnett, 2013, February 26, para. 5).
Whatever one's age, increased physical activity correlates with an increase in “gray matter” in the region of the brain associated with memory, the hippocampus, since exercise creates new neurons and blood vessels that delivery oxygen to brain tissue. Hence, the brains of the elderly who don't exercise shrink while those that do either maintain the size of the hippocampus or increase its volume, according to a year-long study (Barnett, 2013, February 26, para. 7).
Consequently, Barnett suggests an exercise program which just might prevent or delay dementia:
Aerobic exercise and resistance training both have the potential of reducing the risk of Alzheimer's in older adults as shown in two studies presented in advance of their publication at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Vancouver, from July 14 to 19, 2012, including an aerobic exercise program that actually increased the size of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in 80 cognitively-healthy but physically-inactive adults after they started walking moderately for 30 to 45 minutes just three days per week (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 1 & 4).
A University of Pittsburgh study led by Kirk Erickson either assigned volunteers to either a walking regime or a stretching and toning program for a year after MCI scans measured the size of each individual's hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and researchers took blood samples to measure concentration of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and gave the men and women a battery of tests assessing their thinking skills Increases in volume of the prefrontal cortex matched increases in levels of physical fitness (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 6-10).
A study later published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that resistance training may delay or prevent a slide into Alzheimer's in older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Accordingly, since more than half of all seniors first diagnosed with MCI develop Alzheimer's with five years, seniors with faulty and fading memories should definitely consider taking up lifting weights (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 12-13).
The study assigned 86 women aged diagnosed with MCI aged 70 to 80 years of age to one of three groups: those enrolled in twice weekly resistance training for an hour, or twice-weekly aerobic training for an hour, or two weekly, hour-long balance and toning classes—all of which lasted for a year. Before the exercise programs began and at the end of the study, the women took tests to determine their attention, working and associative memory and problem-solving skills. Compared with the results for those women in the balance and toning group, the women who took up weights improved their attention and associative memory scores (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 12-19).
Erickson, K. I. , Gildengers, A. G., Butters, M. A. (2013, March). Physical activity and brain plasticity in late adulthood. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 15 (1), 99-108. [Free article]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3622473/*
A 16-week long longitudinal study of 34 older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's, published in Geriatrics &Gerontology International in April 2013, found that strength, or resistance, training improved their ability to complete Activities of Daily Living and small tasks (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 7-8). While research as associated Alzheimer's Diseased with the loss of muscle mass, strength training increases muscle mass (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 9). Accordingly a study of 900 dementia patients that appeared in the Archives of Neurology in 2009 equated a decreased risk of dementia with greater muscle strength (Wlassoff, 2014, para.10).
Current research on exercise programs shows that combining strength and aerobic training for a year benefits individuals already diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia since individuals who have high levels of cardio-respiratory fitness have lower levels of brain atrophy (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 12).
Research divided 86 women diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder into three groups—a resistance training group, an aerobic exercise group, and a balance and toning group—each meeting twice weekly for six months. Testing assessed their executive functions, and 22 of the women received MRI brain scans. Resistance training improved thinking and memory and increased blood flow to the occipital and frontal regions of the brain while aerobic exercise didn't enhance the brain's performance, although it did boost cardiovascular functioning (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 2-5).
What's new?
The study is one of the first randomized, controlled trials that compares the efficacy of resistance training, thus, continuing to validate the findings of a 2010 study that showed that twice weekly, strength training improved the executive functioning of women aged 65 to 75, who were already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and that the study participants continued to benefit from its effects of weight training six-months later (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 6-8).
The study evidences that weight training my increase executive functioning skills, but it doesn't prove that the risks of developing Alzheimer's decrease if an older adult takes up lifting weights (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 9).
Researchers
aren't sure why the aerobic training group failed to receive “a
cognitive boost” since previous research shows that aerobic
exercise can improve thinking skills in older adults as well as those
already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment since a National
Institutes of Health meta-analysis in 2010 associates regular aerobic
exercise with a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's (Michelon,
2013, May 1, para. 10-12).
Research thus concludes that taking part in vigorous aerobic exercise and weight training should be part of a daily, brain-healthy fitness plan (Michelon, 2013, May 1, para. 13).
References
However, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia speculates, “It could be that resistance training requires more learning and monitoring by its very nature” (Radcliffe, 2015, para. 1).
Exercise and
Alzheimer's. (2011). Houston Methodist. Retrieved from
http://www.houstonmethodist.org/exercise-alzheimers
You must exercise to improve your memory.
Research published in the February 2011 issue of PNAS and sponsored by the National Institute of Health also showed that aerobic training increases the size of the hippocampus (Methodist, 2011, para. 4).
Exercise &
Your Brain
Unmentioned Sources for the Methodist Houston Article
Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., & Prakash, R. S., et al. (2010, December 30). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS. 108 (7). [Free text]. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full*
Maguire, E. A., Wollett, K., & Spiers, H. J. (2006). London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis. Hippocampus. 16 (2). 1091-101. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17024677
Researchers affiliated with the Institute of Neurology at University College, London, when comparing taxi drivers with bus drivers, the cabbies had more gray matter volume in the mid-posterior hippocampi and less volume in the anterior hippocampi. Years of finding their way around London correlated with hippocampal gray matter only in the taxi drivers. Researchers thus theorized that spatial knowledge correlates with greater hippocampal gray matter volume, although when testing both bus drivers and cabbies on their ability to acquire new visual-spatial knowledge, the bus drivers did better.
Dr. Rockwood included this information about visual-spatial reasoning in his brain, although the inability to remember such patterns is perhaps not the missing skill that plague MCI and early Alzheimer's patients most, although they do often forget where they are in what should otherwise be familiar places.
Note: In additional to visual spatial reasoning, or cognitive visualization skills, the brain is responsible for five additional functions: memory and learning, executive planning, language and math, emotional responses and social interactions. Exercising even late in life helps primarily with executive function (Brainwaves Center, 2013).
Alzheimer's begins in the entorhinal cortex, an area of the brain next door to the hippocampus with direct connections to it. Alzheimer's then gradually spreads to the hippocampus, a region of the brain that converts short-term to long-term memories. However, it may take ten to 20 years before a neurologist can diagnose probable Alzheimer's (NIA, 2015, January 22, para. 2-3). Because it takes so long for Alzheimer's to develop, it makes sense to combat it in every way possible, including doing enough exercise to raise the heart rate for 30 minutes daily. Individuals diagnsed with Mild Cognitive Impairment or mild Alzheimer's take longer to perform their daily tasks while those showing the signs of moderate Alzheimer's can't carry out multiple steps in a task, hence their inability to perform executive functions (NIA, 2015, January 22, para. 15-16). Researchers now think that regular exercise helps those diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer's plan various activities and multi-task for a longer period of time.
Alzheimer's disease: Unraveling the mystery. Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center. National Institute on Aging. National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/part-2-what-happens-brain-ad/changing-brain-ad
The six brain functions: An explanation of classical brain function. The Brainwaves Center. Allen D. Bragdon Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.brainwaves.com/brain_information.html
Vreugdenhil, A., Cannell, J., & Davies, A., et al. 2012, March). A community-based exercise programme to improve functional ability in people with Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 26 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00895.x. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21564154*
See
Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., & Prakash, R. S., et al. (2010, December 30). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS. 108 (7). [Free text]. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full*
Agnwall, Elizabeth. (2013, November 13). Exercise boosts memory in adults over 50. Health Talk. AARP Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.aarp.org/2013/11/13/exercise-boosts-memory-in-adults-over-50/
Simon,
Nissa. (2011, February 15). Keep your memory strong by walking.
Health Discovery. AARP Bulletin. Retrieved from
http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-02-2011/keep_your_memory_strong_by_walking.html
Previous
studies have linked exercise and brain resiliency, but their findings
are either circumstantial or based on animal studies rather than
human trials (Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 7). Moreover, as of
yet, researchers don't understand what exercises actually improve
brain function as well as how much exercise is needed to do so,
according to Jeffrey Kaye, the Director of the Layton Aging and
Alzheimer's Center at Oregon Health and Science University
(Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 8).
Rossman,
Jeffery. (2010, June 18). New evidence that exercise prevents
Alzheimer's disease. Mind-Body-Mood Advisor. Rodale News.
Retrieved from
http://www.rodalenews.com/prevent-alzheimers-0?page=0,1
Although life style doesn't necessarily prevent or delay Alzheimer's, a National Institutes of Health controlled study suggests that regularly taking part in aerobic exercise can possibly stop or put off the slide into dementia for older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Citing the findings of the Baker, Frank, and Schubert study published in the January 2010 issue of the Archives of Neurology (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20065132/ *), Rossman summarizes the details of a study in which sedentary adults diagnosed with MCI improved their ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks when they spent six-months briskly walking on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary bike four days a week for an hour while those older adults with MCI that acted as the experiment's control group that also performed stretching and toning exercises continued to have their executive function skills decline (Rossman, 2010, June 18, para. 2-3).
*Abstract summarized earlier on this Web page.
- Maintaining a Mediterranean diet (that emphasizes consumption of fish, fruit, and vegetables)
- Getting an adequate supply of folic acid (found in dark leafy vegetables)
- Taking HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins)
- Completing higher levels of formal education
- Light to moderate alcohol intake
- Participating in “cognitively engaging” activities
- Engaging in high levels of physical activity (that raise heart rate)
(Williams,
2010, p. 7)
A
meta-analysis of research on the effects of exercise on the incidence
of Alzheimer's published between 2004 and 2009 associates a lower
risk with maintaining a high level of physical activity. However,
regular exercise may also indicate a “generally healthy life style”
(Williams, 2010, p. p. 119-120).
| Combine exercise with other good health habits. |
Older adults who take part in aerobic exercise several hours a week out think their sedentary counterparts. On the other hand, those older adults whose get up and go has got up and went are more likely to experience cognitive decline. Moreover, participating in vigorous aerobic exercise early in life, most particularly in the teen years, is an indicator of whether or not a teen will experience cognitive decline as an older adult. Even so, it's never too late to start exercising since improved cardiovascular fitness means better executive functioning whether an older adult is cognitively healthy or not. For example, older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment or early Alzheimer's experience both faster physical and cognitive decline if they don't include aerobic exercise in their daily routines.
So what exercise improves brain function better?
Both aerobic exercise and strength training perform equally important tasks: Aerobic exercise combats depression, improves cardiovascular health, and improves quality of life while strength training enhances muscle strength and also improves cardiovascular health. Moreover, middle age and older adults can transform both their physical and mental health with just three months of aerobic and strength-training exercises, and the effects of such training lasts for awhile even if an individual has to stop exercising. While yoga and stretching and toning exercises may bring peace of mind, they don't improve cognitive functioning like aerobic exercise and training with weights does.
Balsamo, S.,
Willardson, J.M., & Frederico S de, S., et
al.
(2013). Effectiveness of exercise on cognitive impairment and
Alzheimer’s disease. International
Journal of General Medicine, 6,
387-91 doi: 10.2147/IJGM.s35315. [Fall article]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3668090/
Introduction
Because the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease doubles after age 65, and since over 100,000 older adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer's year, medical researchers need to research potential prevention and treatment strategies. Just as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer are negatively associated with physical inactivity, the observational studies that Balsamo and his fellow researchers selectively catalog indicate that physical activity provides a measure of protection from dementia (2013, para. 1-2).
Functional capacity & cognitive decline in Alzheimer's
Eggermont, et al, have found an inverse association between cognitive impairment
and lower-limb functional capacity, undertaking a four-meter walk, sitting and standing for 30 seconds, and timed tests standing up from a seated position, even though osteoporosis and Parkinson's can affect how well older adults can use their legs (Balsamo, 2013, para. 3-4).
Eggermont,
L. H., Gavett, B. E., & Volkers, K. M.,
et al.
(2010, April). Lower-extremity function in cognitively healthy
aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. Archives
of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
91 (4), 584-8. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.11.020. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20382291
Venturelli, et
al,
recently
investigated the effect of moderate intensity walking on cognitive
response and functional capacity in elderly patients with
Alzheimer's in a randomly controlled trial compared with those who
didn't regularly take walks of moderate intensity . The
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) showed that cognitive
functioning declined 47 percent in those patients who didn't
regularly take such walks, thus demonstrating that older, at risk
adults would do well to maintain a daily exercise regime that
features brisk walking (Balsamo, 2013, para. 7).
Venturelli, M., Scarsini, R., & Schena, F. (2011, August). Six-month walking program changes cognitive and ADL performance in patients with Alzheimer. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 26 (5), 381-8. doi: 10.1177/1533317511418956. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21852281/
Burns, et al, have demonstrated an inverse relationship between cardio-respiratory fitness and lower levels of brain atrophy (Balsamo, 2013, para. 8).
Burns,
J. M., Cronk, B. B., & Anderson, H. S. (2008, July).
Cardiorespiratory fitness and brain atrophy in early Alzheimer's
Disease. Neurology.
71 (3), 210-216. doi:
10.1212/01.wnl.0000317094.86209.cb. [Abstract only]. Retrieved
from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657657/
Lautensclager, et al, however, reported no significant differences in cognitive responses between a group that exercised and a control group that didn't after a cardio-respiratory intervention period of six months, followed by an 18 month follow-up assessment (Balsamo, 2013, para. 9).
Lautenschlager, N. T., Cox, K. L., & Flicker, L., et al. (2008, September). Effect of physical activity on cognitive function in older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease: A randomized trial. JAMA. 301 (3), 1027-37. doi: 10.1001/jama.300.9.1027. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18768414/
But
in another study, Baker, et
al,
discovered that improved cardiovascular fitness resulted in better
executive functioning, multitasking, information processing, and
selected attention in women with increased oxygen consumption when
the researchers adjusted the results to control for gender since
these results only occurred in women. Even so, some researchers
speculate that estrogen may provide a neuroprotective effect in
women who take hormone replacement therapy (Balsamo, 2013, para.
10-11).
Baker,
L. D., Frank, L. L.,& Foster-Schubert, K. (2010, January).
Effects of aerobic exercise on mild cognitive impairment: A
controlled trial. Archives
of Neurology.
67(1), 71-9. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2009.307. [Abstract only &
Full text]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056436
Aerobic
exercise improved executive- function skills for the 17 women
participating in a six-month, randomized controlled trial conducted
through the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System clinical
research unit: 33 adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment
with the mean age of 70 years for six months either took part in a
high-intensity aerobic exercise regime that raised the heart rate to
75 to 85 percent of its reserve four days a week from 45 to 60
minutes for six months, or else participated in a control group that
did stretching and toning activities, maintaining a heart rate at or
below 50 percent of their reserve.
After the study, researchers administered as glucose-metabolic and treadmill exams and assessed fat distribution using dual-energy, x-ray absorptiometry; researchers also collected blood samples and check the subjects memory and brain function using a battery of intelligence tests--symbol-digit modalities, verbal fluency tests, Stroop, trails B., task switching, story recall, and list learning--at baseline and three and six months. Although aerobic exercise improved the insulin like growth factor I in men, it didn't improved their planning and organization skills, the ability to multi-task, manage time, or remember detail.
After the study, researchers administered as glucose-metabolic and treadmill exams and assessed fat distribution using dual-energy, x-ray absorptiometry; researchers also collected blood samples and check the subjects memory and brain function using a battery of intelligence tests--symbol-digit modalities, verbal fluency tests, Stroop, trails B., task switching, story recall, and list learning--at baseline and three and six months. Although aerobic exercise improved the insulin like growth factor I in men, it didn't improved their planning and organization skills, the ability to multi-task, manage time, or remember detail.
Rolland,
et
al,
in an intervention exercise program compared the ability of French
Alzheimer's patients to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)
who exercised for an hour each week for a month, in a regime that
included walking, muscle strength, balance and flexibility
exercises, with a control group who received only traditional
medical care. While the group that exercised increased their
walking speed in a six meter walking speed test, the exercise
didn't improve their cognitive responses (Balsamo, 2013, para. 12).
Rolland,
Y., Pillard, F., & Klapouszczak, A., et
al.
(2007, February). Exercise program for nursing home residents with
Alzheimer's disease: a 1-year randomized, controlled trial. Journal
of
the American Geriatrics Society.
55(2), 158-65. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17302650
Hernandez,
et.
al,
also compared the cognitive functioning of Alzheimer's patients who
participated in a varied exercise program as tested by the MMSE.
Compared with a control group who didn't exercise, so their MMSE
scores significantly declined, the members of the intervention
group preserved their cognitive functioning (Balsamo, 2013, para.
13).
Hernandez, S. S., Coelho, F G., & Gobbi, S., et al. (2010, January-February). Effects of physical activity on cognitive functions, balance and risks of falls in elderly patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Revista Brasileria de Fisoterapia (São Paulo, Brazil). 14 (1), 68-74. [Abstract only--Article in Portuguese]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20414564
Hernandez, S. S., Coelho, F G., & Gobbi, S., et al. (2010, January-February). Effects of physical activity on cognitive functions, balance and risks of falls in elderly patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Revista Brasileria de Fisoterapia (São Paulo, Brazil). 14 (1), 68-74. [Abstract only--Article in Portuguese]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20414564
Middleton,
et
al,
additionally found that women who reported being physically active
at any point in their life evidence a lower likelihood of cognitive
impairment in old age (Balsamo, 2013, para. 14).
Middleton,
L. E., Barnes, D. E, & Lui, L. Y., et
al.
(2010, July). .Physical activity over the life course and its
association with cognitive performance and impairment in old age.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 58 (7), 1322-6. doi:
10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02903.x. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20609030
Disease Effects of Strength Training on MCI & Alzheimer's
Evaluating the relationship between quadriceps muscle strength and cognitive impairment, Petrella, et al, found an inverse correlation between muscle power and cognitive impairment in the physically-independent elderly.
Petrella,
J. K., Miller, L. S. (2004, July). Leg extensor power, cognition,
and functional performance in independent and marginally dependent
older adults. Age and Aging. 33 (4), 342-8. [Abstract only].
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15082417
Scherder,
et
al,
associated quadriceps muscle strength and the ability to
participate in Activities of Daily Living in older women.
Scherder,
E. J., Eggemont, L. H., & Geuze, R. H. (2010, June). Quadriceps
strength and executive functions in older women. American
Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation/ Association of
Academic Psychiatrists.
89 (6), 458-63. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e3181d3e9f6.[Abstract only].
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20216058
In
a 3.6 year longitudinal study, Boyle, et
al,
linked increase muscle strength with a lower risk of coronary heart
disease. Furthermore, they found that when individuals diagnosed
with Mild Cognitive Impairment gained muscle strength, they were 43
percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's.
Boyle,
P. A., Buchman, A. S., & Wilson, R. S. (2009, November).
Association of Muscle Strength with the Risk of Alzheimer’s
Disease and the Rate of Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling
Older Persons. Archives
of Neurology.
66 (11), 1339-1344. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2009.240. [Free
Article]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2838435/
(Balsamo,
2013, para. 15).
Cassilhas,
et
al,
is one of the few studies that researched the effects of six months
of strength training on cognitive function. Comparing the effects
of six months of moderate and high intensity strength training and
a control group that didn't exercise, researchers noted no
differences between the two groups that exercised while both groups
gave better cognitive responses than the control group (Balsamo,
2013, para. 16).
Cassilhas,
R. C., Viana, V. A., & Grassmann, V., et al. (2007, August).
The impact of resistance exercise on the cognitive function of the
elderly. Medicine
and Science in Sports and
Exercise.
39 (8), 1401-7. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17762374
Liu-Ambrose,
et
al,
also discovered that a year's worth of once or twice weekly
strength training improved Stroop test performance in “cognitively
healthy” women between age 65 and 75 (Balsamo, 2013, para. 17).
Liu-Ambrose,
T., Nagamatsu, L. S., & Graf, P., et
al.
(2010, January). Resistance training and executive functions: A
12-month randomised controlled trial. Archives
of Internal Medicine.
170 (2), 170-178. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.494304. [Free
Article]. Retrieved from
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=415534
Nagamatsu,
et
al,
proved that older adults at risk of dementia who just spent six
months participating in twice weekly strength training improved
selective attention/conflict resolution, associative memory, and
regional patterns of functional brain plasticity compared with
those who took part in twice-weekly balance exercises (Balsamo,
2013, para. 18).
Nagamatsu,
L. S., Handy, T. C., & Hsu, C. L. (2012, April 23). Resistance
training promotes cognitive and functional brain plasticity in
seniors with probable mild cognitive impairment. Archives
of Internal Medicine.
172 (8), 666-8. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.379. [Free article].
Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3514552/*
Additional
research, however, needs to assess the cost effectiveness of
exercise interventions (Balsamo, 2013, para. 19).
Limitations
Most studies don't offer conclusive proof that structured exercise results in cognitive improvement. Moreover, they are also limited by small sample sizes (Balsamo, 2013, para. 20).
Conclusion
Structured physical exercise, including strength training and cardiorespiratory exercise may be a promising way to prevent cognitive decline for older adults at risk of developing dementia while physical activity in individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia might prevent [or delay] their inability to perform ADL's independently (Balsamo, 2013, para. 21).
Cassilhas,
R.C., Lee, K. S., & Fernandes, J., et al. (2012, January
27). Spatial memory is improved by aerobic and resistance exercise
through divergent molecular mechanisms. Neuroscience. 202,
309-27. doi:
10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.11.029. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2215565
Researchers at the Psychobiology and Exercise Research Center in São Paulo, Brazil, evaluated the effects of resistance training and aerobic exercise on hippocampus-dependent and spatial memory by comparing the effects of aerobic exercise on adult male Wistar rats who spent eight weeks undergoing aerobic training on a treadmill or doing resistance training, climbing a vertical ladder.
Researchers at the Psychobiology and Exercise Research Center in São Paulo, Brazil, evaluated the effects of resistance training and aerobic exercise on hippocampus-dependent and spatial memory by comparing the effects of aerobic exercise on adult male Wistar rats who spent eight weeks undergoing aerobic training on a treadmill or doing resistance training, climbing a vertical ladder.
Both
groups of rats improved learning and spatial memory; however, the
aerobic-training rats displayed “increased levels of IGF-1, BDNF,
TrkB, and β-CaMKII (calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II) in the
hippocampus” while the resistance-training rats evidenced “an
induction of peripheral and hippocampal IGF-1 with concomitant
activation of receptor for IGF-1 (IGF-1R) and AKT in the
hippocampus”. Both groups also showed an increase of synapsin 1 and
synaptophysin. These findings therefore demonstrated that both
aerobic and resistance exercise achieve similarly increase learning
and spatial memory.
Exercise gets those neurons firing.
|
Cedervall,
Y., Torres, S., & Aberg, A. C. (2014, September 30). Maintaining
well-being and selfhood through physical activity: experiences of
people with mild Alzheimer's disease. Aging and Mental Health,1-10.
[E-pub ahead of print]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25265932
A Swedish survey interviewed 14 older adults with mild Alzheimer's
disease, questioning them about their physical activity and
determined that physical activity can shift their focus from the
dementia diagnosis to a sense of a healthy and able self while it
also helps to maintain body functions. In other words, exercise builds self-esteem.
Davis
Jennifer C., Maarra, Carlo A. & Beattie, Lynn, et
al.
(2010, December 13/27). Sustained cognitive and economic benefits of
resistance training among community-dwelling senior women. women: A
1-year follow-up study of the brain power study. Archives
of
Internal
Medicine,
170 (22), 2036–2038. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.462.
[Full article]. Retrieved from
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=776438
This University of British Columbia article is a follow-up article from a study that took place from May 2008 to April 2009, that reported that a year's worth of once or twice weekly resistance training did a better job of improving the “selective attention” and “conflict resolution” of 155 community-dwelling senior women. when compared with a control group that participated in a balance and tone program. However, this article notes that that the women who participated in resistance training retained the improved executive function skills for 12 months after the exercised program ceased (Davis, 201, December 13/27, para. 1-2).
This University of British Columbia article is a follow-up article from a study that took place from May 2008 to April 2009, that reported that a year's worth of once or twice weekly resistance training did a better job of improving the “selective attention” and “conflict resolution” of 155 community-dwelling senior women. when compared with a control group that participated in a balance and tone program. However, this article notes that that the women who participated in resistance training retained the improved executive function skills for 12 months after the exercised program ceased (Davis, 201, December 13/27, para. 1-2).
Methods
Researchers conducted a 12-month follow-up study from May 2008 to April 2009 on 109 of the original 155 participants whose average age was 71.6 years, comparing the executive cognitive differences of selective attention and conflict resolution in the two groups of resistance-training participants and the control group of Balance and Toning participants as measured by the Stroop test (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 3-4 & 6 & 8). They also calculated the cost per fall prevented for the resistance training and the Balance and Toning group (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 7).
Results
The group that took part in resistance training exercises once a week sustained their improved Stroop test performance a year later compared with the balance and toning group. No “significant” between group differences existed between the group in their set shifting, working memory, and activity level (Davis, 2010, December 13/27, para. 9).
Erickson,
K. I. , Gildengers, A. G., Butters, M. A. (2013, March). Physical
activity and brain plasticity in late adulthood. Dialogues
in Clinical Neuroscience.
15 (1), 99-108. [Free article]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3622473/*
Erickson,
Gildengers, and Butters summarize research that links exercise with
the ability to lessen the damaging effects of brain atrophy and it's
ability to enhance cognitive function. Specifically, exercise is
more likely to increase the volume of the prefrontal cortex and
hippocampus than other parts of the brain (Abstract).
Introduction
While pharmaceutical interventions have proven only “modestly effective” in controlling obesity, hypertension, depression, and physical inactivity, preventing these risks factors could decrease Alzheimer's cases by 10 to 25 percent worldwide while also increasing lifespan and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 1-2).
Establishing
the molecular basis of physical activity on brain disease
Animal models, using lab rats, has allowed researchers to examine molecular activity within the brain resulting from physical activity that would be impossible to analyze in humans (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 3).
Beginning
in 1993, Fordyce and Wehner confirmed that both older and younger
active rats, provided with a running wheel, outperformed sedentary
mice in several different learning tasks as the mice ran or swam
mazes. Furthermore, they were able to link performance in a Morris
water maze to hippocampus activity. Additional research published
by van Praag, et al, in 2005, showed that exercise has the
ability to grow hippocampus volume throughout a lifetime (Erickson,
2013, March, para. 4-6).
Subsequent
research discovered that exercise increases “vascularization”
in the cerebellum, motor cortex and frontal cortex just as it
increases the connections between synapses in the hippocampus, thus
improving long-term memory and elevating levels of Brain-derived
Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and serotonin (Erickson, 2013, March,
para. 7).
Meanwhile, researchers have discovered that exercising regularly while a teen improves cognitive function much later in life.
Meanwhile, researchers have discovered that exercising regularly while a teen improves cognitive function much later in life.
Effects of
physical activity on cognitive function in humans
Older adults who regularly exercise consistently outperform sedentary seniors in thinking skills and reaction time, and women who exercise as teens exhibit “better cognitive function” later in life, according to Middleton, et al, or perhaps the cognitively fit are more likely to exercise (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 9).
Randomized,
controlled trials nevertheless indicate that increasing physical
activity for three to six months improves cognitive performance.
For example, one study showed that moderately intensive physical
activity, like brisk walking, effectively enhances executive
function when compared to a control group whose members participated
in balance and toning exercises (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 10).
Effects of physical activity and aerobic fitness on neuroimaging indices of brain health-education
Research has established that the effects of exercise most influences executive functioning, since the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex remain malleable well into late adulthood. Hence neuroimaging explores the association between exercise in these parts brain, which also ordinarily atrophy at the rate of about one to two percent annually after age 55 as memory loss and the ability to perform executive tasks accompanies this shrinkage (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 11-12).
Several
studies have found that physically active adults possess greater
brain volume than less active adults. Therefore, remaining
aerobically fit helps preserve brain tissue that would usually
atrophy with age. Specifically, research has linked reduced brain
volume in post menopausal women receiving hormone therapy and
university-educated older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
(Erickson, 2013, March, para. 12-13).
A
nine-year longitudinal study that recorded the cardiovascular
fitness of 165 cognitively health older adults also found a
connection between cardiovascular fitness and larger hippocampus
volume in humans The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cardiovascular
Health Study also revealed that greater brain volume in the frontal
cortex, parietal cortex, and the temporal cortex, including the
hippocampus, in ambulatory adults over age 65 who reported the
frequency and duration of their walking (Erickson, 2013, March,
para. 14).
Colcombe
and Kramer also confirmed that adults who participated in a
moderately intensive walking programs three times a week for six
months as opposed to a stretching and toning control group enlarged
the volume of their hippocampus. Similarly, older adults who
participated in a structured aerobic exercise regime for a year also
increased the volume of their hippocampus while a stretching and
tone control group saw a 1.4 decline in hippocampal volume
(Erickson, 2013, March, para. 15-16).
Research
has also been able to identify not only those regions of the brain
associated with physical activity, but it has also shown how
exercise influences the chemical communication between brain
regions. This increased “functional connectivity” also improves
executive function after six months of physical activity (Erickson,
2013, March, para. 18-19).
Common
biological pathways in depression
The Cochrane Collaboration Study has identified 32 trials that reveal that exercise ameliorated symptoms of depression. Eight of these studies focuses on older adults, six analyzing the effects of aerobic exercise, and two dealt with resistance trainings ability to alleviate depression (Erickson, 2013, March, 21-22). For instance, Singh, et al, discovered that progressive resistance training for ten weeks in older adults with the mean age of 71.3 improve depressive symptoms, quality of life, social functioning, and strength (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 23). Researchers also speculate that biological mechanisms related to brain health also correlate with the ability of exercise to elevate mood, although they haven't yet carefully studied this connection (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 24).
Conclusions and future directions
A thorough review of research concludes that physical activity consistently improves thinking skills and reduces neurologically-based psychiatric disorders (Erickson, 2013, March, para. 25). Specifically, exercises influences the growth of brain cells in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, thus improving how the brain works. Researchers theorize several reasons for this association:
- The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are more plastic at the molecular and cellular level;
- These parts of the brain, which deal with long- and short-term memory are most influenced by exercise;
- The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are the regions of the brain most likely to atrophy, so they also have the most room for a growth in brain volume.
(Erickson,
2013, March 26)
Admittedly,
researchers still don't understand how much physical exercise is
necessary to produce positive effects, nor do they know how periods
in inactivity effect physical activity's ability to retain the
positive effects of exercises. They also can't distinguish which
types of exercise most promote a healthy brain since different
studies often yield different results (Erickson, 2013, March 27).
*Summarized
later on this Web page.
Erickson
simply included too many sources to identify all of them here, but
some of the more memorable ones include the following, which are
also summarized elsewhere on this Web page:
Columbe, S. J.,
Erickson, K. I., & Scalf, P. E. (2006, November). Aerobic
exercise training increases brain volume in aging humans. The
Journals of Gerontology.
Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 61 (11),
1166-70. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17167157
Columbe,
Erickson, and Scalf divided 59 community-dwelling volunteers, aged
6- to 79 years old into an aerobic training group and a toning and
stretching group for a six-month randomized trial while 20 young
adult served as controls for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The older
adults who participated in an aerobic fitness program significant
increased both their white and gray brain volume while the brain
volume for the toners and stretchers remained the same as did the
brain volume for the younger controls, who didn't exercise. The
study thus indicated a biological link between aerobic exercise and
healthy cognitive functioning in older adults.
Colcombe,
S. & Kramer, A. F. (2003, March). Fitness effects on the
cognitive function of older adults A meta-analytic study.
Psychological Science. 14 (2), 125-30. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12661673
This University of Illinois, Urbana, meta-analysis examines the hypothesis that aerobic-fitness training enhances “cognitive vitality in healthy sedentary older adults”, and after reviewing 18 intervention studies published between 1966 and 2001, Columbe and Kramer conclude that physical fitness training produces “robust but selective benefits for cognition” primarily favorably influencing executive function, or the ability to organize and plan, shift focus, remember details, and restrain inappropriate speech and behavior—all tasks that the brain's frontal lobe regulates. If this is true, exercise might better control the impulses associated with frontal temporal lobe syndrome.
Erickson, K. I., Raji, C. A., & Lopez, O. L., et al. (2010, October 19). Physical activity predicts gray matter volume in late adulthood: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Neurology. 75 (16), 1415-22. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181f88359. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/209440
Monitoring
299 adults with the mean age of 78 the Cardiovascular Health
Cognitive Study examined the link between “gray matter volume,
physical activity, and cognitive impairment over a nine-year
period. Walking the equivalent of 72 blocks weekly was necessary
to detect an increase in hippocampal volume in 166 adults, which
reduced their risk of cognitive impairment two-fold.
Fordyce,
D. E. & Wehner, J. M. (1993, August 13). Physical
activity enhances spatial learning performance with an associated
alteration in hippocampal protein kinase C activity in C57BL/6 and
DBA/2 mice. Brain
Research.
619 (1-2), 111-9. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8374769
Researchers at the
Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University subjected mice
at three months of age to run on a treadmill five days a week for
60 minutes a day or else confined sedentary mice to to their
cages. They then tested them performing a Morris water maze task
for six days and then required them to perform a place learning
set-task eight times a day for 12 days. Physical activities produced
a 2- to 12-fold enhancement in both the Morris and place learning
set trials. Data also indicated that exercise may also increase
hippocampal protein kinase activity.
Middleton,
L E., Barnes, D. E., & Liu, L. Y., et
al.
(2010, July). Physical activity over the life course and its
association with cognitive performance and impairment in old age.
Journal
of the American
Geriatrics
Society.
58 (7), 1322-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02903.x. [Abstract
only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20609030
After
surveying 9,344 women aged 65 and older who self-reported physical
activities as teenagers, at age 30 and 50, Canadian researchers
determined that women who reported being physically active early
in life were less likely to experience cognitive decline. Women
who were physically active as teens were the most likely to escape
the ravages of dementia.
| Exercise results in brain power at any age! |
Rosano, C. Venkatraman, V. K., & Guralnik, J. (2010, June). Psychomotor speed and functional brain MRI 2 years after completing a physical activity treatment. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 65 (6), 639-47. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glq038. Epub 2010 Mar 26. [Link to free article]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20348185
Two
years after a trial that featured regular walking ended, 20
physically active, older adults who had taken part in an aerobic
exercise group spent more time engaged in “moderate activity”
and maintained a “significantly greater Digital Symbol
Substitution Test score while retaining a higher degree of
cognitive function in the left dorso-lateral, prefrontal,
posterior parietal, and anterior cingulate cortices regions of the
brain than their ten sedentary peers. Researchers thus concluded
that taking part in moderate levels of physical activity
continues to benefit brain function after formal physical training
ends.
Singh, N.
A., Clements, K. M., & Fiatarone, M. A. (1997, January). The
Journals of Gerontology.
Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. A
randomized controlled trial of progressive resistance training in
depressed elders.52 (1), M27-35. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/90086
After
conducting a ten-week randomized controlled trial with 32
volunteers aged 60 or above suffering from major or minor
depression, researchers found that taking part in Progressive
Resistance Training three times a week was “significantly”
more effective in relieving depression than the meeting of an
attention-control group.
Van
Praag, H., Shubert, T., & Zhao, C., et
al.
(2005, September 21). Exercise enhances learning and
hippocampal neurogenesis in aged mice. Journal
of Neuroscience.
25 (38), 8680-5. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177036
Researchers
at the Laboratory of Genetics of the Salk Institute for
Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, determined that
voluntary wheel running improved the brain function and created
new neurons in the hippocampus in mice who had been sedentary
until 19 months of age. After a month of wheel running, these
mice exhibited faster learning times and better retention skills
in running a Morris water maze than their sedentary controls.
Running also reduced neuron atrophy to 50 percent of young
controls.
Kramer, A.
F., & Erickson, K. I. (2007, August). Capitalizing
on cortical plasticity: Influence of physical activity on
cognition and brain function. Trends
in Cognitive Sciences.
11 (8), 342-8.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Kramer+exercise+and+alzheimers
A
review of literature suggests that physical exercise is an
inexpensive treatment that improves cognitive function and
protects against neural-degenerative disease.
___________
Exercise Improves Cognitive Function
| A spotter can help you exercise safely. |
The
positive effects of physical exercise on the mind are
long-lasting—so much so that even those older adults with
limited physical functioning need to take a walk outdoors at
least once weekly.
Laurin,
D, Verreault, R., & Lindsay, J, et
al.
(2001, March). Physical activity and risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly persons. Archives of Neurology, 58
(3), 498-504. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=PMID%3A+11255456
Quebec
researchers explored the connection between physical activity and
the risk of developing dementia by reviewing the physical
activity levels of 4,615 participants, who were cognitively-normal at baseline
and had completed a five-year follow-up assessment
after taking part in the 1991-1992 Canadian Study of Health and
Aging. At this point in time, high levels of physical activity
correlated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and
dementia.
Shimada,
Hiroyuki. Lee,
S., & Park, H., et
al. (2015, January
17). Going outdoors and cognitive function among
community-dwelling older adults: Moderating role of physical
function. Geriatrics
& Gerontology.
doi: 10.1111/ggi.12437. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25597479
Researchers
affiliated with the Japanese National Center for Geriatrics and
Gerontology, examined the relationship between going outdoors at
least once weekly and cognitive decline in older adults by
analyzing the data of 4,450 senior adults 65 years or older who
participated in the Obu Study of Health Promotion for the
Elderly, measuring their cognitive performed with the Mini-Mental
State Examination (MMSE). They found an association between
seniors with limited physical function who went outside less than
once a week and decreased cognitive function, but they didn't
find any link between dementia and able-bodied adults who didn't
do outside at least once weekly.
___________
Weighing in on Resistance Training
| Research links weight training and improved brain function. |
Older
adults who participate in resistance exercises and
strength-training outperform those seniors who take part in
seated calisthenics programs mentally, the weight-lifters doing
better in executive-functioning (organizing, planning, and
multi-tasking) as well as in their ability to perform
successfully the activities of daily living—dressing
themselves, toileting, and feeding themselves.
Fiatarone
Singh, M. A., Gates, N., & Saigal, N., et
al.
(2014, December). The Study of Mental and Resistance Training
(SMART) study—resistance training and/or cognitive training in
mild cognitive impairment: a randomized, double-blind,
double-sham controlled trial. Journal
of the American
Medical
Directors Association.
15 (12), 873-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2014.09.010. [Abstract
only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2544457
Researchers in Australia and Boston, Massachusetts, randomly enrolled 100 older adults, diagnosed with MCI, in a double-blind, double-sham controlled program into either a high-intensity, progressive resistance training and a computerized, multi-domain cognitive training program or in a seated calisthenics program and a non-demanding option of watching videos and quizzes for two to three days a week for six months. They then looked back on the participants, whose average age was 70.1 years old, and whom 68 percent of women, to see how they were doing and determined that resistance training significantly improved executive function scores both at six and 18 months while cognitive training only reduced memory loss at six months.
Researchers in Australia and Boston, Massachusetts, randomly enrolled 100 older adults, diagnosed with MCI, in a double-blind, double-sham controlled program into either a high-intensity, progressive resistance training and a computerized, multi-domain cognitive training program or in a seated calisthenics program and a non-demanding option of watching videos and quizzes for two to three days a week for six months. They then looked back on the participants, whose average age was 70.1 years old, and whom 68 percent of women, to see how they were doing and determined that resistance training significantly improved executive function scores both at six and 18 months while cognitive training only reduced memory loss at six months.
Garuffi,
M., Costa, J. L., & Hernández, S.S., et
al.
(2013). Effects of resistance training on the performance of
activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer’s
disease. Geriatrics
& Gerontology International, 13
(2), 322-8. doi:
10.1111/j.1447-0594.2012.00899. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22726761
Investigating
the effects of resistance training on the Activities of Daily Living,
this 16-week long, longitudinal study divided participants into a
group that participated in resistance training, performing three sets
of 20 repetitions in five different exercises, and a social gathering
group, who took part in reading and writing activities. After
observing both groups performing such activities as climbing stairs,
standing up for the floor, and putting on their socks, researchers
decided that while resistance training improves agility, strengthens
lower limbs, and helps balance and flexibility in individuals
diagnosed with Alzheimer's, interacting socially also improves
agility.
Hurley,
B.F.,
Hanson, E.D., & Sheaff, A.K. (2011). Strength training as a
countermeasure to aging muscle and chronic disease. Sports
Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 41
(4), 289-306.
doi:
10.2165/11585920-000000000-00000.
[Abstract
only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21425888
This
comprehensive review of strength-training's ability to intervene
successfully in a broad range of diseases and conditions, including
aging muscles, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, abdominal
obesity, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid
arthritis, and Alzheimer's, and found that it might serve as an
“effective countermeasure to some of the adverse consequences” of
metabolic syndrome, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Consistent evidence confirms that strength-training also reduces
triglyceride levels and results in small to moderate reductions in
blood pressure. No evidence indicates that strength training can
reverse the biological or behavioral outcomes of Alzheimer's, even
though Alzheimer's is inversely associated with muscle mass and
strength.
Nagamatsu,
Lindsay S., Handy, Todd C., & Hsu, C. Liangetal, et
al.
(2012, April 23). Resistance training promotes cognitive and
functional brain plasticity in seniors with probable mild cognitive
impairment.
Archives of Internal Medicine.
172 (8), 666-668. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.379. [Full
article]. Retrieved from
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1135414*
Researchers
conducted a proof-of-concept, single-blinded, randomized control
trial that furnished preliminary evidence that both resistance and
aerobic raining improve cognitive function in older women diagnosed
with probable Mild Cognitive Disorder (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23,
para. 3).
Methods
Researchers in this Exercise for Cognitive and Everyday Living (EXCEL) study conducted a six-month, randomized trial, giving resistance training to 28 women, aerobic training to 30 women, and balance and toning training to 28 women in a control group after choosing participants for the study based on their making scores lower tan 26 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. All groups received this instruction twice weekly. Although researchers also assessed the participants' associative memory and everyday problem-solving skills as well as analyzing regional patterns of functional brain plasticity by using Magnetic Resonance Imaging during an associative memory task and noting their general balance and mobility and cardiovascular capacity (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 4-5).
Certified fitness instructors conducted 60-minute classes for all the groups. Resistance training participants used both the Keiser Pressurized Air system and free weights performing two sets of six to eight repetitions. The aerobic training program aimed at increasing the participants' heart rate while walking on an indoor track from 40 percent to 70 to 80 percent of their Heart Rate Reserve. The Balance and Toning control group took part in stretching, range of motion, and balance exercises and relaxation techniques. Researchers then determined whether the different exercise program improved the women's executive function skills by administrating the Stroop Test (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 5-6).
Results
Compared with the balanced and toning group, the resistance training group scored significantly higher on the Stroop tests as well as an associative memory task. The cortex of the resistant training participants in the lingual, occipital, and right frontal pole region showed beneficial functional changes while participants were encoding or recalling associations. The aerobic training group improved their general balance and mobility as well as their cardiovascular capacity when compared with the balance and training control group (Nagamatsu, 2012, April 23, para. 7-8).
Singh,
Maria A. Fiatarone, Gates, Nicola, & Saigal, Nidhi, et
al.
(2014, December). The study of mental and resistance training
(SMART) study—Resistance training and/or cognitive training in Mild
Cognitive Impairment: A randomized, double-blind, double-sham
controlled trial. JAMDA:
The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
15 (2), 873-880. [Abstract only]. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016.j.jamda.2014.09.010.
Retrieved from
http://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(14)00612-4/abstract
The Australian study followed two randomized groups of adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, for which no pharmacological treatment is available. 100 participants, most of whom were women, and whose average age was 70.1, either participated in either active or sham physical training--high-intensity progressive resistance training versus seated calisthenics--and active or sham cognitive training—computerized, multiple domain cognitive training) or watching videos and quizzes.
After training three days a week for six months with an eighteen-month follow-up, resistance training improved executive function significantly as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Matrices in 48 percent of those individuals who participated in active physical exercise as opposed to the 27 percent who took part in seated calisthenics. Furthermore, the cognitive benefits of resistance training alone were 74 percent higher after 18 months than for those participants who took part in both resistance exercise and computer-based, cognitive training. Researchers, therefore, concluded that resistance training remarkably enhanced global cognitive function and retained these gains for over 18 months.
The Australian study followed two randomized groups of adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, for which no pharmacological treatment is available. 100 participants, most of whom were women, and whose average age was 70.1, either participated in either active or sham physical training--high-intensity progressive resistance training versus seated calisthenics--and active or sham cognitive training—computerized, multiple domain cognitive training) or watching videos and quizzes.
After training three days a week for six months with an eighteen-month follow-up, resistance training improved executive function significantly as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Matrices in 48 percent of those individuals who participated in active physical exercise as opposed to the 27 percent who took part in seated calisthenics. Furthermore, the cognitive benefits of resistance training alone were 74 percent higher after 18 months than for those participants who took part in both resistance exercise and computer-based, cognitive training. Researchers, therefore, concluded that resistance training remarkably enhanced global cognitive function and retained these gains for over 18 months.
___________
Aerobic Exercise Delays Dementia
Regular aerobic exercise may delay or prevent cognitive decline in older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder or in the early stages of Alzheimer's while frequent aerobic exercise in mid and late life not only prevents cognitive decline, but it enhances brain growth. Most authorities recommend 30-minutes of aerobic exercise at least five days a week.
Chapman, S. B., Asian, S., Spence, J. S., et al. (2013, November 12). Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 5, 75. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2013.00075. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24282403*
Previous studies validating the positive effects of aerobic exercise on executive function have focused on medium to long term time periods of training that take more than six months to accomplish, however, this study assesses the effects of exercise upon cognitively healthy sedentary adults between the ages of 57 and 75 after only 12 weeks of training. A physical training group received supervised aerobic exercises for three sessions of one hour each for twelve weeks, and researchers assessed their cognitive, cardiovascular fitness, and resting cerebral blood flood at baseline, mid-study, and after the study ended, finding a higher resting CBF in the anterior cingulate region of the physical training group then the control group. The exercising group also experienced improved memory performance that correlated with an increase in both left and right hippocampal CBF. These findings indicate that even short-term aerobic exercise can reduce the consequences of aging on the brain in sedentary, older adults.
Cho, J., Shin, M. K., & Kim, D. (2015, January 8). Treadmill running reverses cognitive declines due to Alzheimer's Disease. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. [E-pub ahead of print]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25574797
South Korean researchers assigned 3xTg-AD mice at four months of age either to an exercise group, that they subjected to treadmill running for 12 weeks, or a control stationary group. During the early stage of Alzheimer's the 3xTg-AD mice showed impaired short- and long-term memory loss based on their performance in a Morris water maze as well as their high cortical Aβ deposition, higher hippocampal and cortical tau pathology, and lower hippocampal and cortical PSD-95 and synaptophysin. After 12-weeks of treadmill exercise, the mice had improved their tau pathology and suppressed the decreased PSD-95 and synaptophysin in the hippocampus and cortex. In the advanced stages of Alzheimer's the 3xTg-AD mice again suffered from impaired short- and long-term memory along with higher levels of Aβ deposition, soluble Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42, tau pathology, and lower levels of BDNF, PSD-95 and synaptophysin in the hippocampus and cortex. However, during the early stages of Alzheimer's the treadmill running offered a non-pharmaceutical solution to cognitive decline.
Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., & Prakash, R. S., et al. (2010, December 30). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS. 108 (7). [Free text]. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.fullA randomized, controlled trial of 120 older adults shows that aerobic exercise increase hippocampal volume by two percent, reversing age-related loss in volume by 1 to 2 y. This increased hippocampal volume correlates with greater serum levels of BDNF. While hippocampal volume declined in the control group, researchers maintained that “pre-intervention fitness partially attenuated the decline” (Abstract).
Geda, Y. E., Roberts, R. O., & Knopman, D. S., et al. (2010, January). Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: A population-based study. Archives of Neurology (JAMA Neurology). 67(1), 80-86. doi: 10.1001.archneurol.2009.297, Retrieved from http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=799078
In a population-based, controlled study conducted by the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging 1,324 older adults without dementia completed a questionnaire whereupon a panel of experts classified each individual as cognitively normal or suffering from Mild Cognitive Disorder based on published criteria. After comparing the frequency of engaging in physical exercise among the 198 subjects diagnosed with MCI, they found that both “light exercise” and vigorous exercise” didn't necessarily correlate with a decreased risk of MCI. Any frequency of “moderate exercise” undertaken in mid- or late life reduces the odds of developing MCI. Additionally, physical exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and it reduces the mortality rate.
------------
Daily Aerobic Exercise Can Be Fun!
| Square dancing certainly provides aerobic exercise! |
Simply walking briskly for thirty minutes daily and doing some simple strength-training exercises daily can prevent physical and mental decline. However, simply by taking the stairs, parking the car some distance away from a store's entrance, and briskly walking at the mall, exercisers don't need to invest in any equipment at all, and the 30 minutes they spend in exercising daily is well worth the opportunity cost: The time they spend exercising when they could be surfing the Web or lounging on the sofa. That means thinking up creative ways of exercising: Participating in a square or folk dancing group, taking ballroom dancing classes, meeting friends to go mall walking several times a week, planting and weeding a vegetable garden, walking a dog, or playing with the grandkids.
Varma, V. R., Chuang, Y., Harris, G. C. (2014, December 7). Low-intensity daily walking activity is associated with hippocampal volume in older adults. Hippocampus. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22397. [Epub ahead of print]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25483019
While gerontologists for over a decade have associated vigorous aerobic exercise as a promising strategy to prevent or delay Alzheimer's, most older adults have difficulty starting and sustaining an aerobic exercise program that substantially raises their heart level and leaves them out of breathe.
Therefore, researchers affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health explored whether older adults with a “modestly active life style might benefit from measured, low-intensity walking activities. After controlling for age, education, body mass index, cardiovascular risk factors, and scores on the MMSE, they associated the amount, duration, and frequency of total daily walking activities with larger hippocampal volume among older women--but not among older men. Since this is the first study to show a relationship between measured daily walking activity and hippocampal volume in older adults, researchers hope to determine whether increasing non-exercise lifestyle physical activities in the future might increase hippocampal volume. In other words, elderly women don't necessarily need to overly exert themselves, but they do need to walk.
Vaynman, S. & Gomez-Pinilla, F. (2005, December). License to run: Exercise impacts functional plasticity in the intact and injured central nervous system by using neurotrophins. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. 19 (4), 283-95. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16263961
Aerobic exercise repairs the neurons in the brain and improves learning and memory by accelerating neurotrophic support as helps produce Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which aids synaptic functional and neuronal excitability. Thus, exercise can increase synaptic plasticity, rehabilitate unhealthy behavior, and curb the effects of aging.
------. (2006, September). Revenge of the "sit": How lifestyle impacts neuronal and cognitive health through molecular systems that interface energy metabolism with neuronal plasticity. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 84(4). [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16862541
Physical exercise impacts the molecular systems necessary for synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Therefore, a link exists between these systems and the production of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Since the human genome remains unchanged since humans engaged in a hunter-gatherer life style, sedentary habits and over eating unhealthy foods “may be reaping revenge on the health of both our bodies and brains.” Getting enough exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, however, may combat the effects of disease and aging. Accordingly, getting up every thirty minutes or so and walking around--perhaps to the water fountain or the copier--can prevent cardiovascular disease among office workers of all ages. Walking on the lunch hour also helps sedentary workers "recharge". However, even after seniors enter a nursing home, they can continue to benefit from aerobic exercise programs. Indeed, passive resistance exercises performed with the help of a physical trainer can help Alzheimer's patients improve their quality of life.
Vreugdenhil, A., Cannell, J., & Davies, A., et al. 2012, March). A community-based exercise program to improve functional ability in people with Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 26 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00895.x. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21564154
In a four-month, randomized, controlled trial, 16 men and 24 women diagnosed with Alzheimer's with the mean age of 74.1 either took part in a daily exercise and walking program under the supervision of a caregiver or received the usual treatment given to Alzheimer's patients, those who exercised improved their scores on the MMSE scores by 2.6 points, moved 2.9 seconds fasted on a Timed Up and Go test, and upped their Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scores by 1.6. Thus, the moral of this study might be, its never to late to grow the brain by exercising.
Check to see if a local church or community center
offers exercise programs for seniors. Additionally,
many communities offer nutritious meals through
"Meals on Wheels" delivered directly to the home.
|
Williams, T. (2015, January). Lower risk of Alzheimer's disease mortality with exercise, statins, and fruit intake. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD. 44 (4), 1121-9. doi: 10.3233/JAD-141929. [Abstract—full text link]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25408208
Exercising for 1.07 to 1.8 Metabolic Equivalent (MET hours), or the equivalent of completing a one kilometer run, or 1.6 miles, decreases the risk of dying from Alzheimer's by 6.0 percent while using statins lowers Alzheimer's mortality 61 percent, and eating two of three pieces of fruit daily lowers the incidence of AD mortality 39.9 percent.
Note: Running one mile is the equivalent of walking 1.5 to 3
miles, depending upon the individual's physical condition, and a
kilometer is the equivalent of 1.6 miles. On average, it takes one
hour to walk three miles. Most cognitively-healthy, older adults
probably aren't physically capable of running almost two kilometers
daily, but they are most likely capable of using a stationary bike or
walking briskly for 30 to 40 minutes daily, and if they substitute
fruit for sweets, they most probably can substantially cut their
risks of dying from Alzheimer's. In other words, to lower the risk
of Alzheimer's, it's necessary to combine a diet that features fruits
and vegetables along with vigorous exercise.
___________
Exercise Improves Executive Function
| Combine socializing and exercise by taking a ballroom dancing class. |
Again,
getting enough exercise is only one part, although perhaps the most
important part, of delaying or preventing dementia:
Battling
Alzheimer's at the gym and the dinner table: Why prevention requires
both. AD
Plan.
Retrieved from
http://theadplan.com/alzheimersdietblog/recipes/battling-alzheimers-at-the-gym-and-the-dinner-table-why-prevention-requires-both/
A combination of exercise and diet is necessary if older adults are to keep Alzheimer's at bay (AD Plan, 2013, January 24, para. 1). [Aerobic] exercise reduces the risk of dementia by 30 to 40 percent because it cleans out the plaques in the hippocampus as evidenced by a study in which University of Chicago researchers compared the brains of exercising mice with the brains of sedentary mice and found that their brains contained 50 to 80 percent less amyloid plaque (AD Plan, 2013, January 24, para. 2-3).
Additional
research, however, also suggests that senior older can prevent or
delay Alzheimer's b controlling for preventable risk factors like
obesity, smoking, and type 2 diabetes while regularly exercising.
Researchers at the University of California—San Francisco claim
that if just 24 percent of older adults with a genetic predisposition
for Alzheimer's exercised and followed a healthy diet, this would
reduce the number of Alzheimer's cases by half a million while
scientists at the University of Columbia posit that exercising and
following a Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of Alzheimer's 40
percent (AD Plan, 2013, January 24, para. 4-5).
Supplementing
a healthy diet with Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, Alpha lipoic acid, and
Omega 3 fish oil also help to preserve memory (AD Plan, 2013, January
24, para. 6). A recipe for curry rubbed salmon with Napa cabbage
concludes the blog entry.
Barnett,
Robert A. (2013, February 26). Can Alzheimer's be prevented?
Exercise offers some hope. Conditions: Alzheimer's. Wellness.
Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from
http://www.clevelandclinicwellness.com/conditions/Alzheimers/Pages/Can-Alzheimers-Be-Prevented-Exercise-Offers-Some-Hope.aspx
Exercise
may play a “powerful role” in preventing Alzheimer's for older
adults at high risk of the disease, for both animal and human studies
increasingly show that what's good for the body is good for brain,
according to Stephen M. Rao, a professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner
College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University (Barnett,
2013, February 26, para. 1-2).
A Nasty Gene Neutralized by Exercise
Older
adults that exercise regularly don't show the brain changes
associated with Alzheimer's, even though one in four people carries a
gene that spurs on the growth of ApoE4, which makes them more likely
to build up the amyloid plaque in their brains associated with
Alzheimer's (Barnett, 2013, February 26, para. 3-4).
Exercise Prevents Progression of Alzheimer’s
In a Dutch study of 560 men with the ApoE4 abnormality, those that were active for less than an hour daily were four times more likely to experience cognitive decline than those who exercised for more than an hour a day. Another study that took place over 21 years similarly found that if older adults aged 65 to 79 with the the ApoE4 gene” broke into a sweat and increased their breathing rate for 20 to 3o minutes” for two or three daily weekly decreased their chance of developing Alzheimer's by one-third. Additional studies have shown that exercise slows the rate of cognitive decline of those diagnosed with early Alzheimer's (Barnett, 2013, February 26, para. 5).
Move Your Body, Benefit Your Brain
Whatever one's age, increased physical activity correlates with an increase in “gray matter” in the region of the brain associated with memory, the hippocampus, since exercise creates new neurons and blood vessels that delivery oxygen to brain tissue. Hence, the brains of the elderly who don't exercise shrink while those that do either maintain the size of the hippocampus or increase its volume, according to a year-long study (Barnett, 2013, February 26, para. 7).
The
brains of older adults who exercise regularly look less atrophied,
even though researchers still don't know whether exercise prevents or
slows down the development of Alzheimer's. After all, exercise
controls weight, reduces the risk of diabetes, and lowers high blood
pressure—all of which are risk factors for Alzheimer's (Barnett,
2013, February 26, para. 8-9).
The Brain-Health Exercise Prescription
Consequently, Barnett suggests an exercise program which just might prevent or delay dementia:
-
Exercise at an intensity level that makes breathing “a bit labored” but slow enough to carry on a conversation;
-
To start out with, exercise for thirty minutes three times a week, working up to 30 to 45 minutes a day five or more times a week;
Exercise at an intensity level that makes breathing “a bit labored” but slow enough to carry on a conversation;
To start out with, exercise for thirty minutes three times a week, working up to 30 to 45 minutes a day five or more times a week;
- If necessary, break up your exercise time into small segments;
- Buy a pedometer and try to take 10,000 steps per day;
- Anyone with cardiovascular disease should consult their doctor before starting any exercise program.
(2013, February 26, para. 10)
Doheny, Kathleen. (2012, July 16). Exercise may reduce risk of Alzheimer's: Moderate walking, resistance training both help brain health, experts find. 50+: Live Better, Longer. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20120716/exercise-may-reduce-risk-alzheimers
| Amyloid plaque forms in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. |
Doheny, Kathleen. (2012, July 16). Exercise may reduce risk of Alzheimer's: Moderate walking, resistance training both help brain health, experts find. 50+: Live Better, Longer. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20120716/exercise-may-reduce-risk-alzheimers
Aerobic exercise and resistance training both have the potential of reducing the risk of Alzheimer's in older adults as shown in two studies presented in advance of their publication at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Vancouver, from July 14 to 19, 2012, including an aerobic exercise program that actually increased the size of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in 80 cognitively-healthy but physically-inactive adults after they started walking moderately for 30 to 45 minutes just three days per week (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 1 & 4).
Exercise and Alzheimer's Risk Studies
A University of Pittsburgh study led by Kirk Erickson either assigned volunteers to either a walking regime or a stretching and toning program for a year after MCI scans measured the size of each individual's hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and researchers took blood samples to measure concentration of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and gave the men and women a battery of tests assessing their thinking skills Increases in volume of the prefrontal cortex matched increases in levels of physical fitness (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 6-10).
Resistance Training & Alzheimer's Risk Study Detail
A study later published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that resistance training may delay or prevent a slide into Alzheimer's in older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Accordingly, since more than half of all seniors first diagnosed with MCI develop Alzheimer's with five years, seniors with faulty and fading memories should definitely consider taking up lifting weights (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 12-13).
The study assigned 86 women aged diagnosed with MCI aged 70 to 80 years of age to one of three groups: those enrolled in twice weekly resistance training for an hour, or twice-weekly aerobic training for an hour, or two weekly, hour-long balance and toning classes—all of which lasted for a year. Before the exercise programs began and at the end of the study, the women took tests to determine their attention, working and associative memory and problem-solving skills. Compared with the results for those women in the balance and toning group, the women who took up weights improved their attention and associative memory scores (Doheny, 2012, July 16, para. 12-19).
References
Erickson, K. I. , Gildengers, A. G., Butters, M. A. (2013, March). Physical activity and brain plasticity in late adulthood. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 15 (1), 99-108. [Free article]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3622473/*
Nagamatsu,
Lindsay S., Handy, Todd C., & Hsu, C. Liangetal, et
al.
(2012, April 23). Resistance training promotes cognitive and
functional brain plasticity in seniors with probable mild cognitive
impairment.
Archives of Internal Medicine.
172 (8), 666-668. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.379. [Full
article]. Retrieved from
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1135414*
*Abstract summarized
earlier on this Web page.
Exercise
may benefit the brain in early Alzheimer's disease. (2008, July 22).
Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation. Retrieved from
http://www.alzinfo.org/articles/prevention-and-wellness-40/
Physically-fit men and women diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's had larger brain volumes and scored better on memory tests than their peers who weren't as strong, according to a study conducted by University of Kansas researchers who compared two groups of adults over 60—57 of who had been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, and 64 of whom showed no signs of mental decline (Fisher, 2008, July 22, para. 1-2).
Physically-fit men and women diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's had larger brain volumes and scored better on memory tests than their peers who weren't as strong, according to a study conducted by University of Kansas researchers who compared two groups of adults over 60—57 of who had been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, and 64 of whom showed no signs of mental decline (Fisher, 2008, July 22, para. 1-2).
Treadmill-based
fitness tests determined these seniors cardiovascular fitness while
researchers also measured their brain volume since individuals who
exercise regularly also display better cardiac and respiration
function. Both men and women of all ages and degrees of dementia,
physical activity and frailty diagnosed in the early stages of
Alzheimer's who weren't physically fit also showed four times more
brain shrinkage than those who were physically fit (Fisher, 2008,
July 22, para. 3-5).
Researchers
thus concluded that older adults diagnosed with early Alzheimer's may
preserve their brain function longer by exercising since earlier
studies link lower brain volume with poor cognitive functioning, and
research already indicates that physical fitness “mitigates
age-related deterioration” (Fisher, 2008, July 22, para. 6-7).
Animal
studies have also shown that physical fitness improves blood flow and
boosts the growth of the brain's nerve cells, although researchers
acknowledge that they know less about the effects of exercise on
individuals already diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Moreover, the
University of Kansas study linked brain function with physical
fitness at only one point in time (Fisher, 2008, July 22, para.
8-9).
Lunde,
Angela. (2008, March 25). Preventing Alzheimer's: Exercise still
best bet. Alzheimer's blog. Diseases and Conditions: Alzheimer's
disease. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-blog/alzheimers/BGP-20055848
While
hoping for a cure for Alzheimer's, Baby Boomers can best prevent
Alzheimer's by exercising enough to raise their heart rates for 30 to
60 minutes several times per week (Lunde, 2008, March 25, para. 1-3):
- Physical exercise slows Alzheimer's-like brains changes in lab rats;
- Observational studies show that physically active women are less likely to experience cognitive decline;
- Physically-active mice have substantially less brain plaque than sedentary plaque since they produce more enzymes that prevent plaque.
(Lunde,
2008, March 25, para, 4-5)
The
Director of the Alzheimer's Research center at the Mayo Clinic,
Ronald Petersen, claims that regular exercise is a safer bet for
preventing Alzheimer's than medications, intellectual activity,
supplements, and diet (Lunde, 2008, March 25, para. 6).
Neighmond,
Patti. (2013, April 15). How exercise and other activities beat back
dementia. Shots. NPR. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/15/176920391/how-exercise-and-other-activities-beat-back-dementia
“Lots
of people live into their 90s and even 100s with no symptoms of
dementia”, and the best way to increase the change of doing so is
to exercise (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 3-4). Art Kramer, a
neurologist at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science at the
University of Illinois, has scanned the brains of 120 older adults,
half of whom participated in a program of moderate aerobic exercise
for 45 minutes, thee days a week for a year whereupon their MRI scans
showed their brain volume increased. Meanwhile, their controls, who
didn't exercise, lost 1.5 percent of their brain volume (Neighmond,
2013, April 15, para. 4-6).
The
University of Illinois findings support earlier research using
exercising mice whose brains produce more neurons, stronger links
between neurons and increased blood supply to the brain than their
controls (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 7). Furthermore,
“what's good for the heart is good for the brain” since exercise
also controls blood pressure, cholesterol levels and weight
(Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 8).
Evidence
that exercising the brain prevents Alzheimer's is less conclusive,
but Kramer coincides that it couldn't hurt, so he recommends doing
crossword and Sudoku puzzles, learning a new language, playing a
musical instrument, or socializing with friends as ways to increase
brain activity (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 9-11).
Seniors who rarely leave home are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's over five years as those who get out and about (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 12). Research also suggests that omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants C and E feed the brain (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 13). Thus, combining physical exercise, stimulating brain activities, a healthy diet, and socializing with friends just might beat Alzheimer's (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 14).
Seniors who rarely leave home are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's over five years as those who get out and about (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 12). Research also suggests that omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants C and E feed the brain (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 13). Thus, combining physical exercise, stimulating brain activities, a healthy diet, and socializing with friends just might beat Alzheimer's (Neighmond, 2013, April 15, para. 14).
Petersen,
Ronald. (2014, October 22). can exercise prevent memory loss and
improve cognitive function. Diseases and Conditions: Alzheimer's
disease. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-answers/alzheimers-disease/faq-20057881
“Possibly”.
Not only does physical exercise reduce cardiovascular disease and
type 2 diabetes, strengthen bones and muscles, and reduce stress, but
research also shows that the physically active are less likely to
experience mental decline (Petersen, 2014, October 22, para. 1-2);
Taking
part in [aerobic and strength-training] exercise several times a week
for 30 to 60 minutes performs the following tasks:
- Exercise keeps reasoning and learning skills honed;
- Exercise improves cognitive function (memory, reasoning, and thinking skills) in individuals diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder or early Alzheimer's;
- Exercise delays the onset of Alzheimer's for those most at risk.
(Petersen,
2014, October 22, para. 3)
Physical
exercise also keeps the flood flowing and increases the chemicals
that protect the brain, although researchers still don't know the
extent of which it improves memory or slows mental decline (Petersen,
2014, October 22, para. 4).
Reynolds,
Gretchen. (2013, April 15). Ask Well: Exercises to prevent
dementia. New
York Times.
Retrieved from
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/ask-well-exercises-to-prevent-dementia/?_r=0
Older
adults wishing to ward off dementia might want to add several weight
training sessions each week to their aerobic exercise regime since
while aerobic exercises like jogging double or triple the neurons in
the brain's memory center, or hippocampus, resistance, or strength,
training also offers some “unique” brain benefits (Reynolds,
2013, April 15, para. 1-2).
In
a 2012 Brazilian study, rats with weights tied to their tails climbed
ladders to simulate resistant training while other rats ran on
treadmills or didn't exercise at all. After eight weeks, both the
resistance training and aerobic exercising rats performed better on
memory tests than their sedentary counterparts, but the
resistant-training rats displayed more of a particularly necessary
brain protein while the aerobic rats displayed yet another
important brain protein. Both these proteins create new connections
within the brain as well as improving the performance of existing
neurons (Reynolds, 2013, April 15, para. 3-4).
------.
(2013, April 10). Getting a brain boost through exercise. Well.
New
York Times.
Retrieved from
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/how-exercise-may-boost-the-brain/
Two
recent studies suggest that exercise can improve memory, although
different types of exercise can improve cognitive functioning in
different ways (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 1).
The
human study, conducted by the University of British Columbia and
published in the Journal of Aging Research, studied women aged 70 to
80 diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Earlier studies had
found that weight training improves associative memory, or the
ability to recall facts in context in older women diagnosed with MCI
(Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 2-7).
However, when researchers randomly assigned MCI-diagnosed women to either lift weights twice weekly or take brisk walks while a control group stretched and tone, after six months, only the control group did worse on verbal and spatial memory tests. The women who participated in either aerobic or strength-training exercises performed much better than they had before on both kinds of memory tests while the walkers tested better than the women who participated in resistance training on verbal memory tests (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 9-12).
The researchers thus concluded that endurance and weight training have different physiological effects within the brain (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 13-14).
However, when researchers randomly assigned MCI-diagnosed women to either lift weights twice weekly or take brisk walks while a control group stretched and tone, after six months, only the control group did worse on verbal and spatial memory tests. The women who participated in either aerobic or strength-training exercises performed much better than they had before on both kinds of memory tests while the walkers tested better than the women who participated in resistance training on verbal memory tests (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 9-12).
The researchers thus concluded that endurance and weight training have different physiological effects within the brain (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para. 13-14).
Similarly,
researchers taped weights to rats' tails and made them climb ladders
to mimic resistance training or else run on wheels for six weeks.
Both groups of rats scored better on memory tests than before they
trained, but the rat runners' brains showed increased levels of BDNF
protein, a brain-derived neurotrophic factor that controls the
well-being of existing neurons and also helps create new brain cells.
Meanwhile, the brains of the weight-training rats showed an increase
in an “insulin-like growth factor” that promotes cell division
and helps newly-divided neurons survive (Reynolds, 2013, April 10,
para. 15-17).
All
of which means that fitness programs for middle-age and older adults
should include both resistance and aerobic exercise, although the
effects of any exercise on cognitive function is “profound”.
Indeed, while researchers originally thought that they would only see
a smaller decline in memory function in those women who exercised,
they actually saw improvement (Reynolds, 2013, April 10, para.
18-20).
| Defining biceps sharpens the mind.
Sifferlin,
Alexandra. (2012, July 16). Mind your reps: Exercise, especially
weight lifting, helps keep the brain sharp. Time.
Retrieved from
http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/16/mind-those-reps-exercise-especially-weight-lifting-helps-keep-your-brain-sharp/
|
Four
studies presented in July 2012 at the Alzheimer's Association
Internal Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, indicate
that regular exercise, and most particularly strength training with
weights, improves thinking and reasoning in older adults (Sifferlin,
2012, July 16, para. 2).
When
University of Pittsburgh researchers led by Kirk Erickson signed up
120 sedentary adults for a year-long exercise program either
participating in “moderate-intensity” walking regime or a
stretching and toning program, the walkers improved their memory as
well as increasing the volume of the hippocampus compared to the
participants who only stretched and toned. Some of the participants
in both groups were “cognitively healthy” while some reported
“memory lapses” Sifferlin, 2012, July 12, para. 2-4).
A
similar Japanese study led by Hiroyuki Shimada evaluated the
cognitive functioning of 47 adults already diagnosed with Mild
Cognitive Impairment, assigning them either to an exercise program
that combining aerobics, strength, and balance training twice weekly
for 90 minutes and a control group that only attended
health-education classes. At the end of the study, the exercise
group had improved their memory and language skills (Sifferlin, 2012,
July 16, para. 5).
A
third study conducted by the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver assigned women aged 70 to 80 to either resistance training,
aerobic training, or balance and toning twice weekly for six months.
At the end of the study, the strength training group mentally
out-performed the other two groups, although those women who
participated in aerobic exercise did improve their memory recall
(Sifferllin 2012, July 16, para. 7).
Another
study also conducted by the University of British Columbia
researchers followed 155 “community-dwelling” women aged 65 to 75
randomly assigned to participate in either resistance training or
balance and toning exercises. Even though both groups of women
improved their memories, those who showed the highest levels of
cognitive functioning at the start of the exercise regime most
improved their cognitive abilities (Sifferlin, 2012, July 16, para.
8).
Wlassoff,
Viatcheslav. (2014). Exercise reduces the risk of Alzheimer's
Disease. Brain
Blogger.
Retrieved from
http://brainblogger.com/2014/10/24/exercise-reduces-the-risk-of-alzheimers-disease/
Wlassoff
touts physical activity as a “holistic strategy” for lowering the
risk of developing dementia (2014, para. 1).
A
five-year study of 4,615 individuals free of cognitive impairment
published in the Archives of Neurology in 2001 linked
high levels of physical activity with a 42 percent reduction in the
risk of future cognitive impairment. Additionally, the research
correlated high levels of physical activity with a 50 percent
reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's and a 37 percent
reduction in the risk of other forms of dementia (Wlassoff, 2014,
para. 3-4).
Aerobic exercise
In a six-month, randomized, controlled trial that followed 30 older adults whose average age was 70 for six months, also published in the Archives of Neurology in 2010, those participating in high-intensity aerobic exercise scored high in their overall cognitive functioning than a control group enrolled in stretching exercises. However, women received more benefit from high-intensity aerobic exercises than men (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 6).
Aerobic exercise
In a six-month, randomized, controlled trial that followed 30 older adults whose average age was 70 for six months, also published in the Archives of Neurology in 2010, those participating in high-intensity aerobic exercise scored high in their overall cognitive functioning than a control group enrolled in stretching exercises. However, women received more benefit from high-intensity aerobic exercises than men (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 6).
Resistance training
A 16-week long longitudinal study of 34 older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's, published in Geriatrics &Gerontology International in April 2013, found that strength, or resistance, training improved their ability to complete Activities of Daily Living and small tasks (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 7-8). While research as associated Alzheimer's Diseased with the loss of muscle mass, strength training increases muscle mass (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 9). Accordingly a study of 900 dementia patients that appeared in the Archives of Neurology in 2009 equated a decreased risk of dementia with greater muscle strength (Wlassoff, 2014, para.10).
The two combined
Current research on exercise programs shows that combining strength and aerobic training for a year benefits individuals already diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia since individuals who have high levels of cardio-respiratory fitness have lower levels of brain atrophy (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 12).
Regular
exercise might include such activities as walking, jogging,
bicycling, swimming, stretching, and skipping can slow the
progression of dementia while at the same time, taking part in
moderately intensive resistance training twice weekly can also
improve cognitive functioning (Wlassoff, 2014, para. 13).
____________
Strength Training Helps Prevent
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's
| Working with two pound weights is easy for older adults to do. |
Older
adults who regularly lift weights retain their executive functioning
skills longer since any exercise that increases blood flow to the
brain also enhances brain growth. In some instances, older adults who
participated in strength training out performed their peers who
exercised aerobically. Not only does this validate exercising with
two to five-pound weights, but it also shows that seniors need to
incorporate both aerobic and strength training exercise into their
daily routines.
Gupta,
Sanjay. (2012 July 16). Strength training key to preventing
Alzheimer's. The
Chart.
Retrieved from
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/16/strength-training-key-in-preventing-alzheimers/
Studies
presented at the 2012 Alzheimer's Association International
Conference indicate that resistance training improves older adults'
cognitive abilities, even though all of the studies included around
150 participants or less (Gupta, 2012, July 16, para. 1-2).
One
study divided women between the ages of 70 and 80 into three exercise
groups—weight lifting, walking, or balance and toning exercises
whereupon each group exercised twice week for six months (Gupta,
2012, July 16, para. 4). Using MRI screening and testing for
cognitive executive functioning, determining how well the
participants paid attention to details, recalled information and
where able to plan, those who took up weight lifting most improved
their cognitive abilities (Gupta, 2012, July 16, para. 6-8). [Note:
Gupta doesn't indicate whether researchers administered the
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to participants, but the
description sounds like they did.]
Moreover,
those women who started at a “higher cognitive baseline”
benefited the most from resistance training (Gupta, 2012, July 16,
para. 11). Another
study that followed 155 women aged 65 to 75 who either participated
in strength training or balance and toning exercises over the course
of a year had the same results (Gupta, 2012, July 16, para. 12-13). Additionally,
three preliminary studies indicated that a shuffling gait like
falling is an indicator—not a predictor—of cognitive impairment
(Gupta, 2012, July 16, para. 16-24).
Michelon,
Pascale. (2012, May 1). Aerobic exercise or weight training to boost
brain function? Sharp Brains. Retrieved from
http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2012/05/01/aerobic-exercise-or-weight-training-to-boost-brain-function/
While
long-established research shows that aerobic exercise accelerates the
growth of brain cells, establishes links between them, and lowers the
risk of developing Alzheimer's, a new study suggests that weight
training might also help preserve cognitive functioning (Michelon,
2012, May 1, para. 1).
The StudyResearch divided 86 women diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Disorder into three groups—a resistance training group, an aerobic exercise group, and a balance and toning group—each meeting twice weekly for six months. Testing assessed their executive functions, and 22 of the women received MRI brain scans. Resistance training improved thinking and memory and increased blood flow to the occipital and frontal regions of the brain while aerobic exercise didn't enhance the brain's performance, although it did boost cardiovascular functioning (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 2-5).
What's new?
The study is one of the first randomized, controlled trials that compares the efficacy of resistance training, thus, continuing to validate the findings of a 2010 study that showed that twice weekly, strength training improved the executive functioning of women aged 65 to 75, who were already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and that the study participants continued to benefit from its effects of weight training six-months later (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 6-8).
So
what?
The study evidences that weight training my increase executive functioning skills, but it doesn't prove that the risks of developing Alzheimer's decrease if an older adult takes up lifting weights (Michelon, 2012, May 1, para. 9).
Research thus concludes that taking part in vigorous aerobic exercise and weight training should be part of a daily, brain-healthy fitness plan (Michelon, 2013, May 1, para. 13).
References
Davis Jennifer C., Maarra, Carlo A. & Beattie, Lynn, et al. (2010, December 13/27). Sustained cognitive and economic benefits of resistance training among community-dwelling senior women: A 1-year follow-up study of the brain power study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 170(22), 2036–2038. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.462. [Full article]. Retrieved from http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=776438 *
Nagamatsu,
Lindsay S., Handy, Todd C., & Hsu, C. Liangetal, et
al. (2012, April
23). Resistance training promotes cognitive and functional brain
plasticity in seniors with probable mild cognitive impairment.
Archives of Internal Medicine,
172 (8), 666-668. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.379. [Full
article]. Retrieved from
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1135414*
Williams,
J. W., Plassman, B. L., Burke, J., et
al. (2010).
Preventing Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Decline. NIH
Evidence Report.
Retrieved from Retrieved from
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/alzcog-evidence-report.pdf
____________
Pumping
iron could ward off dementia. (2015, February 16). Medical
Xpress.
Retrieved from
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-iron-ward-dementia.html
Research
on resistant training and its effects on cognitive functioning
conducted by the University of Sydney and published in the December
2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors
Association reveals that strength training improves the mental
abilities of older adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Consequently, the Australian researchers concluded that resistance
exercises have the potential of reducing dementia risk just as weight
training stimulates the hormones that make muscles grow (Pumping
iron, 2015, February 16, para. 1-4 &11).
Study
participants who completed six months of weight training
significantly improved their cognitive function along with their
ability to plan and organize as well as strengthen their visual
memory. Additionally, cognitive functioning continued to improve for
a year even after the strength-training sessions ended (Pumping iron,
2015, February 16, para. 6).
Researchers
tracked 100 study participants to see if they could prevent or delay
the onset of dementia by either taking part in computer-based brain
training, weight-training, or a combination of the two, but only the
weight training actually improved scores on the Alzheimer's
Assessment Scale Cognitive Subscale test. Here, the number of
weight-training subjects scoring in the normal ranged doubled within
six months. Researchers speculate that the combined physical and
mental training was too stressful to improve participants' scores
(Pumping iron, 2015, February 16, para. 8-11).
Radcliffe,
Shawn. (2015). Strength training boosts seniors' brains. Men's
Fitness.
Retrieved from
http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/strength-training-boosts-seniors%E2%80%99-brains
Older
adults showing the first signs of Mild Cognitive Impairment may be
able to prevent [or delay] dementia by taking up resistance training,
according to a study of at risk women who participated in 60 minute
exercise classes twice weekly for a six-month period. Researchers
couldn't determine why resistance training improve brain functioning
while walking and toning exercises had no effect.
However, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia speculates, “It could be that resistance training requires more learning and monitoring by its very nature” (Radcliffe, 2015, para. 1).
| A friend or family member can check your progress. |
Sifferlin,
Alexandra. (2012, July 16). Mind your reps: Exercise, especially
weight lifting, helps keep the brain sharp. Time.
Retrieved from
http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/16/mind-those-reps-exercise-especially-weight-lifting-helps-keep-your-brain-sharp/
Four
studies presented in July 2012 at the Alzheimer's Association
Internal Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, indicate
that regular exercise, and most particularly strength training with
weights, improves thinking and reasoning in older adults (Sifferlin,
2012, July 16, para. 2).
When
University of Pittsburgh researchers led by Kirk Erickson signed up
120 sedentary adults for a year-long exercise program either
participating in “moderate-intensity” walking regime or a
stretching and toning program, the walkers improved their memory as
well as increasing the volume of the hippocampus compared to the
participants who only stretched and toned. Some of the participants
in both groups were “cognitively healthy” while some reported
“memory lapses” Sifferlin, 2012, July 12, para. 2-4).
A similar Japanese study led by Hiroyuki Shimada evaluated the cognitive functioning of 47 adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, assigning them either to an exercise program that combining aerobics, strength, and balance training twice weekly for 90 minutes and a control group that only attended health-education classes. At the end of the study, the exercise group had improved their memory and language skills (Sifferlin, 2012, July 16, para. 5).
A similar Japanese study led by Hiroyuki Shimada evaluated the cognitive functioning of 47 adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, assigning them either to an exercise program that combining aerobics, strength, and balance training twice weekly for 90 minutes and a control group that only attended health-education classes. At the end of the study, the exercise group had improved their memory and language skills (Sifferlin, 2012, July 16, para. 5).
A
third study conducted by the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver assigned women aged 70 to 80 to either resistance training,
aerobic training, or balance and toning twice weekly for six months.
At the end of the study, the strength training group mentally
out-performed the other two groups, although those women who
participated in aerobic exercise did improve their memory recall
(Sifferllin 2012, July 16, para. 7).
Another
study also conducted by the University of British Columbia
researchers followed 155 “community-dwelling” women aged 65 to 75
randomly assigned to participate in either resistance training or
balance and toning exercises. Even though both groups of women
improved their memories, those who showed the highest levels of
cognitive functioning at the start of the exercise regime most
improved their cognitive abilities (Sifferlin, 2012, July 16, para.
8).
So older adults need to balance strength training and aerobic exercise.
____________
Aerobic Exercise
Improves Executive Function
Recent
studies show that older adults can begin to reverse cognitive decline
through daily aerobic exercise in as little as three months. Thus,
taking a brisk walk daily for at least 30 minutes daily is a really
smart move! However, to lose weight, this exercise needs to be continuous.
“Exercise
improves
your
memory and could become a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s
disease." As of yet, it doesn't cure all Alzheimer's but it can aid executive functioning in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and the longer an Alzheimer's patient can stay at home, the better!
You must exercise to improve your memory.
Concluding
the Inaugural International Symposium on Alzheimer's Disease on June
6, 2011, Kenneth Rockwood, Professor of Geriatric Medicine and
Neurology and Weldon Professor of Alzheimer Research at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, praised the positive effects of
vigorous exercise, or “a brisk walk that puts perspiration on your
shirt” on the elderly, since regular exercise lowers the possible
of developing Alzheimer's by as much as 30 percent. At the same
time, aerobic exercise improves motor function, auditory attention,
memory and executive function, or the ability to multitask, while
increasing brain blood flow, improving the brain's ability to use
oxygen and glucose as well as to eliminate waste and toxic free
radicals (Methodist Houston, 2011, para.1-2).
Aerobic
exercise additionally encourages the creation of brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor (ILGF)
which respectively promote neural growth and increases the
connections between neural synapses, according to Dr. Rockwood.
Moreover, he notes that working out also regulates the dopamine and
acetylcholine necessary to maintain nerve function, mood, and
cognition. Energetic exercise also adds to the cognitive reserve
that reduces brain aging and improves well being, self-confidence, and
quality of sleep (Methodist Houston, 2011, para. 3).
Research published in the February 2011 issue of PNAS and sponsored by the National Institute of Health also showed that aerobic training increases the size of the hippocampus (Methodist, 2011, para. 4).
The Hippocampus
| The hippocampus controls executive functioning and spatial memory. |
In
a randomized trial of 120 cognitively normal older adults, conducted
by Erickson, Voss, Prakash, et al, University of Pittsburgh
researchers found that robust aerobic exercise increased the volume
of the anterior hippocampus by two percent, thus improving spatial
memory and reversing by two or three years the normal rate of
hippocampal atrophy. Previous studies have similarly shown that
hippocampus volume increased with cognitive activity. For example,
MRI scans of London taxi drivers could boast of a significantly
larger hippocampus than the hippocampus of bus drivers (Methodist
Houston, 2011, para. 5).
Exercise &
Your Brain
All of these studies point out that its possible to grow the areas of the brain possible for memory since the adult human brain has the capacity to structurally change in response to environmental demands. Hence, when the Canadian Study of Health and Aging evaluated the impact on the health status of older Canadians, findings strongly associated better mental and physical health for older adults who continued to exercise (Methodist Houston, 2011, para. 6).
This finding holds true even for older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's. For example, when A. Vreugdenhil and other Australian researchers compared nursing home residents with Alzheimer's who regularly exercised for four months under the supervision of their caregivers with those who didn't, the group that exercised increased their scores on the Mini Mental State Examination by 2.6 points and perhaps or more importantly improved their Activities of Daily Living Scores by 1.6 points (Methodist Houston, 2011, para. 7).
Rockwood thus concluded that aerobic exercise not only defends against dementia, but both aerobic exercise and resistance training can maintain brain health as well as maintain cognitive function in patients diagnosed with early Alzheimer's (Methodist Houston, 2011, para. 8).
Rockwood thus concluded that aerobic exercise not only defends against dementia, but both aerobic exercise and resistance training can maintain brain health as well as maintain cognitive function in patients diagnosed with early Alzheimer's (Methodist Houston, 2011, para. 8).
Unmentioned Sources for the Methodist Houston Article
Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., & Prakash, R. S., et al. (2010, December 30). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS. 108 (7). [Free text]. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full*
Hubbard,
R. E., Fallah, N. & Searle, S. D., et al. (2009, July 8).
Impact of exercise in community-dwelling older adults. PLoS One.
4(7), e6174. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006174. [Abstract –Free
article link]. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19584926
Researchers at the Geriatric Medicine
Research Unit at the Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II
Health Science Centre, Halifax, Canada, investigated the impact of
exercise on community-dwelling older adults and determined across
all grades of frailty death rates of men and women over the age of
75 were similar to those who didn't exercise. However, those who
exercised were more likely to improve their health status.
___________
Maguire, E. A., Wollett, K., & Spiers, H. J. (2006). London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis. Hippocampus. 16 (2). 1091-101. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17024677
Researchers affiliated with the Institute of Neurology at University College, London, when comparing taxi drivers with bus drivers, the cabbies had more gray matter volume in the mid-posterior hippocampi and less volume in the anterior hippocampi. Years of finding their way around London correlated with hippocampal gray matter only in the taxi drivers. Researchers thus theorized that spatial knowledge correlates with greater hippocampal gray matter volume, although when testing both bus drivers and cabbies on their ability to acquire new visual-spatial knowledge, the bus drivers did better.
Dr. Rockwood included this information about visual-spatial reasoning in his brain, although the inability to remember such patterns is perhaps not the missing skill that plague MCI and early Alzheimer's patients most, although they do often forget where they are in what should otherwise be familiar places.
Note: In additional to visual spatial reasoning, or cognitive visualization skills, the brain is responsible for five additional functions: memory and learning, executive planning, language and math, emotional responses and social interactions. Exercising even late in life helps primarily with executive function (Brainwaves Center, 2013).
Alzheimer's begins in the entorhinal cortex, an area of the brain next door to the hippocampus with direct connections to it. Alzheimer's then gradually spreads to the hippocampus, a region of the brain that converts short-term to long-term memories. However, it may take ten to 20 years before a neurologist can diagnose probable Alzheimer's (NIA, 2015, January 22, para. 2-3). Because it takes so long for Alzheimer's to develop, it makes sense to combat it in every way possible, including doing enough exercise to raise the heart rate for 30 minutes daily. Individuals diagnsed with Mild Cognitive Impairment or mild Alzheimer's take longer to perform their daily tasks while those showing the signs of moderate Alzheimer's can't carry out multiple steps in a task, hence their inability to perform executive functions (NIA, 2015, January 22, para. 15-16). Researchers now think that regular exercise helps those diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer's plan various activities and multi-task for a longer period of time.
Alzheimer's disease: Unraveling the mystery. Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center. National Institute on Aging. National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/part-2-what-happens-brain-ad/changing-brain-ad
The six brain functions: An explanation of classical brain function. The Brainwaves Center. Allen D. Bragdon Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.brainwaves.com/brain_information.html
____________
Vreugdenhil, A., Cannell, J., & Davies, A., et al. 2012, March). A community-based exercise programme to improve functional ability in people with Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 26 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00895.x. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21564154*
*Abstracts
summarized earlier on this Web page.
| Exercising for an hour three days a week can improve cognitive function in three months. |
Martin,
Dorian. (2013, November 13). Just 12 weeks of aerobic exercise can
benefit your brain Health Central. Retrieved from
http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/727598/164218/aerobic-exercise-benefit/
After reviewing the results of University of Texas, Dallas, Center for Brain Health Study research, Martin contends that it doesn't take that long for aerobic exercise to benefit the brain (Martin, 2013, November 13, para. 1).
After reviewing the results of University of Texas, Dallas, Center for Brain Health Study research, Martin contends that it doesn't take that long for aerobic exercise to benefit the brain (Martin, 2013, November 13, para. 1).
Researchers
assigned 37 cognitively healthy but sedentary volunteers between the
ages of 57 and 75 to either a supervised aerobic program, riding a
stationary bike or walking on a treadmill for one hour three days per
week or to a sedentary control group. After assessing the volunteers
memory and resting blood flow to the brain at the beginning,
midpoint, and end of the study, their findings showed that those
volunteers who exercised experience a better blood flow to the
hippocampus and anterior cingulate when both sitting and resting.
Researchers were surprised that the study participants who exercised
experienced these gains after only a short period of time (Martin,
2013, Martin, 2013, para. 2-4).
Similarly,
a study that appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Science and included researchers from the University of
Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois, Rice Institute, and Ohio
State University, discovered that aerobic exercise reversed the
atrophy of the hippocampus, thus improving memory, in formerly
sedentary adults between the ages of 55 and 80. Those volunteers who
walked around a track for 40 minutes daily three days a week grew
their hippocampus by two percent by the end of a year's worth of
exercising while MRI scans revealed that the hippocampuses of a yoga
and stretching control group shrank by 1.4 percent. Those who
exercised also did better on a memory test and had higher levels of
BDNF (Martin, 2013, para. 4-7).
Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., & Prakash, R. S., et al. (2010, December 30). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS. 108 (7). [Free text]. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full*
References
Agnwall, Elizabeth. (2013, November 13). Exercise boosts memory in adults over 50. Health Talk. AARP Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.aarp.org/2013/11/13/exercise-boosts-memory-in-adults-over-50/
Chapman,
S. B., Asian, S., Spence, J. S., et al. (2013, November 12).
Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and
cardiovascular fitness in aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
5, 75. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2013.00075. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24282403*
*Summarized
earlier on this Web page.
Rojas-Burke,
Joe. (2012, March 9). Alzheimer's research: Aerobic exercise can
protect brain, improve mental agility. The Oregonian.
Retrieved from
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/01/aerobic_training_boosts_aging.html
Researchers
at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Puget Health Care System have confirmed that “high
intensity” aerobic exercise improves the executive functioning
skills of older women diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment in a
six-month study that tested the effects of aerobic exercise on 33 men
and women who were beginning to suffer from memory loss (Rojas-Burke,
2012, March 9, para. 2).
Under the supervision of a fitness trainer, 23 randomly selected volunteers took part in an aerobic exercise program that featured either walking on a treadmill or using a stationary bike four days a week for 45 to 60 minutes that raised their heart-rate reserve to 75 to 85 percent while 10 volunteers, keeping to the same schedule, served as a control group that took part in stretching and balancing exercises maintaining a heart rate at or below 50 percent of their heart-rate reserve. At the end of the six months, the volunteers who took part in aerobic exercises gained some measure of mental agility while the control group's thinking speed, word fluency, and ability to multi-task continued to decline (Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 3).
Under the supervision of a fitness trainer, 23 randomly selected volunteers took part in an aerobic exercise program that featured either walking on a treadmill or using a stationary bike four days a week for 45 to 60 minutes that raised their heart-rate reserve to 75 to 85 percent while 10 volunteers, keeping to the same schedule, served as a control group that took part in stretching and balancing exercises maintaining a heart rate at or below 50 percent of their heart-rate reserve. At the end of the six months, the volunteers who took part in aerobic exercises gained some measure of mental agility while the control group's thinking speed, word fluency, and ability to multi-task continued to decline (Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 3).
But
because research has confirmed that lifestyle factors lower risk
researchers suspect that physical fitness, general health, and a
stimulating environment all bequeath older adults with a reserve
measure of resiliency as the brain ages However, uncontrolled high
blood pressure and diabetes contribute to a loss of brain cells
(Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 11-12).
Thus,
while the University of Washington study backs up the idea that
“heart and brain health go hand in hand”, researchers are puzzled
as to why aerobic exercise didn't improve the memories of the seniors
who exercised aerobically since a similar, Dutch report found that
brisk walkers diagnosed with MCI improved their memories during a
year-long study (Rojas-Burke, 2012, March 9, para. 14-15).
References
Baker, L. D., Frank, L. L.,& Foster-Schubert, K. (2010, January). Effects of aerobic exercise on mild cognitive impairment: A controlled trial. Archives of Neurology. 67 (1), 71-9. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2009.307. [Abstract & Full text]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20065132/ *
“Growing
evidence exists that “aerobic exercise can help prevent, or at
least forestall, Alzheimer's” (Rossman, 2010, June 18, para. 1).
The
Details
Although life style doesn't necessarily prevent or delay Alzheimer's, a National Institutes of Health controlled study suggests that regularly taking part in aerobic exercise can possibly stop or put off the slide into dementia for older adults already diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Citing the findings of the Baker, Frank, and Schubert study published in the January 2010 issue of the Archives of Neurology (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20065132/ *), Rossman summarizes the details of a study in which sedentary adults diagnosed with MCI improved their ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks when they spent six-months briskly walking on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary bike four days a week for an hour while those older adults with MCI that acted as the experiment's control group that also performed stretching and toning exercises continued to have their executive function skills decline (Rossman, 2010, June 18, para. 2-3).
However, the brain-growing benefits of exercise aren't just confined to older adults most at risk for Alzheimer's since Rossman also notes that a University of Illinois study also found that older adults who performed aerobic exercise significantly improved their cognitive function since a five to seven percent increase in cardiovascular fitness led to a 15 percent jump in their performance on mental tests.
However, the brain-growing benefits of exercise aren't just confined to older adults most at risk for Alzheimer's since Rossman also notes that a University of Illinois study also found that older adults who performed aerobic exercise significantly improved their cognitive function since a five to seven percent increase in cardiovascular fitness led to a 15 percent jump in their performance on mental tests.
*Abstract summarized earlier on this Web page.
___________
The links furnished on this Web page represent the opinions of their authors, so they complement—not substitute—for a physician’s advice.
____________
Exercise
Blogs
Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise daily helps preserve
cardiovascular health as well as to prevent or delay dementia.
|
For
additional Web page blogs extolling the benefits of exercise for adults of all ages as well as school children, click
on the following links:
Smith,
Evelyn E. (2013, November 14). Exercising tips: Exercise for better
health. McGregor
Memorial
Public Library Books and Friends.
Retrieved from
http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2013/11/exercising-tips.html
------. (2013, March 31). How to relieve arthritis: A summary of
popular websites: Easing arthritis by weight loss, diet, &
exercise. STEM Library Science Blog. Retrieved from
http://evelynsmithsstemscienceblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-relieve-arthritis-summary-of.html
------. (2014, July 27). Lifestyle choices determine the risk of
Alzheimer's & Mild Cognitive Impairment: Exercising the mind &
body prevents Alzheimer's & MCI. STEM Library Science Blog.
Retrieved from
http://evelynsmithsstemscienceblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/lifestyle-choices-determine-risk-of.html
------. (2015, March 11). Lifestyle factors influence mortality
rates: Lessening the risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2
diabetes, & Alzheimer's simultaneously through diet and exercise.
STEM Library Science Blog. Retrieved from
http://evelynsmithsstemscienceblog.blogspot.com/
------. (2013, March 19). Passive range of motion exercises &
the prevention of contractures: Using muscles—or losing them—in
late stage dementia. STEM Library Science Blog. Retrieved from
http://evelynsmithsstemscienceblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/passive-range-of-motion-exercises.html
------. (2013, November 14). Suggestions for living a long healthy
life: May you live 100 years. McGregor,
Texas, McGinley Memorial Public Library Books and Friends.
Retrieved from
http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2013/11/suggestions-for-living-long-healthy-life.html
------. (2014, March 8). Ways to improve your child's grades (3 of
10): Make sure your child participates in aerobic exercise daily:
Students who regularly exercise make better grades. McGregor,Texas, McGinley Memorial Public Library Books and Friends.
Retrieved from
http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/03/ways-to-improve-your-childs-grades-3-of.html
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