Exercise for Dementia and Alzheimer’s
Exercise might be the best broard treatment/management for Dementia and other diseases that cause cognitive decline. Almost 500,000 people are living with dementia in Australia.
Before anyone makes a comment about medication, I am in no way telling people to avoid medications. When I use the word broad, I am simply implying that basically everyone can do some form of exercise that is likely to have a positive effect on the progression of dementia. Some people are unable to use medications due to various contraindications and unfortunately, and not surprisingly, exercise is not often suggested as an alternative, or even something that can work synergistically with medication despite the strong evidence. Exercise has become a necessity for the modern homosapien largely due to automation of many activities that would have once provided incidental exercise.
I was listening to a psychologist on a podcast talk about brain training exercises for people with dementia. Now i am paraphrasing here but he was talking but he said that we really wanted it to work. As a profession we have studied it countless times but there is no amount of brain training exercise, like sudoku or cross words, that we can do that helps prevent or treat dementia. He then went on to say that the best possible thing someone can do is become physically fit. Simply start doing exercise in order to prevent, manage or helpt treat cognitive decline.
One of the coolest things that I read about exercise for the brain is that it can stimulate the generation of new brain cells. Called neurogenesis, exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for memory formation and storage. Not only can exercise help to form new cells but it helps to protect the brain from ageing. There is some longitudinal research that indicates that regular exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, both areas are susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. It turns out you can basically do any form of aerobic exercise to begin to get the benefits. Couple that with some resistance exercise to get the maximal benefit.
Most of the research is suggesting to exercise at least twice a week and for a total of 2 hours per week. Personally, from what i have read and can understand, I'd suggest getting a total of 2 hours of aerobic exercise per week with about 30 minutes of that at quite a high effort. Then on top of that, aim to perform at least 75 - 90 minutes of resistance training per week as well. So maybe exercise 6 days per week and mix it up. Most people respond best to regular changes in exercise routines. One week get on the bike, next week go for some runs, week after that have a crack at a rowing machine or some swimming. Regularly change it up. As for the weights, focus on large muscle groups and once again, regularly change it up and don’t get into the habit of doing the same things week in week out.
Now if you are a person at risk or with early stages of cognitive impairment then get in touch. You may have other illnesses that need to be taken into consideration when performing exercise. We can help to create a plan that will no doubt help you.
