Exercising twice a week for 10 minutes reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s



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The way you take care of your overall health certainly changes with age. But unlike cardiovascular issues or diabetes, a course of action may be less clear when it comes to lowering your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be easily ruled out: Neurodegenerative disease is responsible for 60 to 80% of dementia cases and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. But, according to one study, doing one thing for just 10 minutes twice a week can greatly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Read on to see how you can easily improve your brain health.

RELATED: If You Notice This At Night It May Be An Early Sign Of Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds.

Mature woman enjoying walking exercise by the lake
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The latest results come from a study published in November in the journal Alzheimer’s research and therapy. A team of researchers from Yonsei University College of Medicine in South Korea analyzed the medical records of 247,149 participants diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) between 2005 and 2009 and an average age between 64 and 69 years to test the likelihood that patients develop Alzheimer’s disease. disease. The researchers noted that people diagnosed with MCI are ten times more likely to develop degenerative neurological disease than the general population.

Participants were then followed up twice during the study, including a questionnaire asking them how much they had exercised in the previous week. The results found that participants who performed moderate to vigorous exercise for 10 minutes or more twice a week were 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who did not.

Elderly man stretching with a group of people in a park while exercising
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While the two short sweating sessions resulted in a considerable drop in the risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease, training more gave even better results. Data showed that those who exercised for 10 minutes three to five times a week were still 15% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who exercised fewer times every seven days.

The results also showed that patients who later started their exercise habit still saw benefits. Participants who did not start training until after their diagnosis of MCI saw an 11% decrease in disease risk. On the other hand, those who stopped exercising after their diagnosis complied with expectations, developing Alzheimer’s disease at the same rate as participants who had not previously exercised.

RELATED: Drinking Your Coffee Like This May Lower Your Risk for Alzheimer’s, Study Finds.

Elderly woman putting on headphones while preparing for a walk
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The team ultimately concluded that regular exercise could prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease by supporting the increased production of molecules that help neurons grow and survive, as well as increase blood flow to the brain. . This probably prevents a reduction in brain size that is often associated with dementia.

“Our results indicate that regular physical activity may protect against the conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease”, Hanna cho, MD, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “We suggest that regular exercise be recommended for patients with mild cognitive impairment. Even if a person with mild cognitive impairment did not exercise regularly before their diagnosis, our results suggest that starting to exercise regularly after the diagnosis could significantly reduce his risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. “

Two senior male athletes jogging in the park
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Other recent studies have also shown that exercise can help prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) set out to better understand how blood flow to the brain can affect the onset of dementia by bringing together 70 participants aged 55 to 80 who had been diagnosed with loss of memory and randomly divided them into two groups. The team then asked one group of participants to do stretching exercises three to five times a week for 30 to 40 minutes, while the other group had to do a brisk walk three to five times a week for the same. duration.

After a year, MRI scans showed that those in the group who were prescribed aerobic exercise had increased blood flow to their brains and the blood vessels in their necks were less stiff. Participants in the stretch group did not display the same results.

“There is still a lot we don’t know about the effects of exercise on cognitive decline later in life,” C. Munro Cullum, PhD, professor of psychiatry at UTSW and co-lead author of the study, said in a statement. “MCI [mild cognitive impairment] and dementia are likely to be influenced by a complex interplay of many factors, and we believe that, at least for some people, exercise is one of those factors. “

RELATED: Doing This Thing Twice a Day Lowers Your Risk of Dementia, Study Finds.

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