November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, which is a time we can raise awareness about a disease that affects millions of families worldwide. While there is no cure, and not many great treatment options, research has shown that lifestyle factors like regular exercise can play a big role in delaying symptoms as well as preventing the development of the disease in the first place.
Increase your daily steps
No medication treatment offers a 50% decrease risk of dementia, but a study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Neurology in September 2022 suggests taking 10,000 steps a day can.
In this study, the researchers followed more than 78,000 healthy individuals between the ages of 40 and 79 years old. Each individual wore a fitness tracker for 16-24 hours, at least three days a week, for seven years. The people who walked at least 9,800 steps compared to people who didn’t walk much at all were 51% less likely to develop dementia by the end of the study.
But even people who walked just 3,800 steps were about 25% less likely. So a clear dose response was evident; even increasing your steps just a little showed benefit.
But the greatest benefit came from those who walked with some vigor. Those participants who walked faster (around 3.4 miles per hour or greater) for at least 30 minutes a day were 62% less likely to get a diagnosis of dementia by the end of the study. This study did not include other factors and was purely observational, but other studies also show that aerobic exercise can increase one’s brain health.
For example, according to the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, one-third of dementia could potentially be prevented by addressing modifiable risk factors such as physical exercise. And another study from the University of British Columbia found that regular aerobic exercise appears to increase the size of the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that controls memory and learning. Both of these studies highlighted that aerobic exercise increases blood flow, improves mood and sleep, and decreases inflammation, all of which can decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Including strength training
Vigorous strength training has been shown to reduce the risk as well. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association looked at how strength training affected cognitive function in older adults with already existing mild cognitive impairment (typically a precursor to Alzheimer’s). Participants engaged in high-intensity progressive resistance training twice a week for six months. They showed a significant improvement in cognitive function compared to the group that did only stretching exercises.
Conclusion
There is so much evidence out there that suggests physical exercise can do wonders for people who currently have cognitive impairments, and for preventing disease in the first place. Taking the long way to get places to increase daily steps, or sacrificing 30 minutes of your day may be a challenge, but these studies suggest it may be well worth it in the long run.
Modifiable risk factors, like the number of steps you take each day, are somewhat relieving because you know that you can do something about it. And being able to decrease your risk for a disease like dementia by over 50% just by walking an extra 30 minutes a day is astounding. Now you just have to plan to do it. If it truly matters to you, you’ll make time. If you need help getting started, come see us at the Bradley Wellness Center. We’d love to help.
Tucker Gregg is a fitness consultant at the Bradley Wellness Center.