Can Exercise Lower Your Risk of Dementia?

The benefits that regular exercise can provide to weight and cardiovascular health are well-known. Yet, consistent exercise is also gaining a reputation for supporting healthy cognitive function and even reducing the risk of dementia. In fact, The Alzheimer’s Society now claims that regular exercise can reduce the risk of dementia by roughly 28 percent and, specifically, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 45 percent.

While physical activity is usually defined as any activity that increases the heart rate for 20-30 minutes at a time, some experts now assert that lighter activities like running errands and cleaning the house can also reduce the risk of dementia if performed on a regular basis. Furthermore, regular exercise and other forms of physical activity have even been connected to other cognitive benefits like enhanced focus and memory.

Protect Your Brain with Physical Activity

More brisk physical activity has been connected to a larger impact on reducing the risk of dementia when compared to less intensive physical activity. However, medical experts assert that all varying degrees of physical activity can make a difference.

Aerobic Physical Activity

Moderate aerobic activity is any exercise or activity that makes you breathe faster and experience a warmer body temperature. Some of the aerobic activities that qualify as moderate include:

  • Light or casual swimming
  • Brisk walking
  • Dancing
  • Low intensity cycling
  • Water aerobics
  • Low-intensity hiking
  • Low-intensity tennis (doubles)

There are also more vigorous aerobic forms of physical activity that have the potential to provide increased protection from dementia and other types of cognitive decline. These activities include:

  • High-intensity swimming
  • Running and jogging
  • Aerobics and spinning classes or sessions
  • High intensity cycling, especially uphill
  • High-intensity tennis (singles)

Strength-building physical activities have also been recognized for providing neuroprotective benefits. The most well-known strength-building activity is weightlifting, but there are a variety of other strength-building activities that have the potential to provide cognitive protection:

  • Exercising with resistance bands
  • Body weight exercises like sit-ups and push-ups
  • Pilates, yoga and tai chi

Light Physical Activity

While moderate-to-intense physical activity has been recognized for having a larger impact on reducing the risk of dementia, lighter forms of physical activity should not be ignored. Regular exercise has been connected to reducing the risk of dementia by 28 percent, but even light physical activity has been associated with a 20 percent reduction. Here is even better news: many of these lighter physical activities can be easily worked into a regular routine. Some of these lighter forms of physical activity that have the potential to offer neuroprotective benefits include:

  • Pushing a lawnmower
  • Gardening
  • Walking up stairs and hills
  • Cleaning around the house

What Are the Additional Cognitive Benefits of Exercise?

Reducing the risk of dementia is a life-changing benefit for long-term health, but regular exercise and other forms of physical activity have also been connected to a range of short-term benefits to cognitive function. 

Neurotransmitter Support

Physical activity is known to promote the release of neurotransmitters into the brain, including serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and acetylcholine. Healthy levels of these and other neurotransmitters have long been associated with a reduction in feelings of anxiety as well as the risk of depression.

Anxiety, coupled with high levels of the stress hormone known as cortisol, has also been connected to reduced focus and overall cognitive function. To make matters worse, it has even been connected to an increased risk of dementia.

Enhanced Focus

Exercise has also been recognized for an ability to support enhanced focus and concentration through multiple avenues. One way that exercise can have a positive influence on focus is through its ability to support optimal neurotransmitter function.

Exercise and other forms of physical activity have also been known to support optimal sleep health, and this effect is even more pronounced after exercising during the morning hours rather than later in the day. When you wake up every day well-rested after a good night’s sleep, you’ll be better equipped to focus and think with clarity. Sleep health is also another area where even a light amount of physical activity has the potential to make a huge difference.

Optimal Regeneration and Cognitive Potential

Regular exercise has also been associated with a process in the brain known as neurogenesis, which describes the production of new brain cells. Not only is neurogenesis a critical component of brain development during childhood, but some research suggests that it continues in the hippocampus of the brain throughout adulthood as well. The hippocampus is the region in the brain that is responsible for memory storage.

Learn More About How Exercise Can Support Cognitive Health

The EvexiPEL certified practitioners at EVEXIAS Health Solutions are dedicated to helping men and women support optimal cognitive function and many other aspects of comprehensive wellness. EvexiPEL certified practitioners have been highly trained to provide expert guidance in lifestyle management so that you can enjoy enhanced focus and mental clarity while also promoting long-term cognitive health. In addition to offering expert lifestyle management guidance, EvexiPEL certified practitioners can also provide professional grade nutraceutical products that have been developed to support optimal cognitive function as well as a range of other processes and functions that are essential to whole body health. Find the nearest EvexiPEL certified practitioner today!

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