Exercise May Lower Risk of Dementia

Many people don't like working out. They see is as a chore, despite knowing that regular exercise helps manage weight, lower stress, strengthen bones, improve sleep, elevate mood and ease some conditions.

Experts also credit exercise with some brain-health benefits such as improved memory, better cognition and lower risk of dementia. Studies have found that exercise helps:

• Improve blood flow to the brain, which in turn provides the brain with oxygen and nutrients.
• Lower inflammation, which has been identified as a contributor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia.
• Reduce levels of cortisol (stress hormone), which can reduce brain volume. It’s also been associated with impaired memory in symptom-free younger to middle-aged adults, particularly women, according to a study published in Neurology.  
• Increase the volume of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that converts short-term memories into long-term ones.

Exercise is important because it improves how well the body responds to insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that enables your body to use sugar for energy. When your metabolism is functioning properly, your body is sensitive to insulin, meaning that sugar can easily enter cells, allowing the body, including the muscles to use sugar. This ultimately controls blood sugar levels.

However, when your body is resistant to insulin, cells don’t allow sugar to enter, causing the pancreas to generate more insulin. The pancreas will continue responding to the rising blood sugar levels, eventually, causing pancreatic beta cells to wear out, making it impossible for the pancreas to keep up with the body’s insulin demands. This is how prediabetes and type 2 diabetes develops. And it can affect your brain because it may:

• Lower blood flow to the brain. High blood sugar can damage blood vessels and affect the strength and direction of blood flow to the brain.
• Promotes inflammation; it also has ties to chronic, low-grade inflammation.
• Raises cortisol levels and vice versa.
• Decreases hippocampal volume.

Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, helping control blood sugar levels up to 24 hours (sometimes even longer) after your workout, according to the American Diabetes Association. Moreover, Rutgers University researchers found that physical activity activates specialized cells that help your body respond to insulin, according to a study published in Aging Cell. In this very small, brief study, results showed that older adults with prediabetes who engaged in short-term fitness training had improved cognition and memory.

You’re never too young or old to begin working out and taking care of your brain health. In fact, results from a recent study found that lifelong exercise could be a strategy to promote brain health and lower the risk for developing neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Regardless of your age, your first step is talking to your doctor about exercise. Let them guide you regarding the intensity, frequency, duration of workouts and activities, particularly if you live with a chronic condition and take medication. Secondly, meet with a fitness trainer to get set up on an appropriate fitness regimen that may include:

• Mind-body workouts, e.g., yoga, Tai Chi and Qigong, as these activities help improve brain volume, neural activity and functional connectivity. Older adults appreciate these types of workouts because they’re easier on the body.
• Walking, increases blood flow to the brain and helps release brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that stimulates the growth of new brain cells and connections. While walking is effective, results from the study that supports mind-body workouts showed that mind-body workouts were more valuable for brain health than walking.
• HIIT workouts, HIIT is an abbreviation for high-intensity interval workouts that involve short bursts of intense exercise that can last between 15 seconds to 4 minutes. Studies suggest these types of workouts help increase insulin sensitivity. In older adults, HIIT improves executive functions, information processing and memory. In younger adults, HIIT improves executive functions, attention and memory.
• Resistance training is believed to help prevent brain atrophy. There’s evidence that there’s a link between muscular strength and cognitive function in older adults.

To learn more about maintaining your brain health, check out MDVIP’s Brain Health Resource Center >>