To Your Health
January, 2025 (Vol. 19, Issue 01) |
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Aerobic Exercise for Alzheimer's
By Editorial Staff
Healthy aging involves every inch of your body, including your brain – particularly with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's progressively affects memory and cognitive (thinking) skills, even if the rest of your body is in tip-top shape.
Alzheimer's disease is much more than just forgetting something or having trouble answering a complex math problem you used to do easily; it interferes with daily life and activities, and in its most severe stage, makes the person completely dependent on others for help with basic activities. Fortunately, one of the best ways to reduce Alzheimer's risk is aerobic exercise.
New published research examined how aerobic exercise influences the hippocampus – the region of the brain responsible for memory and learning; specifically, how aerobic exercise affects key markers of Alzheimer's disease called amyloid plaques, tau tangles and iron accumulation in certain cells. Aerobic exercise correlated with significant reductions in all three Alzheimer's markers. In addition, aerobic exercise also was associated with other variables of brain health, such as reduced brain inflammation and improved communication between brain cells.
Aerobic exercise is one of several lifestyle habits that help maintain brain health with age. For more information, click here for a list of tips from the Mayo Clinic.
