Dementia affects >55 million people worldwide. Cognitive decline (challenges with making decisions, remembering and concentrating) affects approximately twice as many. While dementia is rare below 65 years of age, by 85, nearly one in five will have dementia. And cognitive decline can be measured in people in their 20s and 30s. To many people, dementia is believed to be inevitable- as you age the mind deteriorates and there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can. We now know there are a number of modifiable risk factors for dementia including being inactive. Research is clearly showing that activity and exercise sharpens the mind.
Regular Exercise Sharpens the Mind
Randomized studies of exercise training in adults have consistently resulted in improvements in short-term memory. And the effects appear to be greater in older adults. However, you may need to keep up your exercise routine to maintain these benefits as people whose exercise decreased also saw a decrease in memory gains. While most studies have focused on aerobic exercise, resistance and strengthening exercise can also improve memory.
People who are more active also tend to be more creative. And creativity can improve through exercise training. An eight week program of twice weekly running was found to increase creativity compared to a group of non-exercisers.
Regular activity has a small, but significant effect on lowering your chances for cognitive decline. While small in the short-term, this effect can be substantial over decades. And this benefit can even be seen in people over 85 years old. The association of activity with preventing dementia is more robust. And middle-aged adults who had higher fitness levels, also had a lower chance for dementia. It’s also been suggested as little as 3800 steps/day can reduce your chances for dementia by 25% over seven years. And at close to 10 000 steps/day, the risk went down by 50%. The chances of dementia also decreased in those who walked at a brisk pace (about 110 steps/minute).
In Just One Exercise Session…
While a single exercise session may not instantly improve your strength or fitness, it can lead to improvements in how you think. Memory improves in young and older adults as a result of exercise. This can be from a short session of strength training, or aerobic activities. And it can even happen with a session as short as two minutes. The effect applies to both mental memory and remembering motor skills. The improved memory can also last for a week later.
Learning, which is related to memory, also is improved by exercise. Like memory, learning in young adults improved following aerobic exercise sessions. Some of these sessions were only a couple of minutes long. And it may not matter how long the exercise is, or the intensity. Short five-minute bursts of calisthenics during a 50-minute university lecture improved both attention and learning as indicated by test results immediately following and two days later. The benefits on learning in older adults are less clear as one study found no effect from high-intensity exercise, while another reported low learners benefited from moderate exercise.
Exercise can also improve your creativity. People who are active tend to score higher on creativity tests. Even a single bout of exercise can enhance your creativity. This has been known for years, as writers such as Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, spends a few minutes every hour when writing doing push-ups and sit-ups. And research backs this up- breaking up sitting time with activity can improve cognitive function. But it doesn’t need to be exercise per se. Greater amounts of everyday activity are also associated with higher levels of creativity.
Being Active with Dementia
Exercise and activity are recommended for people with dementia as well. This is due, in part, to exercise benefiting your general health and well-being, as well as the improvements to mood from exercise. In addition, regular activity can help promote a day/night routine and may make activities of daily living easier. It can also improve mobility and potentially reduce the chances of falls.
Whether exercise can help improve symptoms of dementia is not clear. A review of studies found no effect of exercise interventions on symptoms. Likewise, whether exercise can improve cognitive function is also uncertain. Studies to date have not shown any effect. One of the largest studies also found no effect of a four-month exercise program when measured eight months later. However, it’s uncertain whether this finding reflects the exercise program or the following eight months of no exercise intervention.
In those with mild dementia, exercise may help with lowering the chances of hospitalization. And a study of 60 252 people with dementia found those who were more active, had a lower chance of early death. It didn’t seem to matter the intensity of the activity as benefits from light to vigorous were similar. However, it’s possible those who had more severe dementia were less likely to be active and more severe cases of dementia are associated with earlier death.
The Effect of Exercise on Your Brain
One way exercise helps sharpen your mind is by reducing how much time you spend being sedentary. Sedentary time, which for most people is sitting, is associated with poor health. And being sedentary for more than 10 hours per day, will increase your chances for dementia. The risk appears to be greater for passive activities such as watching TV. However, if you’re more active, you’re likely being less sedentary. And even breaking up your sitting time with 20 minutes or more of activity can improve your cognitive function.
Exercise also has a biological effect on the brain. Regular exercise is associated with greater blood flow to the brain, which seems to be important in improving cognitive function. However, stopping exercise for even ten days can reduce brain blood flow. Exercise also leads to an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels (low levels are associated with increased chances for dementia). And other studies have shown exercise increases the creation of neurotransmitters, brain volume, brain connectivity and ability for the brain to develop. Specifically increasing the volume of the hippocampus which is the major brain centre for learning and memory.
So whether you’re writing a novel, studying for a test or wanting to prevent dementia, exercise and activity can help you along.
If you like this post, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog at the bottom of the page.
Enjoy listening to podcasts? Check out my show How to Health. A podcast about you and your health.
Leave a Reply