According to a recent issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, regular physical exercise is the most powerful tool available to prevent Alzheimer's disease and improve brain function in those who already have it. One Mayo Clinic study found that older adults who regularly engaged in moderate exercise five or six times a week reduced their risk of mild cognitive impairment by 32 percent compared with more sedentary people.
After reviewing over 1,600 papers, J. Eric Ahlskog, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic says, "We concluded that you can make a very compelling argument for exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed."
So what type of exercise may be best?
Aerobic exercise seems to be the broad answer to this question. The researchers broadly defined exercise as enough aerobic physical activity to raise the heart rate and increase the body's need for oxygen. They gave examples of aerobic exercise that included walking, gym workouts and activities at home such as shoveling snow or raking leaves.
One study entitled, Effects of acute bouts of exercise on cognition, concluded that submaximal aerobic exercise performed for periods up to 60 min facilitate specific aspects of information processing; however, extended exercise that leads to dehydration compromises both information processing and memory functions.
The researchers broadly defined exercise as enough aerobic physical activity to raise the heart rate and increase the body's need for oxygen. Examples include walking, gym workouts and activities at home such as shoveling snow or raking leaves.
Seems exercise may be just as important to keeping sharp mentally as it is to our physical heath.