How staying active—even by gardening—may reduce Alzheimer's risk
Study ties routine physical activity to lower rate of disease
April 20, 2012
Everyday activity—such as gardening, cooking, and even moving around the house—may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly, according to a study in Neurology.
For the study, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago used an actigraph—a device that registers even minute forms of activity—to monitor the activity levels of 716 elderly individuals who did not have dementia. In the four years following the activity testing, the researchers found that 71 individuals in the study developed signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Using statistical analysis, the researchers determined that the 10% most active participants were 8% less likely to develop the disease over the four years. Meanwhile, the 10% least active participants were 18% more likely to develop the disease over the study period.
Causal connection? Although lead study author Aron Buchman acknowledged that the study does not prove whether reduced activity levels or brain issues come first, he said the study suggests that "increasing all kinds of movements may be beneficial in the long run."
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Dr. Joe Verghese, associate professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in the Bronx, conducted a research study comparing the effects of different types of physical and mental activities. Dance was the only physical activity that was found to reduce the risk of dementia.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason, Verghese has a few theories. “Dance is a complex activity. You have to follow the music, remember the steps and improvise,” says Verghese. “And it’s a physical activity so it also increases the flow of blood to all parts of the body, including the brain.”
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The six pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle are:
Regular exercise
Healthy diet
Mental stimulation
Quality sleep
Stress management
An active social life
According to the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation, physical exercise reduces your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 50 percent.
Alzheimer’s & dementia prevention pillar #3: Mental stimulation
Those who continue learning new things throughout life and challenging their brains are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, so make it a point to stay mentally active. In essence, you need to “use it or lose it.”
Activities involving multiple tasks or requiring communication, interaction, and organization offer the greatest protection. Set aside time each day to stimulate your brain. Cross-training with these brain-boosting activities will help keep you mentally sharp:
* Learn something new. Study a foreign language, learn sign language, practice a musical instrument, read the newspaper or a good book, or take up a new hobby. The greater the novelty and challenge, the larger the deposit in your brain reserves.
* Practice memorization. Start with something short, progressing to something a little more involved, such as the 50 U.S. state capitals. Create rhymes and patterns to strengthen your memory connections.
* Enjoy strategy games, puzzles, and riddles. Brain teasers and strategy games provide a great mental workout and build your capacity to form and retain cognitive associations. Do a crossword puzzle, play board games or cards, or work word and number games, such as Scrabble or Sudoku.
* Follow the road less traveled. Take a new route, eat with your non-dominant hand, rearrange your computer file system. Vary your habits regularly to create new brain pathways.
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Dr. Bresky, self described as a Preventive Gerontologist, is a creative thinker who loves working with elders. He has many patients in their 90?s. He has developed an Alzheimer’s prevention plan, and tells us that there is plenty of science to back it up. So why isn’t everyone doing this?
“It’s work” says Bresky. “Lots of people just don’t want to do the work”. They want a pill, or a doctor, or the government to fix it for them.
He explains that dementia is a chronic inflammatory disease. As with heart disease, which is also a chronic inflammatory problem, lifestyle is everything. Dr. Bresky says what we eat has a tremendous preventive effect. “A Mediterranean diet alone lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease by 40%” he says. He urges all his patients to eat the way people do in Italy and Greece, where studies were done on why these populations had the lowest risk of heart disease. A diet high in fruits and vegetables, with plenty of fish, nuts and other sources of mono-unsaturated fats and low in meats is part of the strategy he recommends.
The other parts of his plan include listening to music 30 minutes daily, as music heals. “The brain works through numbers and patterns”, he says. Listening to Mozart’s piano concerto stimulates the brain in a particular way that has a specific effect we want. He suggests that Mozart is the best kind of music for prevention of Alzheimer’s, as compared with other types of music.
As most doctors tell us, we also need to find good stress reduction techniques. “I teach people how to meditate or pray”, says Bresky. It works. Chronic stress is damaging, and “depression kills brain cells”.
Walking is also essential to this prevention effort. Walking just four hours a week reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 30%, he says. Along with these things, his plan includes laughter, 9-10 hearty laughs a day. It requires drinking plenty of water, good quality sleep, and the novel idea that health measures include doing a simple or small act of kindness for another person every day.
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