Can exercise REDUCE THE RISK for Cognitive Dysfunction?

as we age the risk for a decline in our cognitive function increases affecting our day-to-day lives so in this video we look at if exercise can slow this process down hi everyone and welcome to exercise for health and although age and genetics are the biggest risk factors for a decline in cognitive function this is your mind skills that include memory thinking processing of information perception decision making attention learning and language abilities there are other modifiable factors that can also increase the risk these include less education in early life lack of sleep high levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood high blood pressure insulin resistance or the onset of diabetes obesity stress and DEP depression smoking poor oral health hearing loss social isolation and you've probably guessed it lack of physical activity in 2017 Livingston ATL concluded that 35% of people living with dementia was as a result of these modifiable risk factors so poor lifestyle behaviors could potentially increase the risk for a number of conditions associated with cognitive deficits so how can exercise and physical activity play a role in reducing the risk well it's widely understood that cardiovascular exercise improves blood flow to the brain which in turn helps with cognitive function and thinking so going walking swimming cycling running or using cardio machines at home or in the gym such as cross trainers stair climbers rowers or ski for 150 minutes a week or more will be a great way of reducing the risk for cognitive dysfunction also exercising during the day will vastly improve your lymphatic clearance reducing toxins in the brain at night and you can improve this further by placing a pillow underneath your ankles when you sleep so the legs are slightly raised in the short term aerobic exercise can also improve how healthy adults perform on thinking tests pulling together the results of 29 clinical trials a month or more of regular aerobic exercise show great benefits regular exercise showed improvements in memory attention and thinking speed when compared with regular non-ob exercis exes Dr Peter ATA suggests that when it comes to exercise more is better but as a guideline for your weekly exercise regime to slow the decline of cognitive function a third should be devoted to steadystate cardio exercise a third should be focused on strength training and a third should include some form of interval training this is exercising at a moderate to vigorous intensity with short periods of low intensity work or rest in between Dr Andrew huberman explains that exercises using your body weight where the skeleton is placed under loads such as squats lunges push-ups and pull-ups cause a protein in the bone called osteocalcin to be released into the bloodstream and sent to the brain that improves its function doing some form of strength exercise whether using your body weight or resistance equipment in a gym on 3 to four days a week where it doesn't have to be extremely strenuous can be very beneficial to your brain health in addition grip strength can be a good indicator of age and cognitive function a collective study in 2020 showed that a lower score in hand grip strength is associated with a 36% increase in cognitive dysfunction so maintaining physical body strength is crucial to maintaining brain function several studies have also shown people who are physically active at age 70 experienced less brain shrinkage over three years than those who were not exercise also shown positive effects on the brains of healthy older people in one trial a year of doing regular exercise resulted in a small increase in the size of the hippocampus the key brain area involved in memory this is the same as reversing 1 to two years of AG related shrinkage as with drug trials to find treatments for dementia similar Studies have been carried out to look at the impact of excise regimes on memory and thinking problems one such study called the excert study found that people taking part in the 12 month program of aerobic or stretch and exercise showed no decline in memory and thinking skills whereas people who did not do either exercise regime showed some decline in their mental abilities therefore leading a Physically Active lifestyle where you conduct some form of exercise for at least 150 minutes a week over 3 to 5 days that includes movements that get you breathless and types of exercise to enhance your strength coupled with modifying your lifestyle behaviors where you can change any other risk factors that you have will help reduce your cognitive decline through middle age and into later life I hope the information provided in this video helps motivate you to exercise more if you found it useful please give it a like by clicking the Thumbs Up Button below and consider subscribing if you haven't already you can also check out the description for ways that you can help support this channel but thank you so much for watching and until next time stay active and keep moving to feel better