If you've been a regular reader of the Dementia Society of America blog, you know that better heart health can lead to better brain health. Exercise is just one way to increase heart health, so, how do we make exercise a priority in our daily habits and among our countless distractions?
Most people are just kind of trucking through their day, trying to get through their tasks and to-do lists. That might involve getting their kids from school, work-related tasks, and hopefully having some time to spend time with friends or make a quick appearance at the gym.
One very telling trend is the number of people that buy a gym membership, yet fail to use it. While several different studies are posting similar statistics, it is estimated that 73% of people with a gym membership either fail to use it at all or use it so infrequently that it imparts no long term health benefits.
The usual trend is that there are a lot of people who sign up for a year-long gym membership as part of a New Year’s resolution. They get this membership with the best of intentions, but by the middle of January or early February, the vast majority of them have stopped going to the gym. One of the most common excuses use is that their lifestyle doesn’t allow them the time to work out regularly.
I have found that the key to developing a successful long-term exercise routine is to develop a mindset of making the time, instead of finding the time.
You should approach it with the same mentality you would if you were scheduling an office meeting every Monday, or making sure that you’re picking up your kids from school at the same time every day.
Some talk about how juggling their career and family, along with other responsibilities, can be a huge obstacle. While this does present challenges and imposes demands on our time, there are those with even more on their plate that still make it a point to make the time to exercise.
The bottom line is that you need to make the time to exercise, because if you try to find it; the day will get by you and you’ll end up sitting on your couch worrying about our waistline while your brain and everything else suffers as a result of not exercising the way you should.
Contributor: Dr. Michael Trayford is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit https://apexbraincenters.com/
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org
Research has found that there are benefits imparted by exercising in the natural world or a setting that is rich with the things we find in nature; like plants, fresh air, and wildlife.
While gyms serve a great purpose, and some people love them, I prefer to exercise in nature. The natural world provides a deeper and more dynamic level of stimulation for your brain that you simply cannot find at any gym.
One study conducted by Richard Louv, coined the phrase 'Nature Deficit Disorder'.
At first glance, this might sound a bit contrived. However, Louv asserts that human beings are hardwired by evolution to have a connection to nature. Unfortunately, the modern world and the trend for people living in large urban and suburban places reduces the opportunities for people to spend time in nature.
This sentiment that exposure to the natural world has an impact on us has been echoed by many people throughout the generations. The father of the National Parks system and one of the first naturalists, John Muir, said: “Civilized man chokes his soul.”
Although Muir himself lived a significant amount of his life in Martinez, California just outside of Oakland, the goal in his eyes was not that man needed only urban or natural settings, but that both were of equal value and that people who only embraced urban life were indeed cutting themselves apart from the very therapeutic aspects of a direct relationship with the natural world.
'Green Exercise' involves hiking in nature, or getting involved in other activities in the natural world. For people who live and work deep inside urban areas, this could also extend to things like taking a walk in the park, or along a natural stretch of river, or even getting involved in something like a community garden.
When you’re in nature, there is a lot of multimodal stimulation. You’re smelling the trees, flowers and the other scents in the air. You start to notice things like changes in humidity and the presence of birds and other creatures around you.
When you’re in the gym you’re going to have certain smells but you can usually predict what those smells are. It’s old gym equipment and rubber mats on the floor.
When you’re exercising in nature there is a greater sense of self-awareness, improved mood, increased sense of self-esteem, and even an increase in creativity. People exercising in nature tend to have creative thoughts come to them and find it easier to express those ideas with greater clarity.
The bottom line is that exercising in nature does, in fact, elevate the level of your brain and body functions. It’s a win-win for you and nature, and an important way to help build a better brain. I recommend that everybody get out there and do it!
Contributor: Dr. Michael Trayford is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit www.ApexBrainCenters.com/memory.
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org
There is accumulating evidence that Dementia has a long pre-clinical phase that may begin years, or even decades prior to a clinical diagnosis.(1) In addition, there is data indicating the pre-clinical signs of Dementia, in addition to declines in memory and other cognitive skills, also include motor skill difficulties.
It’s difficult to tease out normal age-related changes in coordination and balance from those motor skills that put people at increased risk for Dementia. Measures of pre-clinical impairments include changes in gait and walking speed, loss of muscle mass and strength, as well as reduced manual dexterity and balance.
Once Dementia becomes part of the picture, friends and family members become increasingly aware of the changes in their loved one's memory and organizational skills. They may also notice their loved one has difficulty dressing or walking without assistance. Like the worsening cognition we associate with Dementia, losses in stamina and coordination also reflect more widespread brain damage.
Research shows that physical exercise plays an important role in helping to protect, maintain, and improve the health and well-being of people in either the pre-clinical or the clinical stages of Dementia. As is true for everyone, physical exercises must be safe, interesting, as well as give a sense of accomplishment. However, before embarking on new or increased amounts of physical activity, it is important that you first get approval from your loved one’s doctor.
A physical therapist (PT) is often a good place to start. He or she can devise an exercise plan to improve stamina, flexibility, balance as well as exercises that can prevent falls. You can find information about local physical therapists on the American Physical Therapy webpage. Your loved one's doctor, nurse, or medical social worker are other good sources of information.
Exercise also includes activities such as walking, dancing, gardening, and housework. All are inexpensive, do not require specialized equipment, and come with the satisfaction of having done something useful. As an added benefit all of these, and similar activities are sources of social and cognitive stimulation.
Exercise also includes activities that improve small or fine-muscle motor skills. The ability to button a shirt, open a cereal box, or use eating utensils, helps people who have Dementia maintain their independence for as long as it possible. An occupational therapist (OT) can suggest helpful exercises and adaptive equipment that can make it possible to live at home for as long as is possible. Go to The American Occupational Therapy Association webpage to learn more about occupational therapy and the many ways occupational therapy can help people who have Dementia.
Small muscle exercises include pastimes such as craft projects, scrapbooking, baking, working with clay, painting, and drawing. These simple and inexpensive small muscle activities encourage socialization and maintain or improve cognition. An added benefit and perhaps the most important one is making things to share with others creates mementos of a life together and affirms the whole person.
Contributor: Janet Yagoda Shagam, PhD, is a freelance medical and science writer and the author of “An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia.”
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse or guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
Reference: (1) Buchman AS and D Bennett. Loss of Motor Function in Pre-clinical Alzheimer's Disease. Access; September 25, 2016.
Exercising with someone might sound simple enough, but there are profound benefits from having an exercise partner that are worth exploring.
Some people just go the gym, hop on the treadmill, throw in their earbuds, and do their thing. Others like to take a power hike or mountain bike trip alone in nature. Sometimes that meditative experience is important and they don’t want to necessarily share that special time in their mind with someone else. There are certain martial arts traditions that encourage you to work out alone just for the meditative quality of the experience.
If your workout time isn’t engaged in some meditative aspect, you should strongly consider and seek out someone to work out with you.
One of the biggest benefits of having a workout partner simply boils down to having another person offering you encouragement. There are days when it’s really easy to just stay in bed and you don’t want to get up and put in your workout. If you have somebody you’re meeting up with, it holds you to a higher degree of accountability and a certain amount of social peer pressure.
For some people there’s also an element of friendly competition. People can push each other, in a well-intended manner, to go that extra tenth of a mile, or an extra 10 miles.
There could also be an element of safety involved. People that lift weights routinely need another person to spot them during a wide variety of exercises. It allows them to safely lift a little bit more weight and push a little bit further through the wall than they are used to pushing. Many martial arts involve doing forms to master routine movements. Some of them, like aikido, are greatly improved by having another person relate to the form or even to provide added dynamic motion.
There is a social aspect to it as well. Talking to someone through the course of your workout is in itself added stimulation. Just be smart about it and make sure that your conversation isn’t taking away from actually completing your workout in a timely and effective manner.
Social interaction is critical to brain health and development. When you combine this with other activities like exercise, the compound benefits are something we can’t even measure, but are incredibly helpful to the brain.
#brainhealth #exercise #lovemyrunningbuddy
Contributor Author: Dr. Michael Trayford is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit www.ApexBrainCenters.com/memory.
Posted by Sandra DeHaven, DSA Board Member aka "The Sandstriss." Sandy is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She has more than 35 years experience in the writing and public relations fields, working recently for newspapers and online news services. During her news tenure, she earned a handful of Keystone Press Awards presented by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice, please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org
The phrase “Get moving” can mean something different for each of us. For some people it means getting up, walking on the treadmill, going for a bike ride or walking the dog. Unfortunately, for other people it means getting up, going to the bathroom and going back to the couch. So there is certainly a need to put this concept in perspective.
When it comes to proper brain function, movement is absolutely critical. Think about somebody you know that isn’t very mobile. They might be sedentary because they are bed ridden, have mobility issues or it might just be that they are plain lazy. Do their brains work as well as someone who is active, getting out and about all the time?
The bottom line is that movement is essential for appropriate brain function.
Chances are that you’ve heard the term “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”
The brain essentially is a relay station for sensory information. When we don’t have appropriate sensory information going into the brain from our muscles, joints, balance system and more, it starts to wear away and degenerate more rapidly than it should. In time it can cause the brain not to perform to its highest potential as you could imagine.
The brain is stimulated by nerve fibers from several different sources. This includes senses like vision and hearing, as well as other sources. The nerve fibers that carry information from muscles and joints are by far the largest nerve fibers that supply the brain with the greatest amount of information. If you are inactive, you are cutting out your greatest amount of input to the brain.
This will in turn reduce the efficiency of the output from the brain. This can manifest itself as physical problems, mental and emotional problems, cognitive and thinking problems, and memory decline.
To stimulate the brain, you don’t need particularly intense activity. You can start out small. It might be going to the gym, taking a walk in the woods or on your streets. Just so long as you’re getting out there and getting moving.
Developing the habit of regular activity starts you building a foundation to explore other exercises and more intense activities that can have an even more significant positive impact on brain health.
Contributor Author: Dr. Michael
Trayford is a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist and Founder of APEX
Brain Centers in Asheville, NC. For more information, please visit www.ApexBrainCenters.com/memory.
The opinions expressed by
contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society,
Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or
other forms of content contained within blog posts- that have been provided to
us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical
advice, please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org
