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> It's important to note this does not change what we know about exercise's ability to protect against dementia. People who exercise more are less likely to get
by Spare_account 8y ago
> It's important to note this does not change what we know about exercise's ability to protect against dementia. People who exercise more are less likely to get dementia, possibly because it maintains blood flow to the brain.
Exercise can delay the onset of dementia. I wasn't aware it has been claimed to slow its progress.
- wisty 8y agoIIRC most "slow the onset" things are basically building up enough "reserve" that the symptoms aren't immeditely obvious. If you're well educated, alert (maybe from exercise?) and so on then the early signs of dementia may just be less obvious. If you forget a few names but can do the cryptic crossword or run a mile then relatives will not push you to get tested.
- danieltillett 8y agoIt is more that the higher you start the more your cognition can decline before you have symptoms that are bad enough to be diagnosed. If you started out with a youthful g of 150 and you declined to 100 then no doctor would even notice, but if you started at 75 then a decline to 65 will be catastrophic.
- seunosewa 8y agoThis makes me wonder if there are easier ways to get more blood flow to the brain and enjoy the protective benefit, such as sleeping with your legs up every night, or showering with very warm water every morning and evening.
- VLM 8y agoThere is considerable nervous system involvement in safe exercise. I wonder if playing a twitchy video game would have similar cognitive effects. If hand-eye coordination can improve in teens, I don't see why it can't improve in dementia patients and improved coordination might mask some symptoms. The assumption is exercise results in higher blood flow which does "something". I know its easier to concentrate when you have practice concentrating, and for many boring people, exercise might be their only daily experience with concentrating, aside from the rare occasional dementia testing. Possibly forcing concentration on a regular basis (via exercise, or whatever alternative) results in better cognitive test results. I suppose a lot depends on defining exercise as staring at a TV while walking on a treadmill vs playing racquetball.
- chokma 8y agoSleeping with the legs up ... more blood flow to the head may also increase effects of glaucoma.
- nradov 8y agoWhy do you want an easier way?
- hmahncke 8y agoSadly, there aren't any randomized controlled trials showing that exercise can delay the onset of dementia. There are observational studies that associated exercises with delayed onset of dementia, but they cannot show the direction of causality - it could be that people who are healthier and not at risk for dementia tend to exercise more as a result. There are RCTs showing improvement in cognitive function in healthy older adults, which one might hope means that the onset of dementia is delayed - but that has not actually been shown.