Moderate Activity Protects the Mind

Posted January 22, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Alexandra M. Haller

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Her Health, Her News

New research suggests that a moderate amount of exercise can be just as beneficial as a vigorous workout. What’s interesting in this instance is that your mind might benefit as much as your body. According to a study published in Neurology, moderate physical activity could help protect against a form of dementia in the elderly.

For four years, researchers studied the exercise patterns of rural Italians. These 740 Italians were over age 65 and, at the outset of the study, none of them had any difficulties with their memory. By the end of the study, 85 participants showed signs of dementia, both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

The researchers of Bologna, Italy’s University Hospital S. Orsola-Malpighi didn’t detect any correlation between exercise and Alzheimer’s disease. However, a striking link between exercise and vascular dementia was observed. This type of dementia is the second most common variation after Alzheimer’s. “As its name implies, vascular dementia is a condition where restricted blood flow to certain parts of the brain impacts cognitive abilities, affecting the tissue like a series of small strokes.”

Participants who performed less vigorous activities (think casual cycling or gardening) had a 29% lower risk of vascular dementia. Those who engaged in exercises like walking saw a 27% lower risk (compared to others who engaged in little or no exercise.

“It means that even small amounts of inexpensive and easy-to-perform exercise — just walking — can be of help to protect you against brain vascular damage,” says Dr. Giovanni Ravaglia, the study’s lead author, “and this is a type of exercise that even older disabled people with chronic disease can do without too much trouble.”

These findings support the philosophy that some exercise is better than none and more is better than some. It leads into the idea that some diseases (not all) that were once perceived as the inevitable domain of the elderly might actually be preventable. The key could be a healthy lifestyle, even continuing into old age.

The authors of the study freely admit the shortcomings in their research. Their research didn’t analyze every facet of the participants’ lives. While it’s certain that exercise can provide health benefits, it might also influence other daily habits. People who are regularly active are “more likely to be more careful of their health, what they eat, smoking, alcohol, and so on, reducing their general risk of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis,” Ravaglia says.

In time we’ll probably see that what benefits the body is probably keeping the mind healthy as well.

For research and more information: here.