On Fitness: Exercise Prevents Alzheimer's Disease From Developing By Enlarging The Brain

There's another reason to get up from bed and hit the gym or jog at the park, even at an old age. Latest studies prove that exercise enlarges the brain—making it younger, filling it with more memories and reducing its chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Benefits Of An Active Lifestyle To Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

According to Reader's Digest, brain tissues become smaller as people get older because of the slowing down of brain cell formation. More elderly are suffering from cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease which raises the importance of exercise.

The article cited a previous study of elders from ages 60 to 79 that showed brain growth after being subjected to six months of aerobic exercises. A more recent study from the University of Kentucky as reported by the Daily Mail studied 30 men and women, aged 50 to 60, who the researchers made to run on a treadmill. The participants had heart and lung tests as well as a brain scan that uncovered smooth flow of the blood to the brain, supplying it with oxygen and necessary nutrients.

Reader's Digest discussed further the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory, and most vulnerable to develop Alzheimer's disease. The body has to produce brain-derived neurotrophic factors or BDNFs that will stimulate the formation of brain cells. BDNFs are produced more while the body exercises. This was proven by a recent study of the National Institute of Health in Maryland that Daily Mail credited. Two groups of laboratory mice were examined, one group was stuck inside a cage and the other one had wheels as company. Findings revealed that the group of mice with the wheels had three times the amount of brain cells compared to the inactive group.

Exercises Recommended For The Elderly

Seniors can try simple exercises such as knee extensions, squats, bicep curls, sit-backs and even walking. A study reported by The Independent last year found out that 20 to 25 minutes of walking every day can add 7 years to a person's life.

"This suggests that when people exercise regularly, the may be able to retard the process of ageing," Professor Sanjay Sharma at St. George's University Hospitals NHS foundation Trust told the Independent.

"Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of your life. It is an antidepressant, it improves cognitive function and there is now evidence that it may retard the onset of dementia," the professor said.

Do you exercise daily? Share your active lifestyle in our comments section below.