No matter your age, moderate exercise will ward off Alzheimer’s and memory problems, decrease anxiety and depression, boost your ability to focus and enhance your brain’s ability to repair itself.
What Research Says
Research is showing an important link between regular exercise and Alzheimer’s prevention. A study involving 120 people between the ages of 55 and 80 showed that brisk walking for 30-40 minutes, three times per week is helpful for boosting and protecting the parts of the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
What Scans Tell Us
Brain scans taken before and after this year-long study showed that the prefrontal cortex (PFC)—responsible for focus, forethought, judgment, follow through and impulse control—and the hippocampus—responsible for memory and spatial navigation—grew in volume by 2% among the brisk walking group, while these same brain areas continued to shrink in the group that participated in stretching exercises only.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, the hippocampus is one of the first regions to become impaired, resulting in the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s: memory loss and disorientation. Don’t sit and wait for a train to hit you—get out of the way. Exercise is a great way to boost your brain and protect it from Alzheimer’s disease.
Better Than Happy Pills
If you’re prone to anxiety and depression, exercise is one of the best natural treatments that exists—and it’s free! Exercise activates the same pathways in the brain as morphine and increases the release of endorphins, your natural feel-good neurotransmitters!
A depression study compared the benefits of exercise to those of the prescription drug, Zoloft. After 12 weeks, exercise proved equally effective as Zoloft in curbing depression. And after 10 months, exercise surpassed the effects of the drug… with ZERO negative side effects!
Exercise is not only a fountain of youth, but also the closest thing to a happiness pill that you will ever find!
We Can Help
Don’t know where to start? Did you know that despite the natural aging process, you actually have a choice in how fast your brain ages? Your behavior and habits can speed up or slow down the rate at which your brain declines with age. Being mentally and physically active, eating nutritious foods and avoiding unhealthy habits can help you maintain optimal brain health and ward off dementia.
The best way to sharpen recall, reduce brain atrophy, and eliminate all the risk factors that steal the mind is with our BRIGHT MINDS approach, which addresses memory problems, aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
To learn more about Amen Clinics Memory Program based on Dr. Amen’s BRIGHT MINDS approach, check it out HERE, or call 888-288-9834.
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