Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Delayed Through Exercise?

To prevent Alzheimer’s disease we must try to keep our brain alert and surprise it with new activities every day, such as changing routes to go to work or to go shopping.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the loss of immediate memory and the loss of many cognitive abilities such as language or concentration. In this article we present some exercises to activate your brain, and thus delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

After its diagnosis, this pathology usually lasts for a maximum of 10 years. Currently, it is the most well-known form of dementia and occurs most often in people over the age of 65.

Prevention measures against Alzheimer’s disease

Even if since the discovery of the disease by Emil Kraepelin and Alois Alzheimer in 1906 there has been a lot of progress, there are still little understood aspects of the pathology.

For example, the exact causes of its occurrence. What we have to take into account is that from adulthood we can work to prevent this condition.

It is not certain that exercising or eating certain foods will save us the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in our old age, but at least we can say that we have tried.

It is estimated that around 25 million people worldwide suffer from this disease which affects not only memory, but also driving and thinking.

Among the factors that promote the appearance of this wear caused by cerebral oxidation are stress, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. All of them increase the aging of the brain.

Also being a woman and having passed menopause, since the body stops producing estrogen (a hormone that contributes to brain health).

Exercises to delay Alzheimer’s disease

The mind is a muscle and, like any other, it must be trained diligently to avoid atrophy. Some of the habits that you can add to your daily routine that will help improve brain capacity are:

Wash with closed eyes

Once a week try to shower without looking. Locate where the faucet, soap, or shampoo is. Do not open your eyes at any time. This will develop other senses, such as tact, and create more work for your brain than usual.

Use the less fragile hand

If you’re right-handed, use your left hand (or vice versa) to do the most common things. Such as brushing your teeth and hair, writing, opening drawers, using the computer mouse, cutting food, having a drink, etc.

Change the place of objects

The brain gets used to certain things being put away in a particular place. He knows, for example, that in the first drawer are the underwear, or that in the refrigerator is stored milk. This way he gets a little “lazy” and does everything from memory.

Challenge him to find certain objects in unthinkable places! Why not change the place of the underwear in the bedroom? Maybe it would be a good idea to move the furniture at home or the worktable to the office.

Take a different route every day

What is good to do with household objects also works with the roads that lead us to our work, to the university, to the gymnasium, to the market …

If you are used to taking the same means of transport, change it! If you are going by car or bicycle, take alternative routes. The brain needs to surprise itself from time to time with some modifications.

In addition, this way life will cease to be routine and boring.

Remember phone numbers and dates

With diaries and smartphones we no longer use the brain to record certain information. This is why we often do not know the number of our spouse or our parents. Sometimes even our we do not know ours.

Try not to rely on these technological devices or on paper. Remember important information without writing it down anywhere.

The same goes with GPS and calculator. These objects that seem to have solved our lives have converted our brain into a great lazy.

We no longer remember the road to our best friend’s house, nor how much is 2 x 5. Think of the way before leaving your house and do mental calculations!

Read more

Books help us stimulate our imaginations and strengthen the brain. When you take pleasure in reading the mind must make an effort to “think” what is going on and to connect the information and data that the author sows through the pages.

Don’t read things out of obligation only (college or work). Also let yourself be surprised by novels and science fiction. Another idea is to read aloud to stimulate the sense of hearing.

More exercises to delay Alzheimer’s disease

In addition to what has been said above, there are hundreds of activities you can do to exercise your mind and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease:

• Walk backwards without turning your head.
• Do crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles, and brain teasers.
• Wear the watch on the opposite wrist.
• Dress with your eyes closed.
• Read reviews from the last page to the beginning.
• Practice exercises regularly.
• Be curious and find interesting information on any topic.
• Think positively.
• Eat in a healthy way.
• Drink a lot of water.
• Rest between 7 and 8 hours a day.
• Meditate.
• Learn new words and use synonyms and antonyms to say the same thing.