Forgetting information. Losing focus. Having difficulty doing tasks you used to find easy, like following a recipe or running errands. Struggling to remember the word for that thing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are all symptoms of mild cognitive impairment<\/a> (MCI), which is exactly what it sounds like. A person with MCI is experiencing a slight decline in their mental abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MCI can happen to anyone at any age. And it can be the result of a wide range of medical issues, including mood disorders like depression and anxiety, alcohol and substance use disorders, sleep disorders, nutritional deficiencies \u2014 even urinary tract infections!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, MCI is particularly common in people over 55. By age 65, approximately 15% to 20% of the U.S. population shows signs of MCI, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>. These individuals are at greater risk of developing dementia, but some people don\u2019t progress beyond a mild state of forgetfulness, according to memory and brain health specialist Babak Tousi, MD<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you believe you\u2019re experiencing MCI, a healthcare provider is going to encourage you to do a lot of things, like adjusting your eating habits<\/a>, being social and exercising your brain by reading, completing puzzles and learning new skills. Pretty standard stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there\u2019s one proposed treatment that may surprise you. They might encourage you to take more walks or sign up for an exercise class. That\u2019s because researchers have found that keeping your body healthy<\/a> through exercise can help keep your mind sharp<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But how? And what kinds of exercise are best? Dr. Tousi explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An article on exercise and memory<\/a> suggests that the brain boost you get from exercise involves \u201cseveral direct and indirect mechanisms at molecular and supramolecular levels.\u201d While many questions remain about the relationship between exercise and cognitive strengthening, there\u2019s evidence to suggest the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) released new guidelines<\/a> designed to help providers treat people with MCI. Those guidelines suggest patients exercise at least twice a week. It\u2019s a low-risk way to improve not just your memory, but also your overall health, according to the AAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AAN guidelines are a bit vague \u2014 \u201cat least twice a week\u201d leaves a lot of room for interpretation. But as a general rule, most providers recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, along with two strength training sessions. Dr. Tousi concurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can do 30 minutes a day for five days or combine the activities into two sessions over the weekend,\u201d he says, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s important to start slowly and gradually increase the duration and intensity of your activity to avoid injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conventional wisdom used to be that aerobic exercise \u2014 also known as \u201ccardio<\/a>\u201d \u2014 was your best bet for brain health. But in 2022, the EXERT trial<\/a>, which describes itself as \u201cthe longest ever Phase III study of exercise on brain function in adults with MCI,\u201d changed the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The EXERT trial found that, while cardio may have more benefits in the short term, strength and balance training are just as beneficial for brain health in the long run. Combining all three forms of physical activity has always been important for whole-body health, especially as we get older<\/a> and lose things like bone density, muscle tone and flexibility. Now, we know that your brain also benefits from a wide range of exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChoose whatever aerobic or resistance activity you enjoy,\u201d Dr. Tousi recommends. \u201cThe most important thing is that you\u2019re getting up and moving on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not sure of the difference between cardio, strength and balance training? Here\u2019s a quick explainer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few examples of each kind of exercise to get you started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardiovascular exercise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Strength training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Balance and flexibility training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can probably guess, there\u2019s plenty of overlap between these three categories. Dancing requires strength, endurance and flexibility, for example. And that\u2019s a good thing! Who doesn\u2019t love a bonus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But don\u2019t grab your ballet slippers just yet. Dr. Tousi is quick to remind us that \u2014 before you jump into a new fitness routine \u2014 you should always speak with your healthcare providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour physician can review your health history and help you decide what kind of exercise \u2014 and how much \u2014 is appropriate for you,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have the all-clear, it\u2019s time to get up and get moving. An active lifestyle won\u2019t just help you preserve your memories \u2014 it\u2019ll make some fun new ones, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source:[Cleveland Clinic-https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/exercise-to-boost-memory]<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article is shared for informational and educational purposes only and does not represent the views of our brand. If there are any copyright concerns, please contact us and we will address them promptly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Forgetting information. Losing focus. Having difficulty doing tasks you used to find easy, like following a recipe or running errands. Struggling to remember the word for that thing\u2026 These are all symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is exactly what it sounds like. A person with MCI is experiencing a slight decline in their mental abilities….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bst_post_transparent":"","_bst_post_title":"","_bst_post_layout":"","_bst_post_sidebar_id":"","_bst_post_content_style":"","_bst_post_vertical_padding":"","_bst_post_feature":"","_bst_post_feature_position":"","_bst_post_header":false,"_bst_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28,31,32],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-experiences","tag-management","tag-networking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/2394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elthama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How exercise can help your brain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How much exercise do you need?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What type of exercises to try<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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