Exercise Guidelines To Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease By Martin Reilly
We all know that exercise is good for our body. It strengthens our muscles, improves our heart health, and can also help keep our immune systems in top shape as well.
One thing that exercise does that few people ever stop and think about is improve brain health. What you do – or don’t do – on a daily basis will influence your mind, so it’s important that you learn what helps and what hinders your brain health.
Exercise being one of them. How you exercise matters. Here are a few tips on how to best exercise to boost brain health.
- Move for 30 minutes every single day
Start focusing on getting some movement into your day, every day of the week. This could be walking around the block after dinner, going window shopping with a friend, or taking a brisk walk with your co-worker during a work lunch. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, just do something.
- Perform cardiovascular exercise in the aerobic zone for 60 minutes per week
As much as regular activity can help, sometimes upping the intensity is what really makes a difference. Try and perform 60 minutes (total!) of more intense aerobic activity per week. This could be divided into 2, 30 minute sessions, 3, 20 minute sessions, 4, 15 minute sessions, or 6, 10 minute sessions. Your choice!
- Strength train at least 2-3 days per week
Strength training is about as good for your mind as it is for your body and research illustrates it’s one of the most beneficial exercises you could do as far as your body is concerned.
Strength training will increase functional muscle strength, zap stress, and may help increase insulin sensitivity as well. As your insulin sensitivity goes up, this means you’ll be better able to handle the glucose that you consume, and as such, may not experience those plummeting lows where your blood sugar drops – and saps your focus and concentration with it.
Adding strength training to your workout routine 2-3 days per week for 30 minutes per session is sufficient to see great benefits. Be sure to hit all your main muscle groups each workout, allowing for at least 48 hours rest in between sessions.
- Perform yoga or stretching activities daily
Finally, last but not least, you’ll want to get some relaxation-focused exercises into your workout routine. This could be taking a yoga class or if you prefer, just doing some relaxation oriented stretches. Stress is a major brain killer, so you’ll want to do whatever you can to ease symptoms of stress.
Even deep breathing activities performed on a daily basis can go a long way towards boosting brain health and warding off depression as you begin to feel more in control over your life. It’s been proven that meditation, if you want to take those deep breathing exercises one step further, is a great way to enhance brain health through improving memory, focus, and concentration.
So next time you’re hitting the gym, don’t overlook the benefits that doing so is going to have on your brain. A good workout routine can really benefit all areas of your health.
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