Easy Exercise Trick Lowers Cognitive Decline Risk by 13%

Summary: Regular exercise is the best way to stay healthy. However, a new study shows that infrequent exercise, like once-a-week training, can even help reduce the risk of mild cognitive decline and thus help reduce dementia risk.

 Many people do not start exercising as they find it difficult to exercise regularly. However, it is vital to understand that even a once-a-week exercise session is suitable for overall and brain health. Now, one of the new studies shows that just a weekly exercise session may reduce dementia or cognitive decline risk by 13%!

Of course, the benefits would be much greater with even more regular exercise. However, this study is good news for many people who find it difficult to exercise daily – thus, many do not exercise at all. This study provides them a reason to train, at least on the weekends.

And, yes, one should not forget that reduced risk of cognitive decline is just one of the benefits of not-so-regular exercise. Even irregularly engaging in physical activity may have a range of health benefits. So, make no excuses, and if you cannot exercise regularly, do it less frequently, but do it.

Furthermore, some may say that 13% does not sound big. Well, that is really big, considering that more than a century of research has failed to create a drug that can be taken casually or as a preventive measure and could reduce cognitive decline risk by this much.

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Not only that, some of the latest and most costly drugs, like donanemab, used to treat dementia/Alzheimer’s, on average, slow down cognitive decline by about 20%. Moreover, researchers have questioned its long-term benefits.

So, why not take some simple steps? Why not follow this simple exercise hack? Just train once or twice a week to cut down your risk of cognitive decline and other health issues.

This study was done in Mexico with 10,033 adults with a mean age of 51 years. These adults were first surveyed from 1998 to 2004 and then re-surveyed from 2015 to 2019. Researchers collected information regarding their engagement in exercise and tested them for mild dementia. Over the years, 2400 cases of mild dementia were identified.

When researchers analyzed the data, they found that even those who exercised once a week demonstrated lower dementia risk. These individuals had a 13% lower risk of mild cognitive decline compared to those who did not exercise at all.

For a long time, many health experts have questioned the benefit of sporadic exercise. Many have believed that the ‘weekend warrior’ activity pattern is unlikely to be of help. However, this prolonged study with a large sample size shows that even once or twice a week of exercise is associated with measurable health benefits.

So, yes, this is good news for ‘weekend warriors’ and everyone not engaging in exercise. Of course, regular exercise, like 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days a week, is a good choice. However, those who cannot exercise regularly for various reasons can consider this simple exercise hack to boost their brain health and lower dementia risk.

Researchers believe that even once a week, exercise may eliminate 1 in 10 dementia cases, and that one person could be you.

So, to summarize, it is vital to realize that dementia is preventable in a large number of cases through lifestyle interventions. Regular exercise, if combined with other measures like dietary changes, may help. However, it is vital to start taking these measures early. The focus must be on preventing mild cognitive decline, as it precedes the dementia diagnosis by several years.

Source:

O’Donovan, G., Petermann-Rocha, F., Ferrari, G., Medina, C., Ochoa-Rosales, C., Sarmiento, O. L. L., & Ibáñez, A. (2024). Associations of the ‘weekend warrior’ physical activity pattern with mild dementia: Findings from the Mexico City Prospective Study. British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108460