Elderly people in the early stages of dementia would be well advised to take walks.
Alzheimer’s disease receives a lot of attention. However, that attention often comes at the cost of other forms of dementia.
While treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s are widely sought after and discussed, there is often correspondingly little research and discussion about other forms of dementia. Therefore, it is refreshing to see that a study has recently been conducted into something that might help people who are in the early stages of vascular dementia.
The New York Times reported on this development in “A 1-Hour Walk, 3 Times a Week, Has Benefits for Dementia.”
A six-month study found that vascular dementia patients who took one hour walks, three times a week had better brain activity than a control group that did not go on walks. Even relatively mild exercise was beneficial.
This suggests that elderly dementia patients who go on walks, while in the early stages of the disease, could see the disease progress at a slower rate than they would if they did not go on walks.
This study will need to be confirmed by further research and it does not offer a cure for vascular dementia. However, anything that helps slow the disease by even a little bit is of great benefit to patients.
In case you were wondering, earlier research revealed that taking walks also helps people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
In the end, maybe all elderly people should considering walking for some exercise, just in case.
Reference: New York Times (May 24, 2017) “A 1-Hour Walk, 3 Times a Week, Has Benefits for Dementia.”
