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Aerobic Exercise Might Help Older Adults with Thinking Problems

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A new study from Duke Medical Center has found that just three days a week of moderate aerobic exercise may improve thinking skills in older adults with cognitive impairments.

 

 

 

The study looked at older adults who were having trouble concentrating, making decisions or remembering -- but didn’t have severe enough symptoms to be diagnosed with dementia.

 

Researchers found that after six months of cycling on a stationary bicycle, jogging or walking three days a week for 35 minutes a session, participants had significant improvement in their thinking skills related to their own behavior, attention, organization and goals., Exercising did not improve memory in this population, though.

 

The study involved 160 people over 65 who were sedentary at the start of the study.

 

The study was published this week in the online medical journal for the American Academy of Neurology.

 

 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Copyright 2018 West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Kara Leigh Lofton is the Appalachia Health News Coordinator at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Previously Kara was a freelance reporter for WMRA, an affiliate of NPR serving the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville in Virginia. There she produced 70 radio reports in her first year of reporting, most often on health or environmental topics. One of her reports, “Trauma Workers Find Solace in a Pause That Honors Life After a Death,” circulated nationally after proving to be an all-time favorite among WMRA’s audience.