Posted on 10/10/2022 7:03:28 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
It may be time to pull out your step counters and start adding walking to your daily to-do lists. A recent study indicates taking 10,000 steps each day can help cut your risk of dementia by half.
Researchers monitored the steps of 78,430 adults between the ages of 40 and 79 over seven years. Results showed that 9,800 steps a day could reduce the risk of dementia by half, and there was no added reduction of risk if participants went over that number. Walking fewer steps daily, such as taking 3,800 steps, was found to reduce the risk by 25%.
"Walking is associated with better vascular profiles, which is probably the clearest pathway through which steps may benefit dementia," Borja del Pozo Cruz told Today. "(It's) likely that vascular dementia is the most preventable through physical activity."
Vascular dementia, the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's, affects memory, concentration, and thought processes, according to the U.K.-based Alzheimer's Society. Since aerobic exercises such as walking increase blood flow to the brain and can improve memory function, it's no surprise that 10,000 steps a day can potentially reduce the risk of dementia.
A previous study has shown that moderate exercise may reduce the risk of dementia by a third. However, this research proves that walking may be the best way to reduce your risk. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day has other benefits, too, such as reducing other conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure, according to Healthline.
"This study represents an important contribution to step count–based recommendations for dementia prevention," the study's authors concluded. "Step count–based recommendations have the advantage of being easy to communicate, interpret and measure, and may be particularly relevant for people who accumulate their physical activity in an unstructured manner."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I prefer an hour a day on a stationary bike.
“I prefer an hour a day on a stationary bike.”
I prefer dementia to 6 miles every day.
More blood flowing, more oxygen.
Easier on the joints. I just checked...I’m averaging 6,000 per day for a month. I need to get the bike out.
Maybe it’s just the act of counting to 10,000 every day.
What if we don’t want to be mentally “all there” when we’re in a nursing home being taken care of by green-haired wokesters?
Actually in terms of mortality about 7k steps is fine. No benefits were found for over that.
My daughter (neurophysiologist) told me about this study a few weeks ago, so I’m guessing she was able to see the pre-print. She knows that her father and I have 10,000 steps as our daily goal, which we get most days, though not every day. We usually get over 6,000 daily, and often get twice that. We recently returned from a trip to Oregon to visit her, and we hiked all over the place, keeping up with her and her fiancé rather easily. They were both impressed.
I also saw that this is said to help specifically with vascular dementia, which is what my Mama suffered from. She had very poor balance once she got into her mid-to-late 80’s. Walking from one room to another was very hard for her.
I’m hopeful that our almost two years habit of daily walking will fend off a few health problems.
Out of curiosity I looked it up. 10,000 steps is roughly 5 miles.
Of course, your mileage may vary.
The goal is to not need to go into a nursing home.
Since this study speaks to dementia, it is important to minimize that, at 9,800 steps.
Of course, you can live with dementia, at your 7,000 steps, and be alive, too.
We use the stationary bike when it’s just too cold to go outside for an hour to walk. That happens some, but even in the winter, we found out we can really bundle up and take a walk. The fresh air is amazing. We even found it was easier to walk for an hour in the winter than it is on the hottest summer days. Those were wretched.
I do think the bike is a good workout, and different, but I’m not certain it helps with balance as much as walking or hiking. I wonder why the study didn’t mention the bike exercise as an option.
Or, get a dog and go on hikes with it.
I had double knee replacement surgery about ten years ago and have found that the stationary bike is best for me. Could be that walking prevents dementia and biking does not, but I don’t want to wear out my knees again. Replacement knees are a miracle, but they are no match for OEM.
That’s over 5 miles a day. Really?
Did you used to do a lot of walking before your knee replacements? It is something that I’m sure I need to watch out for as we get older.
I would get really tired of counting to 10,000 every day. Walking is much easier.
I must do my walking outdoors however and I walk in all sorts of weather except for heavy rain or snow. I loath treadmills and exercise bikes
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