Researchers Discover How Exercise Can Improve Memory

Once you get past 50, you start thinking about getting older and wonder if your memory is declining. This concern about declining health and dementia is natural as more people than ever need long-term health care due to increased lifespans.

Many people don't want to expose their estate to the high costs of long-term health care or place the stress and burden of caregiving on their adult children. The cost of care will drain assets and cause changes in your lifestyle. Family caregivers face their own health strain and emotional stress, and anxiety.

Where are the Car Keys?

We all have that experience of forgetting where we left the car keys. Some memory decline is expected, but that is not the type of dementia that will cause you to need help with daily activities or supervision. Is there anything we can do now to delay or avoid problems with our memory?

After more than a decade of research, led by Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) in St Lucia, Australia, shows the right amount of exercise can be very beneficial. Emeritus Professor Perry Bartlett and Dr. Dan Blackmore, and their team of researchers have found that 35 days of voluntary physical exercise improves learning and memory.

Professor Bartlett and Dr. Dan Blackmore

"We tested the cognitive ability of elderly mice following defined periods of exercise and found an optimal period or 'sweet spot' that greatly improved their spatial learning," Blackmore said.

Benefits of Exercise

The researchers also discovered how exercise improved learning.

"We found that growth hormone (GH) levels peaked during this time, and we've been able to demonstrate that artificially raising GH in sedentary mice also was also effective in improving their cognitive skills," Blackmore explained.

The research discovered that growth hormone stimulates the production of new neurons in the hippocampus – the brain region that is critically important to learning and memory. 

"This is an important discovery for the thousands of Australians diagnosed with dementia every year."

Dementia, a Leading Cause of Death is a Leading Cause of Long-Term Care

Dementia is the second leading cause of death of all Australians. Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is the 6th leading cause of death for adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United Kingdom, it is also a leading cause of death.

However, before a person with dementia dies, they need, in many cases, years of long-term health care and supervision, placing a tremendous physical and emotional strain on family members. 

The number of people with dementia is expected to increase worldwide in the decades ahead unless some treatment or cure is discovered. 

Professor Bartlett said the research provides further proof that loss of cognitive function in old age is directly related to the diminished production of new neurons.

"It underlines the importance of being able to activate the neurogenic stem cells in the brain that we first identified 20 years ago," Professor Bartlett said.

Long-Term Care Costs Increasing

Meanwhile, the financial costs and burdens of changing health and aging continue to increase and place substantial financial pressure and family burden on those afflicted. 

Health insurance and Medicare (including supplements) will not pay for long-term health care. However, Long-Term Care Insurance will pay for these services, but coverage must be obtained when a person is younger and enjoys relatively good health. Medicaid will only pay if the care recipient has little or no income and assets.