What Exercises Should I Be Doing if I Am a Senior With Dementia?

Exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise, has innumerable benefits for brain health.  If you do have dementia or care for a loved one with dementia, getting moving everyday is critical.

During a recent team training one of our senior fitness experts, Dave, reminded us of the benefits of exercise for clients with cognitive impairments:

• improves blood flow
• stimulates the production of human growth hormone
• reduces inflammation, stress and anxiety
• improves concentration and focus during and after the session
• improves sleep which helps with alertness and brain health maintenance
• increases the levels of neurotrophic factors (e.g., BDNF).

There are ways to force your brain to work harder during exercise such as:

• Add an upper body movement to the existing lower body movement
• Add cross body movements (e.g., knees up and tapping with the opposite hand)
• Opposite sides moving simultaneously (e.g., L knee and R arm up at the same time)
• Give a task during exercise (e.g., instead of ankle circles, get them to print their name with their big toe)

Try out this short “ brain health” exercise routine:

Book a call to for  free consultation

Erin

Vintage Fitness

Vintage Fitness is a personal training company in Toronto, Canada. We specialize in energizing the lives of people over 50 with exercise.