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managing-type-2-diabetes-caregivers-for-seniors
January 28, 2022
Health
Horizon

Exercise Guide For Seniors With Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes is an endemic problem in many Western societies due to poor diet and exercise. Whilst some people are born with Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes can develop insidiously over time due to being overweight, lacking a balanced diet and lacking regular exercise.

Type 2 Diabetes occurs when our bodies become resistant to Insulin, or when we simply don’t produce enough Insulin to control our blood sugar levels. If blood sugar increases to a level beyond where it should be, damage to vital parts of the body can occur.

Long Term Effects Of Type 2 Diabetes

Even though Type 2 Diabetes is manageable through a careful exercise program and a balanced diet, the long-term effects of the illness out of regular control include the following:

  • Nerve, organ and blood vessel damage due to high levels of blood sugar in the body,
  • Stroke and heart disease risk is increased,
  • High blood sugar levels that are not managed can lead to the walls of our arteries and blood vessels become blocked by fats. This can damage our heart muscle over time.
  • High glucose levels in our body can also damage nerves and cause burning pain, pins and needles sensations, or tingling in our extremities. If parts of the central nervous system are affected, it can cause vomiting, nausea and other gut related problems,
  • The retina behind our eyes is also filled with tiny blood vessels, and it can become damaged by uncontrolled sugar levels and cause a disease called Diabetic Retinopathy. If this continues, vision is impaired.
  • Just as the tiny blood vessels in the retina can be damaged, the vessels in our kidneys can also be damaged. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure, which is very serious.
  • If the peripheral nerves are affected (those in our extremities) and become numb, we may not feel pain, such as cuts on our feet. This damage, if left untreated, can lead to ulceration and infection.
  • Damaged blood vessels can also lead to skin problems and skin infections.
  • The tiny nerves and blood vessels in our genitals can also be damaged by unmanaged Type 2 Diabetes. If this occurs, it can lead to sexual dysfunction, including Inorgasmia (lack of ability to orgasm), inability to get an erection in men, lack of sex drive and libido, pain during sexual activity and vaginal dryness.
  • Though there is still debate over the mechanisms involved, high and uncontrolled blood sugar seems to contribute to higher risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease,
  • Hearing problems in diabetics are also common.

The Many Benefits Of Exercise

Given the potentially serious and insidious nature of many long-term diseases caused by Type 2 Diabetes, how can those risks be mitigated?

Regular exercise is one key element in combatting the effects of Diabetes and managing it long term.

However, what are some of the general benefits of a program of exercise for those suffering with Diabetes? Consider the following benefits:

  • Exercise helps to regulate and lower blood pressure
  • It helps to control weight and also makes the body burn stored energy more efficiently
  • Increased strength and tone
  • Exercise can also help to increase bone strength and bone density, making it ideal for seniors suffering with osteoporosis
  • More positive mood and emotional well-being
  • Increased energy during the day and better sleep at night

Exercises For Seniors With Type 2 Diabetes

Because many such diabetic symptoms occur in older people, it is important to develop exercise programs that are specifically tailored to seniors, taking into consideration the challenges that they face on a daily basis.

However, what could an appropriate exercise program for seniors consist of? Here are some areas to consider:

  • Light and moderate aerobic exercise that includes walking, Ballroom Dancing, swimming and/or hydrotherapy,
  • Gentle to moderate strength, flexibility and mobility training through a Pilate’s program developed for older people.

Conclusion – Manage Type 2 Diabetes Effectively

Due to the many serious symptoms and diseases that can occur as a result of poorly managed Diabetes, and the appearance of many of the symptoms in vulnerable older people, it’s important to find effective methods to alleviate them.

A gentle to moderate exercise program tailored to the needs of seniors can significantly reduce the risks of Diabetes related disease and help to manage blood sugar levels.

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effects- exercise-on-cognitive-decline
December 14, 2021
Health
Horizon

The Neuroprotective Effects Of Exercise On Cognitive Decline

Scientists agree that exercise has a beneficial effect on physical health. What effect does exercise have on the ability to think and remember?  Does exercise improve thought processes and protect against memory loss?  Researchers have the answers to these critical questions.

Your brain connects thoughts that allow you to remember and function by utilizing nerve cells.  Scientists know that as a person ages, these nerve cells can become weak and damaged.  Key terms for understanding the effects of exercise on the brain include:

Neuroprotective: Protects nerve cells from damage, degeneration, or impairment in functioning

Exercise: Activity requiring physical effort

Cognitive Decline: Difficulty remembering, learning new things, concentrating, and making decisions

Studies in Mice

Over the last twenty-five years, rodent studies have provided valuable models for understanding how exercise affects cognitive decline. According to a review published in the journal Brain Plasticity, exercise has shown these benefits for memory and the brain:

  • Improved lifecycle of dentate gyrus cells
  • Enhanced synaptic plasticity
  • Increased glymphatic clearance
  • Regulating microglial activation

The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampus in the brain that contributes to memory formation and curiosity.  Exercise studies in mice show that physical activity improves the amount, quality, and survival of cells in this area.

Synaptic plasticity involves the brain’s ability to move information between nerve cell endings or synapses. Increased plasticity makes memories easier to access.  As cells age and die, the glymphatic system removes the waste from the brain and central nervous system, keeping it healthy and well-functioning.  Microglia in the brain and central nervous system also contribute to waste removal that has neuroprotective effects.

Exercise and Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease begins with a loss of memory and leads to cognitive decline in language, movement, visual recognition, and decision making. Scientists have determined that neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular waste deposits lead to atrophy or brain cells’ wasting away.  This atrophy is often most prevalent in the hippocampus, which is associated with memory formation. As the brain cells atrophy, memory loss and cognitive decline increase.

Studies published in the European Journal of Neuroscience show that exercise improved brain function and increased cognitive ability.  Studies show that exercise helps protect cognitive function at all stages of Alzheimer’s disease.  Exercise can prevent the early stages, slow progression and is a treatment option for late-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists believe that the neuroprotective effects of exercise on cognitive decline are a combination of improved cell life and enhanced blood flow to the brain.  Improved blood flow helps increase necessary hormones, energy, and other neuroprotective chemicals in the brain, boosting the brain’s ability to function.

Direct Effects

Exercise has been shown to help protect against cognitive decline in people of every age and throughout life. A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that women who were physically active at any point in their lives, especially when teenagers, showed less cognitive impairment later in life.

A study published in the journal Neurology measured cognitive function in older adults. Over the eight-year study, 30% of the participants showed no change in cognitive function.  These participants were more likely to have engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise.

Another study published in the journal Neurology followed older adults for three and a half years.  Participants with the lowest amount of exercise had a two-fold higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who did the most exercise.

Protecting brain function is necessary for limiting cognitive decline as people age. Because of the neuroprotective effects of improved cell life and blood flow to the brain, science has shown that exercise provides substantial benefits against cognitive decline.

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exercise-to-benefit-the-brain
November 23, 2021
Uncategorized
Horizon

5 Ways Regular Exercise Benefits Your Brain Health

Exercise is well known for improving your physical wellbeing, but did you also know that exercise directly improves the wellbeing of your brain too? Yep, concentrating and working behind a desk all day isn’t enough to “exercise your mind”, but rather you need to focus on performing exercises that keep the brain sharp, free from disease and functioning optimally.

With that said, exercise fits the bill perfectly! Not sure what it does for your brain? Then read on and be left awe struck.

Exercise Promotes Regeneration Of Brain Tissue

As we age, the ability of our brains to regenerate and for new cell growth is decreased significantly. However, research has found that regularly scheduled aerobic exercise sessions were able to significantly inhibit the loss of brain cells and associated shrinkage, in fact, after a period of six months, an increase in bran volume was reported in the group that performed regular aerobic exercise, compared to sedentary individuals who only perform light stretching or toning exercises.

Exercise Can Prevent Incidence Of Debilitating Depression

Ever notice that mega high you feel after successfully completing a workout, a run, or any type of workout? That is your brain on its happy hormone, serotonin, and dopamine.

When these levels of neurotransmitter hormones are high, your brain functions optimally with focus, quick calculating and the ability to recall information effortlessly.

Suffers of depression have reduced levels of serotonin especially, which typically lead to sluggish response time, mental fog and inability to concentrate. It is for this reason that exercise is regarded as an effective mood enhancer and natural remedy for depression.

Exercise Helps Keep Your Brain Well Fed

Our brain primarily uses glucose as its fuel source. However, in order for glucose to be efficiently shuttled to the brain cells, it requires the hormone insulin. Individuals who do not exercise on a regular basis (both aerobic and anaerobic varieties) typically have higher levels of insulin resistance, which is a fancy term to explain insulin’s efficiency.

High resistance means that it takes a lot more insulin to do the job of what a smaller amount should be able to do (think of 50 obese construction workers being needed to do the job of 10 fit ones).

Exercise keeps insulin resistance low, and promotes efficient transport of glucose to your brain. This translates to greater clarity, wakefulness, and improved ability to concentrate.

Exercise Diminishes The Effect Of Stress Hormones On The Brain

The stress hormone cortisol has been positively implicated in a host of processes related to premature aging and breakdown of body functions.

The brain is not exempt; in fact, you may be surprised to find out how much of your lapses in memory may be due to cortisol. In addition to the growth hormone and testosterone spike, which exercise results in, it also increase levels of a brain hormone referred to as BDNF, which helps keep the structures within the brain viable and healthy. In fact, it helps new cells to proliferate in instances where cell death is rapidly occurring.

Keeps Blood Vessels Healthy

Just as how diet, high cholesterol levels and inactivity can affect blood vessels surrounding the heart, so too can plaque formations develop in the brain. These plaque formations may be difficult to detect, but you may experience frequent light-headedness, mental cloudiness, or drowsiness. Or worse, a stroke may occur without notice.

Exercise helps to account for some cholesterol usage, increased oxidation of fat, or by helping improve blood flow to the brain subsequently.

Conclusion

The benefits of exercise on the brain cannot be discounted. The mere fact that exercise can keep you lucid well into old age should be enough incentive to get moving today!

 

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