JUST 20 minutes of activity every day can prevent memory deterioration, results of a trial by a team of West Australian health experts suggest.
The WA Centre for Health and Ageing (WACHA) has shown that regular physical activity can lead to a lasting improvement in memory function.
The trial results were published recently in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association.
WACHA director Professor Leon Flicker said people over 50 could prevent memory deterioration by doing simple exercises each day.
“What our trial tells us is that older people who take up some form of aerobic exercise for as little as 20 minutes a day will be more likely to remember things like shopping lists, family birthdays and friends’ names,” he said.
“The results of this trial are very encouraging and a great step forward in helping older people improve their memory and potentially delay the progression of dementia which can eventually lead to Alzheimer’s disease.”
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, almost 190,000 Australians live with dementia and one in four people over the age of 85 has moderate to severe dementia.