Al zhei m er ? s Resear ch Shows Medi t at i on Af fect s The Agi ng Pr ocess By Ellen Wood
Al zhei m er ? s Resear ch Shows Medi t at i on Af fect s The Agi ng Pr ocess By Ellen Wood
There ? s scientific evidence that meditation may prevent and even reverse cognitive decline . Yay ! To those of us with the Alzheimer ? s gene this is good news ! Since our genes are only potentials that are activated based on lifestyle , my Alzheimer ? s gene doesn ? t stand a chance of expressing itself .
Meditation is also receiving a lot of attention in the Alzheimer ' s community as a technique for lowering many risk factors for the disease , such as hypertension and depression . In 2012 , the Alzheimer ' s Research and Prevention Foundation published a report stating that meditation has been shown to lead to enhanced cognitive function , reversed memory loss , reduced cortisol levels and reduced stress . If a pill promised all those things with no negative side effects it would be considered a miracle pill .
In 2014 , Frontiers In Psychiatry published a study titled Meditation as a Therapeutic Intervention for Adults at Risk for Alzheimer ' s Disease ? Potential Benefits and Underlying Mechanisms . The authors , Dr . Kim E . Innes and Dr . Terry Kit Selfe , point out that Alzheimer ' s disease develops slowly , usually preceded by signs of cognitive decline , and that this early period offers a potential window for therapeutic intervention . In my own journey with early symptoms of Alzheimer ? s I was terrified of the devastating future I imagined based on my mother ? s cognitive
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decline . Regular meditation is one of the first things I added into my life to reverse the memory loss and other signs of the disease . And it worked .
Innes and Selfe reviewed numerous studies involving meditative techniques and their therapeutic effects . They determined that these techniques not only reduce stress , anxiety and depression , they also promote beneficial changes in several neurochemical systems , increase blood flow , oxygen delivery and glucose utilization in regions of the brain associated with mood elevation and memory . In addition , recent research suggests that meditation enhances immune response , reduces blood pressure and inflammation , and improves oxidative stress . The same study reveals that meditation may also affect specific gene expression pathways implicated in the development and progression of Alzheimer ' s .
In a 2015 study researchers determined that damage to the hippocampus , which is central in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer ' s , could be prevented or delayed by mindfulness-based intervention . They concluded that meditation showed great potential in preventing the neurodegenerative cascade leading to Alzheimer ' s disease .
So what does all this mean for you and me ?
For me ? wow ! This explains why my short-term memory loss and stumbling on words disappeared