YOGA FOR Alzheimer's
About YOGA FOR ALZHEIMER'S
Chronic stress can affect the areas of the brain responsible for memory and cognition, and cause inflammation in the body and in the central nervous system/brain – all of which are linked to Alzheimer’s.
Physiologically yoga, meditation and mindfulness can help to change the balance of the autonomic nervous system - towards (relaxed) parasympathetic dominance, calming the adrenal glands, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels, improving hormone function and oxygen uptake.
This can also be of benefit to carers who are themselves under a lot of stress and often feel that they have little right to take time out to look after themselves.
These practices help us live in the present and have been associated with ‘now moments of engagement’. Clinical studies suggest they increase feelings of joy, and improve mild sufferers’ ability to carry out the routine activities of daily life like eating, bathing and dressing. This is what makes them helpful in Alzheimer's treatment.
What the clinical studies say
Yoga
- Changes caregivers perceptions of patients.
- Improvement for mild Alzheimer's sufferers in 'Activities of Daily Living' (ADL). Routine activities that well people do everyday without assistance: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, walking and continence.
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Improves 'Now moments of engagement'.
- Increases joy
