Two minutes exercise a week could beat dementia

Exercising for just two minutes a week could slash the risk of dementia for over-60s, Scots scientists said.

Researchers at Abertay University in Dundee said a new study published today, Tuesday September 25, revealed that short bursts of exercise can reduce risk factors for dementia and other age-related illnesses.

Experts asked a group of people aged between 60 and 75 to take part in two training sessions per week for 10 weeks.

Each participant had hypertension - a risk factor for dementia - and was on medication to control their blood pressure.

They were asked to take part in a form of sprint interval training - pedalling as hard as they could on a stationary bike for six seconds before resting.

The group would then rest for a period before repeating the exercise a total of ten times twice a week - a total of two minutes exercise.

Dr John Babraj, a lecturer in Exercise Physiology at Abertay University who led the study, said small amounts of exercise could aid many aspects of health in the elderly.

He said: "The potential outcomes of this could be massive.

"We have an ageing population and people are living for longer. However, their lifestyles aren't necessarily healthier.

"There's a big increase in the number of people who have movement difficulties and in the number of people who have illnesses associated with ageing such as dementia, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"What we've seen with this simple exercise is a reduction in blood pressure which could potentially lead to a reduction in long term frailty and in the extent of dementia in older people.

"This form of exercise is unique as you're asking people to work as hard as they can.

"The stress being put on the body forces it to change.

“It's making the body adapt to what we're doing and that's why this type of exercise has so many major long term health benefits.

"We'd now like to do a longer study to explore the link between the decline in physical function and the decline in brain function.

"They seem to be interrelated and as the population grows older it's increasingly important that we find non-pharmaceutical ways of dealing with age related issues.

"The more active we keep people, the better."

By the end of the study the group of 17 older people had a "significant" drop in their blood pressure - reducing it to normal healthy levels without any change in medication or diet.

They also so a reduction in cholesterol and an increase in physical function during tests.

It is estimated that 30 percent of Scotland's population will be aged over 60 in the next five years with increased strain expected on the NHS due to age-related illnesses.

The study, published in the Sport Sciences for Health journal, found significant changes in many health indicators compared to a control group of similarly aged people who did not take part in the exercise regime.

Previous studies have found similar results for sprint interval training in younger people - but the researchers say those involved longer duration sprints undertaken more frequently which may not be feasible for the elderly.