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Have High Blood Pressure? Weekly Workout May Lower Risk to Your Brain

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Have High Blood Pressure? Weekly Workout May Lower Risk to Your Brain

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Vigorous exercise more than once a week can lower the risk of dementia for people with high blood pressure, a new clinical trial shows.

People who engaged each week in vigorous physical activity had lower rates of mild cognitive impairment and dementia despite their high blood pressure, according to results published June 6 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association,

Examples of vigorous activity include hiking uphill, running, fast bicycling, swimming laps, aerobic dancing, jumping rope and heavy yardwork, according to the American Heart Association.

“We know that physical exercise offers many benefits, including lowering blood pressure, improving heart health and potentially delaying cognitive decline,” said lead researcher Dr. Richard Kazibwe, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.

This new study offers an idea of how much exercise is needed to reap these benefits, Kazibwe added.

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The clinical trial involved more than 9,300 participants with high blood pressure aged 50 and older, recruited from about 100 hospitals and clinics throughout the United States.

Early results published in 2019 showed that tight control of blood pressure significantly reduced the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a precursor of early dementia, researchers said.

For this new report, researchers analyzed the effect of exercise on brain health in these folks.

Nearly 60% of study participants reported vigorous physical activity at least once a week, even among those 75 and older, Kazibwe noted.

“It is welcome news that a higher number of older adults are engaging in physical exercise,” Kazibwe said in a Wake Forest news release. “This also suggests that older adults who recognize the importance of exercise may be more inclined to exercise at higher intensity,”

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However, the protective impact of vigorous exercise on brain health was more pronounced for those younger than 75, results showed.

More information

The American Heart Association has more on recommended physical activity.

SOURCE: Wake Forest University, news release, June 6, 2024

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Fitness

New workout makes fitness more accessible for moms

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New workout makes fitness more accessible for moms

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.

iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.

“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”

When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.

“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”

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Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.

“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”

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Share your health and fitness questions for Devi Sridhar, Mariella Frostrup, and Joel Snape

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Share your health and fitness questions for Devi Sridhar, Mariella Frostrup, and Joel Snape

There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.

To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.

To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?

Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.

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