How Does Physical Activity Differ in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease?

People with Alzheimer’s disease have different daily patterns of activity, compared with healthy controls, according to research published online ahead of print October 4 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Understanding this different daily pattern in physical activity could be key to designing interventions and improving sleep for people with early Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps by targeting more physical activity in morning, said the researchers.

Too little is known about patterns of activity for people experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to Amber Watts, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For instance, researchers have lacked useful data about how the progression of the disease itself plays a role in diminishing day-to-day physical activity.

“Physical activity is important for brain function,” she said. “We know that people who are physically active are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. But we also know that for people already living with Alzheimer’s disease, physical activity can help them function better, decline more slowly, and help them with symptoms like agitation, wandering, and sleeplessness.”

Vijay R. Varma, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, and Dr. Watts analyzed the daily physical activity of 92 volunteers with and without mild Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Kansas’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Kansas City. Participants wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers for a week.Mild Alzheimer’s disease was associated with less moderate-intensity physical activity, lower peak activity, and lower physical activity complexity, particularly during the morning. Mild Alzheimer’s disease was not associated with greater sedentary activity or less lower-intensity physical activity across the day after adjusting for noncognitive covariates.

The kinds of physical activity helpful to people with Alzheimer’s disease might be simple activities such as finding time to walk around the neighborhood, said Dr. Watts. “Walking is actually the best thing,” she said. “It is low risk, it is safe, anyone can do it, it doesn’t require specific equipment, it can be done anywhere. There are other light-intensity activities like stretching, tai chi, household chores, gardening, walking around the mall—those are also beneficial. People with Alzheimer’s disease do not have to go to the gym, they just need to do something that keeps them moving and keeps them from sitting continuously.”

Suggested Reading

Varma VR, Watts A. Daily physical activity patterns during the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2016 Oct 4 [Epub ahead of print].

People with Alzheimer’s disease have different daily patterns of activity, compared with healthy controls, according to research published online ahead of print October 4 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Understanding this different daily pattern in physical activity could be key to designing interventions and improving sleep for people with early Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps by targeting more physical activity in morning, said the researchers.

Too little is known about patterns of activity for people experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to Amber Watts, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For instance, researchers have lacked useful data about how the progression of the disease itself plays a role in diminishing day-to-day physical activity.

“Physical activity is important for brain function,” she said. “We know that people who are physically active are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. But we also know that for people already living with Alzheimer’s disease, physical activity can help them function better, decline more slowly, and help them with symptoms like agitation, wandering, and sleeplessness.”

Vijay R. Varma, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, and Dr. Watts analyzed the daily physical activity of 92 volunteers with and without mild Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Kansas’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Kansas City. Participants wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers for a week.Mild Alzheimer’s disease was associated with less moderate-intensity physical activity, lower peak activity, and lower physical activity complexity, particularly during the morning. Mild Alzheimer’s disease was not associated with greater sedentary activity or less lower-intensity physical activity across the day after adjusting for noncognitive covariates.

The kinds of physical activity helpful to people with Alzheimer’s disease might be simple activities such as finding time to walk around the neighborhood, said Dr. Watts. “Walking is actually the best thing,” she said. “It is low risk, it is safe, anyone can do it, it doesn’t require specific equipment, it can be done anywhere. There are other light-intensity activities like stretching, tai chi, household chores, gardening, walking around the mall—those are also beneficial. People with Alzheimer’s disease do not have to go to the gym, they just need to do something that keeps them moving and keeps them from sitting continuously.”

Suggested Reading

Varma VR, Watts A. Daily physical activity patterns during the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2016 Oct 4 [Epub ahead of print].

People with Alzheimer’s disease have different daily patterns of activity, compared with healthy controls, according to research published online ahead of print October 4 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Understanding this different daily pattern in physical activity could be key to designing interventions and improving sleep for people with early Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps by targeting more physical activity in morning, said the researchers.

Too little is known about patterns of activity for people experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to Amber Watts, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For instance, researchers have lacked useful data about how the progression of the disease itself plays a role in diminishing day-to-day physical activity.

“Physical activity is important for brain function,” she said. “We know that people who are physically active are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. But we also know that for people already living with Alzheimer’s disease, physical activity can help them function better, decline more slowly, and help them with symptoms like agitation, wandering, and sleeplessness.”

Vijay R. Varma, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, and Dr. Watts analyzed the daily physical activity of 92 volunteers with and without mild Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Kansas’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Kansas City. Participants wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers for a week.Mild Alzheimer’s disease was associated with less moderate-intensity physical activity, lower peak activity, and lower physical activity complexity, particularly during the morning. Mild Alzheimer’s disease was not associated with greater sedentary activity or less lower-intensity physical activity across the day after adjusting for noncognitive covariates.

The kinds of physical activity helpful to people with Alzheimer’s disease might be simple activities such as finding time to walk around the neighborhood, said Dr. Watts. “Walking is actually the best thing,” she said. “It is low risk, it is safe, anyone can do it, it doesn’t require specific equipment, it can be done anywhere. There are other light-intensity activities like stretching, tai chi, household chores, gardening, walking around the mall—those are also beneficial. People with Alzheimer’s disease do not have to go to the gym, they just need to do something that keeps them moving and keeps them from sitting continuously.”

Suggested Reading

Varma VR, Watts A. Daily physical activity patterns during the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2016 Oct 4 [Epub ahead of print].