[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No one wants to stumble over ordinary daily tasks, forgetting what we just said or why we walked into a room. Frustrating as it may be, a little forgetfulness is normal though.
But as we age, especially past 60 years, our risk for developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease increases. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, which is a decline in memory, problem-solving, language and thinking abilities that is pronounced enough to trouble everyday living. Some 60% to 80% of dementia cases are Alzheimer's.
Genetics can influence whether you slide into cognitive decline. But so does your behavior — which you can control.
A growing body of research suggests yoga and meditation can help prevent both Alzheimer's and dementia, and improve symptoms of each. A very small 2014 study even suggests that yoga and meditation could play a role in reversing memory loss.
“Yoga's brain health benefits include relieving anxiety and sleep problems, reducing stress, slowing cognitive decline and enhancing memory,” says
Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT, a yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine Center, in Durham, North Carolina. Krucoff co-authored
Relax into Yoga for Seniors and has been involved with several studies focused on
yoga's role in aging healthfully.
Yoga and Alzheimer's: What the latest research says
Studies have used different aspects of yoga to see how the practice affects brain health: breath-work, postures, mantras, mudras, chanting, kriyas, meditation, guided relaxation. Yoga's many hatha (physically based) styles use some or all those features to varying degrees.
A 2024 study suggests that yoga — specifically Kundalini yoga, which focuses heavily on breath-work — can
provide cognitive benefits to older women, including restoring neural pathways, preventing brain matter decline and reversing aging- and inflammation-associated biomarkers. That's great news, given women are more at risk for developing Alzheimer's due to longer life expectancy and decreasing estrogen levels after menopause.
The randomized controlled trial included 79 women who were at least 50 years old and had self-reported memory issues. Those who practiced Kundalini yoga reaped the benefits (40 women). Meanwhile, those who instead did memory-training exercises didn’t (39 women).
Researchers noted that mind-body practices such as yoga and meditation “have been recognized as safe techniques with beneficial effects on cognitive functions in older adults at risk for cognitive decline.”
Also, a 2019 review of studies that considered
yoga's effect on mild cognitive impairment and dementia noted that research suggests yoga “may have beneficial effects on cognitive functioning, particularly on attention and verbal memory” because it can improve sleep, mood and neural connectivity.
Sleep irregularity and dementia: How yoga can help
Buildup of beta-amyloid protein in the brain causes Alzheimer's disease. It damages the brain's neurons and disrupts its neural pathways.
Sleep, it turns out, clears our brains of the sticky substance and the plaques it can create. A lack of sufficient quality sleep every night, about eight hours,
can lead to dementia and Alzheimer's.
And a
2023 study suggests that
people with “very irregular” sleep patterns may have a higher risk — 53% — of getting dementia than people who go to bed and wake up on a more predictable schedule.
On the bright side, many studies have documented yoga's role in regulating the autonomic nervous system and aiding sleep. A 2024
analysis of 11 studies showed yoga had a “significant positive effect” on sleep. In particular, hatha yoga reduced sleep disturbances and increased the duration, efficiency and quality of participants' sleep.
Preventing Alzheimer's with yoga to reduce stress
Cortisol is useful in appropriate doses to respond to sudden or acute stress. But if your body cranks it out chronically it can damage your brain.
A 2019
review of clinical studies concluded that elevated cortisol levels “may exert detrimental effects on cognition” and contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Those studies showed that elevated cortisol “was associated with poorer overall cognitive functioning, as well as with poorer episodic memory, executive functioning, language, spatial memory, processing speed, and social cognition.” And people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment have been found to have higher levels of cortisol in their cerebrospinal fluid than cognitively healthy controls, the review notes.
The good news? Yoga's effectiveness at reducing stress is
well-established. The more regularly you do yoga over a long period of time — making it a habit — the better the practice is at tempering your response to stress.
Still, relaxation is the reward even with short-term practice. A 2023
study focused on the mechanisms underlying the relationship between yoga and cognitive health in older adults generally found both short- and long-term yoga practice can help the brain. Yoga's overall ability to improve stress regulation and limit inflammation “may provide neuroprotective cognitive benefits” to older adults by limiting prolonged exposure to elevated cortisol levels, the study notes.
And consider this: A
very small study published in 2014 used yoga and meditation — specifically to reduce stress — as part of a complex therapy regimen to combat memory loss, including from Alzheimer's. Within three to six months, nine of 10 participants showed memory improvement, measured subjectively or objectively. The one participant whose memory didn't improve had “very late stage” Alzheimer's.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title="Featured Products" border_width="2"][vc_row_inner equal_height="yes" content_placement="middle" gap="35"][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="183570" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1743633202360{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/himalaya-hello-alert-mind"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="183571" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1743633228454{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/revive-md-brain-stimulant-free-focus-support-for-mental-clarity-improved-attention-memory"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="183572" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" css=".vc_custom_1743633254403{padding-right: 7% !important;padding-left: 7% !important;}" link="https://www.vitacost.com/nordic-naturals-cognition-mushroom-complex"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
