Exercise and Dementia: Combatting Cognitive Decline

Does regular exercise enhance the overall health of elderly adults and reduce the risk of dementia?

Exercise and the Prevention of Dementia

Dementia, a group of disorders that affect memory and cognition, is the seventh largest cause of mortality globally (World Health Organization, 2025). Every year, about 10 million new cases of dementia are found around the world. (Yoon J.H. et al., 2023). A study investigating the correlation between exercise and insulin in the brain revealed that consistent physical activity may enhance cognitive performance and may reduce the incidence of dementia. Researchers have identified elements such as.

• High Blood Pressure
• High blood sugar
• Age
• Increases the risk of acquiring dementia. (World Health Organization, 2025)

You need to work out and move your muscles. When people don’t exercise, their muscles stiffen, making it difficult for insulin to accomplish its job. When the body moves, it squeezes and relaxes those muscles, making them more sensitive to insulin. Finding techniques to lower insulin resistance in the body could help prevent dementia.

Exercise is Linked to a Lower Risk

Researchers followed 21 older adults with prediabetes over two weeks and found that exercise helps the brain regulate insulin, directly improving cognitive function. They completed 12 supervised moderate- to high-intensity exercise sessions. (Malin S. K. et al., 2025)

• The result showed a significant rise in extracellular vesicles from the brain that carry proteins linked to insulin.
• These microscopic messengers are essential for brain maintenance and aid in neuronal communication.
• AKT, also known as protein kinase B (PKB), is a set of three serine/threonine-specific protein kinases important for many cellular activities, such as cell proliferation, metabolism, and the cell cycle.
• The protein is thought to play a major role in insulin signaling, which affects the growth and health of neuronal cells.
• Poor insulin sensitivity has been linked to dementia. Thus, it is noteworthy that exercise can help prevent this by improving insulin signaling.

These results suggest that physical activity could be an easy and low-cost method to help keep your brain healthy over the long term, but further research is needed. In the next part of the project, researchers will employ an insulin spray and MRIs to learn more about how insulin changes the brain’s workings. To learn more about how the insulin spray works, they will examine how blood flows in the brain before and after giving it.

Insulin and Exercise are Crucial for Maintaining Brain Health

The pancreas secretes the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar levels. But it’s equally important for brain health. Because there are many insulin receptors in the brain, when insulin binds to them, it improves synaptic connections and facilitates neuronal communication, both of which assist memory and learning. (Gray, S. M., Meijer, R. I., & Barrett, E. J. 2014)

The brain is more susceptible to cognitive impairment when insulin transmission is compromised, as with diseases like type 2 diabetes. (Yoon J.H. et al., 2023) Research revealed that tau tangles and amyloid-beta plaques, two important features of Alzheimer’s disease, were exacerbated by insulin resistance. (Hong, S., Han, K., & Park, C. Y. 2021) These brain alterations may be slowed down or even avoided by increasing insulin sensitivity. The brain’s general health is improved by exercise, especially aerobic activity. According to earlier research, exercise can help adults retain or enhance their memory and cognitive function. (Rosenberg A. et al., 2020) Other approaches to improving brain health include

• Maintaining social interaction
• Challenging the Mind
• Getting a good night’s sleep
• Controlling stress
• A nutritious diet
• Maintaining an active lifestyle
• Controlling diabetes
• Controlling blood pressure

To have the biggest impact on preventing dementia in the future, lifestyle changes like exercise and medicines will probably need to be used together. People with prediabetes or diabetes who work out regularly may have a much lower chance of dementia, and their brains will stay healthy.

Injury, Chiropractic, and Functional Medicine Clinic

Dr. Jimenez is a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner who uses advanced medical knowledge and chiropractic care to treat various illnesses. We combine Functional Medicine, Acupuncture, Electro-Acupuncture, and Sports Medicine at our clinic to make personalized care programs that help people heal naturally, move around, and stay healthy for a long time. We give patients the tools they need to succeed, no matter their age or health problems, by focusing on flexibility, agility, and strength. We at El Paso’s Chiropractic Rehabilitation Clinic & Integrated Medicine Center are very dedicated to helping people who have been hurt or have chronic pain. We have programs for people of all ages and impairments that focus on improving flexibility, mobility, and agility. We ensure that every patient gets tailored care and wellness outcomes by using in-person and virtual health coaching and full care plans.

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Is Movement Essential for Recovery?

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References

World Health Organization. (2025). “Dementia.” World Health Organization. from www.who.int/news-room/fact sheets/detail/dementia#:~:text=Alzheimer%20disease%20is%20the%20most,60%E2%80%9370%25%20of%20cases.

Yoon, J. H., Hwang, J., Son, S. U., Choi, J., You, S. W., Park, H., Cha, S. Y., & Maeng, S. (2023). How Can Insulin Resistance Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(4), 3506. doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043506

Malin, S. K., Battillo, D. J., Beeri, M. S., Mustapic, M., Delgado-Peraza, F., & Kapogiannis, D. (2025). Two weeks of exercise alters neuronal extracellular vesicle insulin signaling proteins and pro-BDNF in older adults with prediabetes. Aging cell, 24(1), e14369. doi.org/10.1111/acel.14369

Gray, S. M., Meijer, R. I., & Barrett, E. J. (2014). Insulin regulates brain function, but how does it get there?. Diabetes, 63(12), 3992–3997. doi.org/10.2337/db14-0340

Hong, S., Han, K., & Park, C. Y. (2021). The insulin resistance by triglyceride glucose index and risk for dementia: population-based study. Alzheimer’s research & therapy, 13(1), 9. doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-00758-4

Rosenberg, A., Mangialasche, F., Ngandu, T., Solomon, A., & Kivipelto, M. (2020). Multidomain Interventions to Prevent Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia: From FINGER to World-Wide FINGERS. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, 7(1), 29–36. doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2019.41