To reduce risk for Alzheimer's, skip Lumosity and get onto the yoga mat

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/uoc--trr050416.php

Public Release: 10-May-2016
To reduce risk for Alzheimer's, skip Lumosity and get onto the yoga mat
UCLA study finds that yoga and meditation can help minimize cognitive impairment
University of California - Los Angeles

Inner peace and a flexible body may not be the most valuable benefits that yoga and meditation have to offer, suggests new research by a UCLA-led team of neuroscientists.

The team found that a three-month course of yoga and meditation practice helped minimize the cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia -- and that it was even more effective than the memory enhancement exercises that have been considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment.

"Memory training was comparable to yoga with meditation in terms of improving memory, but yoga provided a broader benefit than memory training because it also helped with mood, anxiety and coping skills," said Helen Lavretsky, the study's senior author and a professor in residence in UCLA's department of psychiatry.

People with mild cognitive impairment are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

•••••