Sodiq Ojuroungbe
A new study has suggested that engaging in breathing exercises may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the study, a brief breathing exercise that lasts for 20 minutes, done twice daily for four weeks, and which entails inhaling while counting up to five, then exhaling at the same count, can have a substantial effect on the body.
The World Health Organisation defines Alzheimer’s disease as a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.
The WHO also states that Alzheimer’s disease may contribute to 60–70 per cent of dementia cases.
The study which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that breathing exercises can help lower the amyloid beta levels in the blood of peptides associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers from the University of Southern California during the study asked 108 participants, half of whom are young, and between the ages of 18 and 30, and half of whom were older, between the ages of 55 and 80, to perform the exercises twice daily for 20 minutes at a time.
The researchers kept track of the participant’s heart rates, which tend to peak with inhalation and fall back to baseline with exhalation.
Blood samples were taken both before and after the subjects had been carrying out the experiment for four weeks.
The researchers searched for amyloid beta peptides 40 and 42 in the plasma of individuals in both groups.
They discovered that the group which breathed deeply and attempted to improve their heart rate variability (HRV) by increasing oscillations saw a drop in plasma levels of both peptides.
The therapies had comparable effects on plasma amyloid beta levels in both younger and older persons.
During the study, the researchers found that behavioural interventions can reduce the level of amyloid beta peptides in plasma.
The lead researcher and a director of the Emotion and Cognition Lab at USC’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Professor Mara Mather said, “At least to date, exercise interventions have not decreased amyloid beta levels. Regularly practising slow-paced breathing via HRV exercise may be a low-cost and low-risk way to reduce plasma amyloid beta levels and to keep them low throughout adulthood.”
Reacting to the study, a neurologist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Gabriel Nweke told Reportr Door Healwise that diaphragmatic breathing can help reduce the level of amyloid beta peptides in plasma.
He noted that the long-term effect of breathing exercises can help to reduce the risk of having Alzheimer, stressing that physiological changes in ageing might contribute to the factors that make it conducive for someone to develop the disease or not.
“Yes, it is true breathing exercises can help in the risk of Alzheimer’s. You know how we breathe influences how quickly our hearts beat, which in turn, affects how our neurological system functions and how our brain generates and eliminates proteins.
“We normally engage our sympathetic nervous system while awake and alert. We also use it to exercise, concentrate, and it even helps us make long-lasting memories. The interval between each heartbeat doesn’t vary significantly, while the sympathetic nervous system is active.
“The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, causes the heart rate to rise during inhalation and fall during exhalation.
“It is good to engage in breathing exercises, it helps our health positively. People should try to breathe in and out five seconds each for at least 20 minutes on a daily basis and you will see improvement in your health,” Dr. Nweke advised.
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