Exercise and Dementia: How Moving Helps Your Brain

Exercise on a regular basis may improve the overall health of elderly people and reduce the likelihood that they may develop dementia.

Dementia Prevention Through Physical Activity

Currently, dementia is the seventh biggest cause of mortality around the globe. Dementia is a word that encompasses several diseases that can impair memory and cognition. (World Health Organization, 2025) Every year, around 10 million new instances of dementia are diagnosed somewhere in the world. (Yoon J.H. et al., 2023) According to the findings of a study that investigated the connection between physical activity and insulin levels in the brain, regular physical activity can enhance brain function. It may reduce the chance of developing dementia. Researchers have discovered several factors.

• High blood pressure
• High blood sugar
• Age
• Increase the probability of developing dementia. (World Health Organization, 2025)

Moving about and working out the muscles is necessary. When people don’t move around much, their muscles stiffen up, and insulin works harder. When the body moves, the muscles are shortened and loosened, which increases insulin sensitivity. One possible strategy for warding against dementia is to find strategies to lower insulin resistance.

Lower the Risk Through Exercise

After observing 21 older persons with prediabetes for two weeks, the researchers discovered that physical activity assists the brain in regulating insulin, directly improving cognitive function. They finished twelve exercise sessions ranging from moderate to high intensity and were supervised. (Malin S. K. et al., 2025)

• The findings show a notable rise in the number of extracellular vesicles produced from the brain that contain insulin-related proteins.
• These small mediators enable neurons to talk to one another and are crucial for keeping the brain healthy.
• 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 response can cause dementia. Therefore, it is important to consider that exercise might help prevent this by strengthening insulin signaling.

Even though additional research is required, these findings prove that engaging in physical activity may be a feasible and inexpensive way to promote long-term brain health. The researchers will use an insulin spray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the investigation’s subsequent phase to better understand how insulin impacts brain activity. To better understand the effects of insulin spray, they will first evaluate the blood circulation in the brain before and after it has been administered.

Insulin and Physical Activity are Beneficial to the Health of the Brain

Insulin is a hormone the pancreas produces to control blood sugar levels. On the other hand, its effects on brain health are as important. The abundance of insulin receptors in the brain facilitates communication between neurons when insulin binds to these receptors. It strengthens synaptic connections, which is beneficial to learning and memory preservation. (Gray, S. M., Meijer, R. I., & Barrett, E. J. 2014)

Due to the presence of disorders such as type 2 diabetes, which are characterized by poor insulin signaling, the brain is more susceptible to cognitive deterioration. (Yoon J.H. et al., 2023) Insulin resistance was discovered to be a contributing factor in the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles, both of which are essential distinguishing features of Alzheimer’s disease, according to studies. (Hong, S., Han, K., & Park, C. Y. 2021) Getting the body to respond better to insulin might help slow down or even stop these changes in the brain. Getting some exercise, especially physical exercise, is good for your brain health. Studies have shown that working out improves or maintains their memory and thinking skills. (Rosenberg A. et al., 2020) Other ways to increase brain health include

• Staying active
• Staying socially active
• Brain exercises
• Getting plenty of sleep
• Stress management
• Healthy diet
• Managing diabetes
• Managing 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.

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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