A brand new UCLA Well being examine discovered Kundalini yoga supplied a number of advantages to cognition and reminiscence for older girls liable to creating Alzheimer’s illness together with restoring neural pathways, stopping mind matter decline and reversing getting older and inflammation-associated biomarkers — enhancements not seen in a gaggle who obtained customary reminiscence coaching workout routines.
The findings, printed within the journal Translational Psychiatry, are the most recent in a collection of research led by UCLA Well being researchers over the previous 15 years into the comparative results of yoga and conventional reminiscence enhancement coaching on slowing cognitive decline and addressing different threat elements of dementia.
Led by UCLA Well being psychiatrist Dr. Helen Lavretsky of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Habits, this newest examine sought to find out whether or not Kundalini yoga may very well be used early on to stop cognitive decline and trajectories of Alzheimer’s illness amongst postmenopausal girls.
Girls have about twice the danger of creating Alzheimer’s illness in comparison with males because of a number of elements together with longer life expectancy, adjustments in estrogen ranges throughout menopause and genetics.
Within the new examine, a gaggle of greater than 60 girls ages 50 and older who had self-reported reminiscence points and cerebrovascular threat elements have been recruited from a UCLA cardiology clinic. The ladies have been divided evenly into two teams. The primary group participated in weekly Kundalini yoga classes for 12 weeks whereas the opposite one group underwent weekly reminiscence enhancement coaching throughout the identical time interval. Members have been additionally supplied every day homework assignments.
Kundalini yoga is a technique that focuses on meditation and breath work extra so than bodily poses. Reminiscence enhancement coaching developed by the UCLA Longevity heart contains quite a lot of workout routines, reminiscent of utilizing tales to recollect objects on an inventory or organizing objects on a grocery checklist, to assist protect or enhance long-term reminiscence of sufferers.
Researchers assessed the ladies’s cognition, subjective reminiscence, despair and nervousness after the primary 12 weeks and once more 12 weeks later to find out how secure any enhancements have been. Blood samples have been additionally taken to check for gene expression of getting older markers and for molecules related to irritation, that are contributing elements to Alzheimer’s illness. A handful of sufferers have been additionally assessed with MRIs to check adjustments in mind matter.
Researchers discovered the Kundalini yoga group individuals noticed a number of enhancements not skilled by the reminiscence enhancement coaching group. These included important enchancment in subjective reminiscence complaints, prevention in mind matter declines, elevated connectivity within the hippocampus which manages stress-related reminiscences, and enchancment within the peripheral cytokines and gene expression of anti-inflammatory and anti-aging molecules.
“That’s what yoga is sweet for — to scale back stress, to enhance mind well being, subjective reminiscence efficiency and scale back irritation and enhance neuroplasticity,” Lavretsky stated.
Among the many reminiscence enhancement coaching group, the principle enhancements have been discovered to be within the individuals’ long-term reminiscence.
Neither group noticed adjustments in nervousness, despair, stress or resilience, although Lavretsky acknowledged that is seemingly as a result of the individuals have been comparatively wholesome and weren’t depressed.
Whereas the long-term results of Kundalini yoga on stopping or delaying Alzheimer’s illness require additional examine, Lavretsky stated the examine demonstrates that utilizing yoga and reminiscence coaching in tandem may present extra complete advantages to the cognition of older girls.
“Ideally, individuals ought to do each as a result of they do practice totally different elements of the mind and have totally different total well being results,” Lavretsky stated. “Yoga has this anti-inflammatory, stress-reducing, anti-aging neuroplastic mind impact which might be complementary to reminiscence coaching.”