Dementia isn’t an inevitable symptom of ageing – and a daily walk’s the best way to stop it before it starts.
Nine hundred thousand people in the UK are living with dementia – a number expected to nearly triple over the next 30 years. It’s not a disease in its own right, but the name for when different diseases cause our brain cells to stop working properly, which can lead to memory loss, confusion and being unable to talk. Dementia is degenerative and terminal – cruel for both the person with it and their loved ones.
But although it mostly affects older people, it’s not a symptom of old age. There are things you can do to lower your risk of getting it – and one of the very best ways is regular walking.
“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” says Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “When your heart is pumping faster, more oxygen is going to the brain, and your brain is more active than usual. The regularity of walking and being active is what’s important. It doesn’t matter if it’s brief exercise – so long as you’re doing it.”
One of the reasons walking is particularly helpful, says Dr Imarisio, is because of the social connection you can make with others – not least as with communities like #walk1000miles. “You often go with friends, with a club, or talk about it with peers so there’s usually a social component to going for a walk. And we know that not remaining connected with people increases your risk of getting dementia by 26%.”
Those already diagnosed with dementia can also benefit from walking. “If you have dementia you start to close down in the number of people you interact with,” explains Dr Imarisio. “But walking helps you to stay connected with other people. It’s good for the people at the beginning of this journey, and for people with more established dementia. It’s never too late for it to benefit the individual. And if more people walked it would have a truly massive impact on the healthcare system. Staying active is so important – it’s the shining armour, the thing that everything is pointing at.”
Neuroscientist Professor Wendy Suzuki puts it more starkly still: “Simply moving your body has immediate, long-lasting, and protective benefits for your brain that can last for the rest of your life.”
In numbers
900,000
The number of people in the UK who currently have dementia
1.6 million
The number of those projected to have dementia in 2040
£34.7 billion
The annual cost of care for people with dementia in the UK
£91.4 billion
The expected annual cost in 2040
25%
Percentage of hospital beds occupied by people living with dementia who are over 65
30%
The amount regular walking in middle age reduces your risk of getting dementia
45%
The amount regular walking in middle age reduces your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease
