By Paula Baniotaite, Healthier Jupiter Intern

Mental health is a key element to a person’s overall health. It plays an equally important role as healthy eating and active living to ensure people live their healthiest life. To help make sense of mental health’s role in healthy living, Healthier Jupiter worked with a student intern from Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur Campus to research various topics related to mental health and healthy eating or active living . In the HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living) Series, read about promising interventions encouraging people to engage both mentally and physically in healthy behaviors. The following blog post looks at the importance of exercise for elderly community members and those living with Alzheimer’s or Parkinsons.

The Neuropsychobiology review titled “Exercise and Mental Health: Many Reasons to Move” examined 32 articles relating to physical activity and specific mental disorders in older age, such as major depression, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. While there hasn’t been too much research on major depression disorder and exercise in older adults, the existing research has revealed an inverse relationship between strength training as well as aerobic exercises and depression in elderly adults. What this research signifies is that the more older adults performed exercises at intensities consistent with public health recommendations, the lower the observed symptoms were in cases of mild to moderate major depression disorder (Blumenthal et al., 1999; Singh, Clements & Singh, 2001; Singh et al., 2005). Interestingly, low-intensity exercises showed similar results to placebo effects.

While it has been widely agreed upon that exercise plays a role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, studies have also shown that exercise can be used in adults with Alzheimer’s to improve their quality of life. Studies have also found exercise as leading to mood improvements in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (Williams & Tappen, 2008).

When it comes to Parkinson’s disease, epidemiological studies have shown that exercise is related to reduced risk of developing the disease (Deslandes et al., 2008). Studies have also shown that physical activity is beneficial to individuals with Parkinson’s disease when it comes to their quality of life, reduction of neurological symptoms, as well as their walking skills. This, in part, may be due to the strength that is acquired by individuals who exercise more often, which may lead to an improved quality of life. When speaking of exercise’s effects on the brain, such as in cognitive functioning, exercise has shown to increase levels of brain derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1) which aid in learning and hippocampal functioning as well as improving cognitive functioning, respectively (Deslandes et al., 2008).

Some key partners to implement these interventions include senior centers, athletic centers and Alzheimer’s associations.

The HEAL Series focusing on mental health’s connection to healthy eating and active living is part of an internship opportunity with FAU John D. MacArthur Campus at Jupiter student Paula Baniotaite. Paula holds a Bachelor's in Psychology.Strong advocate for mental health and spending time in nature. Animal lover. Avid hiker and camper. Dedicated to spreading the message about healthy eating habits and living an active life. Proud vegan. If you are interested in interning with Healthier Jupiter, please contact joanna.peluso@jupitermed.com.

READ MORE IN THE HEAL SERIES

Staying Active While Aging

Sources:

Blumenthal J.A., Babyak M.A., Moore K.A., Craighead W.E., Herman S., Khatri P., Waugh R., Napolitano M.A., Forman L.M., Appelbaum M., Doraiswamy M., & Krishnan K.R. (1999). Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Archives of Internal Medicine, 159(19), 2349–2370.

Deslandes, A., Moraes, H., Ferreira, C., Veiga, H., Silveira, H., Mouta, R., Pompeu, F. A. M. S., Coutinho, E. S. F., & Laks, J. (2009). Exercise and mental health: many reasons to move. Neuropsychobiology, 59(4), 191–198. https://doi-org.ezproxy.fau.edu/10.1159/000223730

Singh, N., Clements, K., Singh, M. (2001): The efficacy of exercise as a long-term antidepressant in elderly subjects: a randomized, controlled trial. Journals of Gerontology, 56(8), M497-M504

Singh, N. A., Stavrinos, T. M., Scarbek, Y., Galambos, G., Liber, C., & Singh, M. A. F. (2005). A randomized controlled trial of high versus low intensity weight training versus general practitioner care for clinical depression in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A, 6, 768.

Williams C.L., & Tappen R.M. (2008). Exercise training for depressed older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. Aging & Mental Health, 12(1), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860701529932

HEAL Series: Staying Active While Aging