Family Caregivers Benefit From Exercise

Exercise can reduce stress and improve cellular health among family caregivers. Researchers recruited 68 sedentary individuals who cared for family members suffering from either Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. The participants were divided into either a group that undertook 40 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times per week or a group that was asked not to alter their current level of activity. At the end of the six-month study, the exercise group not only experienced improved cardiorespiratory fitness, but they also reduced their body mass index, trimmed their waistlines, and reported lower levels of stress. Lastly, the researchers observed an increase in telomere length among participants in the exercise group, a trait that previous studies have associated with slowed cellular aging. Psychoneuroendocrinology, October 2018