Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s

The Life-Span Perspective focuses on human’s general course of development described as the pattern of movement that begins at conception and continues through the human life span. Although it might sound self-explanatory, there are many important reasons why individuals should prioritize learning and exploring its development, growth, and decline.

This perspective looks at human development as lifelong, multidimensional, and multidirectional process which acknowledges growth but also the regulation of loss both mentally and physically. As humans grow older, it is inevitable that the aging process will occur. Taking the steps to better your health and prevent certain diseases should be at the front of the mind. But how is this possible?

As years go by, an increase in stress within our sympathetic nervous system and a decrease in relaxation within our parasympathetic nervous system are common experiences. Researchers have conducted studies that show that intentionally slowing down your breathing rate, specifically for 20 to 40 minutes a day, could reduce peptide production that happens to be a prominent factor related to Alzheimer’s disease.

For example, equal breathing is a five-minute exercise where the goal is to line up your inhale and your exhale using only a five second count. It is recommended to practice this exercise twice a day for about 20 minutes each session.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV), the measure of how much flotation occurs between heartbeats, is controlled by the greater autonomic nervous system. The decrease of HRV is likely to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease. So, the slowing down of breathing that is known to affect HRV could also influence certain markers for this neurodegenerative disease.

YOGA365 offers a variety of yoga sequences that include slower breathing practices. Try the 52 weeks of Pranayama on the YOGA365 mobile app. This sequence is a progressive course covering the science of breath through short segments.

Don’t wait, start now for a healthier more robust future.