Yoga gives distinct cognitive advantages to older women

California: A new UCLA Health study discovered that Kundalini yoga improved cognition and memory in older women at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by restoring neural pathways, preventing brain matter decline, and reversing ageing and inflammation-associated biomarkers--improvements not seen in a group that received standard memory training exercises.

The findings, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, are the most recent in a series of studies conducted by UCLA Health researchers over the last 15 years to compare the effects of yoga and traditional memory enhancement training on slowing cognitive decline and addressing other dementia risk factors.

Led by UCLA Health psychiatrist Dr Helen Lavretsky of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, this latest study sought to determine whether Kundalini yoga could be used early on to prevent cognitive decline and trajectories of Alzheimer's disease among postmenopausal women.

Women have about twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared to men due to several factors including longer life expectancy, changes in estrogen levels during menopause and genetics.

In the new study, a group of more than 60 women ages 50 and older who had self-reported memory issues and cerebrovascular risk factors were recruited from a UCLA cardiology clinic. The women were divided evenly into two groups. The first group participated in weekly Kundalini yoga sessions for 12 weeks while the other one group underwent weekly memory enhancement training during the same time period. Participants were also provided daily homework assignments.

Kundalini yoga is a method that focuses on meditation and breath work more so than physical poses. Memory enhancement training developed by the UCLA Longevity center includes a variety of exercises, such as using stories to remember items on a list or organizing items on a grocery list, to help preserve or improve long-term memory of patients.

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