Exercise your right to slow aging
Reduce the risk of dementia — Activities such as golf, bowling, dancing, walking, and swimming boost circulation to the brain, which stimulates the growth of neural connections that help the brain compensate for aging, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. Exercising 30 minutes a day, three- to four-times a week helps preserve brain function in people 65 or older.

Counter the fear of falling — Stiffness and poor balance increase the risk of bone-breaking falls. The best protection is to exercise regularly. Even frail people can boost their physical powers through exercise, particularly strength training for the legs.

Easy does it
Yoga increases flexibility. To improve balance, try the following exercises for the elderly developed by researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine:

• Hold onto a rail or other stable source.
• Swing your hips five times in a large clockwise circle, as if whirling a hula-hoop. Then swing five times in the opposite direction.
• Stand on just your left foot for five seconds. Then do the same on your right. Repeat ten times on each foot.
• Take five sliding steps to the left without crossing your feet, while moving your hands along the edge of the sink or counter. The take five small steps back. Repeat five times.
• Stand on your left foot and move your right leg out to the side and back again. Repeat ten times, alternating feet and legs.

Exercise benefits frail elders
Even people in their 90s benefit from exercise, according to the preliminary results of a study by a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In the first phase of the study, a group of 10 mobility-impaired elderly subjects nearly doubled the distance they could walk as well as their gait speed during a 12-week period.

Subjects with walking problems ranged in age from 70 to 94. Exercise sessions were three times per week for three months. Each session lasted an average of 75 minutes. During the sessions, participants used treadmills equipped with a safety device called a “treadabout.” Other exercises included stair-steps, knee bends, stand-ups, and hip and knee extensions.

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