On 24 March, German researchers from Cologne published a paper in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, showing that physical exercise could be beneficial for the caregiver, given challenging behaviours caused by neuropsychiatric symptoms in acute dementia care. The researchers conducted a randomised clinical trial with 70 research participants. Half of them received an exercise program with 20 minutes of activity twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. The control group received a social stimulation program. Findings showed clinical improvements in neuropsychiatric symptoms compared to the control group. In addition, the exercise reduced the fatigue of the caregivers. Researchers suggested that physical exercise programs may not only be beneficial for the patients but also for their caregivers.
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad191102
