November Prime Times Part 2

Older Adults

for Active Older Adults

Active Older Adults

4 Powerful Brain Health Benefits of Yoga

By Mitra Malek, RYT | October 21, 2024

A regular yoga routine can help you improve memory, focus and even the cognitive decline associated with dementia.

Of course, you care about staying sharp as you age. That’s why you ’ re checking all the boxes: eating a healthy anti-inflammatory diet, prioritizing sleep, and staying active. But did you know that some physical activities have added cognitive health benefits? If you ’ re among the growing group of older adults doing yoga, you ’ re getting an extra brain boost. Research suggests that yoga — including physical postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and guided relaxation — can slow cognitive decline and enhance memory. Here are four science-backed brain health benefits of getting on your yoga mat.

1. Yoga Combats Stress

Chronic stress or anxiety can damage your brain, stimulating your brain’s fear center (amygdala) at the expense of your brain’s memory center (hippocampus) and command center (prefrontal cortex). This imbalance and degeneration can lead to increased risk of developing depression, dementia, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Yoga can increase alpha brain waves, along with serotonin and GABA, which are neurotransmitters that help you relax. Yoga’s ability to relieve stress and anxiety has been well-documented over the years. In a 2023 analysis of the ways yoga impacts brain health, for example, researchers noted that yoga ’ s stress-busting benefits help improve cognitive function in older adults. They gave credit to the breathing and meditation exercises that help seniors learn to calm and focus their minds.

2. Yoga Improves Your Focus

Research involving brain scans of yoga practitioners also suggests that yoga has a positive effect on many parts of the brain that help us stay focused, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. In other words, yoga can mold your brain to make you better at everything from paying attention and being less impulsive to feeling motivated.

for Active Older Adults

4 Powerful Brain Health Benefits of Yoga

By Mitra Malek, RYT | October 21, 2024

3. Yoga Improves Sleep Quality

Sleep is essential to overall brain health, and a lack of sleep can lead to cognitive decline, memory loss and brain conditions such as dementia. Unfortunately, in our older years, it’s harder to sleep well. But a 2024 analysis of 11 studies showed Hatha yoga — a gentle form of movement tied to breath — had a significant positive effect on sleep. Doing yoga reduced sleep disturbances and increased the duration, efficiency and quality of participants’ sleep — all older than 60 with selfreported poor sleep quality.

4. Yoga Keeps Your Memory Sharp

Studies show that people who practice yoga can develop more volume in the part of the brain that plays an important role in memory – the hippocampus.

In particular, researchers have found that Kundalini yoga — a type of yoga that incorporates repetitive movement, breath work, and chanting — enhances long-term memory and prevents brain matter from diminishing. In a 2024 study on women 50 years and older who had selfreported memory issues, Kundalini yoga was more effective at maintaining memory than conventional memory exercises.

Which Yoga Style is Best for Brain Health?

Studies demonstrating yoga ’ s positive effect on brain health incorporate various aspects of yoga, but older adults should prioritize safety. Classes described as “gentle” or “restorative” will focus more on relaxation and slow movement. Yoga therapy, which tailors yoga to each practitioner is a good option, too, especially if you are feeling anxious, depressed, or have a physical limitation.

for Active Older Adults

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Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:

7 graham crackers (full sheets)

1 1/2 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted FOR THE FILLING:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 c. pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners.

2.

1. Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the brown sugar and salt and continue to pulse. Drizzle in the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moist.

3.

Scoop a heaping tablespoonful of the graham cracker crumb mixture into each muffin liner. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass, press the crumbs flat into the bottom of each cup. Bake the crusts until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the filling.

4.

For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a large bowl at medium-high speed until combined and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Lower the mixer speed and beat in the egg and egg yolk just until incorporated. Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla until combined. Beat in the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

5.

Divide the cheesecake filling evenly among the 12 cups, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the edges are set and dry and centers are slightly jiggly, 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Tip: Make these up to two days in advance! Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cool the cheesecakes in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator until cooled completely, at least 1 hour. To serve, remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel away the liners. Arrange the cheesecakes on a serving platter and topped with whipped cream.