In a study that followed about 43,000 adults for 12 years, researchers discovered that women getting more than 6 hours of activity per week were 43% less likely to develop Parkinson’s than those getting less than 2 hours a week. What’s exciting is that “activity” was broadly defined and included such things as household chores, walking the dog, and climbing stairs. Plus, there’s some good news for office workers: A physically demanding level of occupational activity wasn’t statistically significant; as long as you’re getting those 6 hours of weekly activity, sitting at a desk all day won’t raise your risk too much (although, obviously, it’s still not ideal). MORE: The Best Type Of Exercise For Your Brain We already knew that exercise helps moderate symptoms in Parkinson’s patients, stimulating blood flow to the brain in much the same way medication does. But this study is one of the first to examine how it might prevent the disease, too. So why does being active have such an impact? Not a lot is known about what causes Parkinson’s, but it appears to result from the loss of dopaminergic neurons, the main source of the hormone and neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. Researchers suspect that exercise increases the brain’s levels of GDNF, a protein that protects and promotes the growth of neurons (including the dopaminergic kind). Or it might be because when you exercise, you’re less likely to be overweight or obese, two more risk factors for Parkinson’s. Either way, consider it the tipping point for finally doing some vacuuming. MORE: The Herbal Remedy To Banish Brain Fog
