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Alexander Elementary School’s boundless playground comes together

Alexander Elementary School’s boundless playground comes together
Alexander Elementary School’s boundless playground comes together

ADRIAN — Soon after quite a few delays, Alexander Elementary School’s all-inclusive, boundless playground is at last coming jointly — piece-by-piece, one screw at a time and just one nut and bolt at a time.

Supply challenges, backordering of needed devices and some other headaches throughout the setting up phases of earning the playground a actuality pushed back the neighborhood create dates for the Adrian school’s playground, which is intended to be available by absolutely everyone, which includes those people with disabilities, by at minimum two months.

Volunteers were being ready to converge Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the university alongside Cherry Street, in which approximately all sections of the playground ended up assembled. 

Whilst a piece or two have been delayed for supply later this 7 days, the bulk of the playground was manufactured by volunteers of all ages. It was anticipated that all of the delivered parts would be introduced jointly and completely assembled by 4 p.m. Saturday, in accordance to Alexander Elementary College Principal Shanan Henline.

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Virtual charter school using cash stipends seeks to open in Indiana

Virtual charter school using cash stipends seeks to open in Indiana

A digital constitution university in Arizona needs to extend to Indiana with a model that features mothers and fathers a money stipend for enrichment things to do and curricular supplies. 

Colearn Academy, an all-virtual faculty that gives learners three understanding pathways with various degrees of independence, is looking for authorization from Instruction 1, a charter authorizer operated by Trine College, a private university in Angola, Ind.

But a similar model has by now landed another Indiana digital university in incredibly hot drinking water with legislators, who handed a law previously this yr that expanded a previous ban on faculties presenting dollars as an incentive to enroll. 

In a assertion, Colearn Indiana agent Kimberly Phillips did not instantly solution irrespective of whether its stipends could be thought of enrollment incentives, but as a substitute stated the funding is intended to offer “customized instructional encounters.”  

“Unlike a conventional university that buys the very same educational products and curriculum for each pupil, our enrichment account permits a scholar to have interaction in a tailored studying expertise based on their personal passions and wants,” Phillips mentioned.

Lindsay Omlor, govt director of constitution educational facilities for Education 1, stated she could not remark on a faculty software that’s nonetheless pending review. 

Controversy potential customers to expanded incentive law

In 2020, Chalkbeat claimed on the criticism of an Indiana university that presented dad and mom income to obtain curricular components that included Netflix subscriptions, museum memberships, and toys.  

That school, Tech Trep Academy, later switched to a details-centered process that it maintains is not an enrollment incentive.

Some lawmakers disagreed. Earlier this yr, they handed a regulation that broadened an current ban on financial incentives for enrollment to include things like “any item that has monetary price, including money or a gift card.”

The Indiana Office of Education and learning stated in a statement that it has “worked to connect the demands of” the new regulation to aid educational institutions keep on being compliant. The section previously stated it arrived at out to Tech Trep about concerns in May perhaps. 

Colearn applies to Education and learning One

Colearn submitted an application in August to Schooling One particular, which oversees 12 public constitution educational facilities and 4,200 learners in Indiana. 

Colearn’s software says the faculty will enroll pupils statewide, but that it will goal “rural communities” in central Indiana counties like Marion, Boone, Hamilton, and Howard.

It also areas a distinct emphasis on recruiting families who would if not pick to homeschool.

“Colearn has a one of a kind prospect to serve these households, especially in the counties specified by offering accessibility to sources that families could not obtain on their own,” the software says. 

Its product presents three pathways to pupils — just one in which students take classes from a Colearn trainer, and two other folks in which learners use on the internet or at-residence curriculum that is monitored by a plan mentor. The mentor can be a mum or dad or someone teaching little ones below their care, in accordance to the software.

The university plans to supply a $600 annually stipend for application mentors to enroll their learners in exterior extracurricular actions, or to buy supplies or different curriculum. Software mentors use an on-line portal to location their orders, which are then authorized or turned down by a Colearn teacher. 

“Providing cash to all family members degrees the playing area so that any family members can enroll their baby in enriching actions to encourage the enhancement of their child no matter of socioeconomic position, gender, religion, race, or ethnicity,” the software states.

But Kylene Varner, a homeschooling advocate with the Indiana Association of Residence Educators, reported the sum available by Colearn not only would not go far, but having it would have to have people to give up the academic independence that might have captivated them to homeschooling.

Indiana law defines a homeschool as a “nonpublic and nonaccredited” college. Phillips reported pupils who enroll at Colearn would be regarded public faculty pupils at a charter school, not homeschoolers.

Homeschools in Indiana have couple specifications, which include retaining attendance documents. Unlike homeschool learners, Colearn students would be essential to take part in benchmark and state assessments, in accordance to the software. 

Varner, who supported the new incentive legislation, mentioned it’s a misconception that dwelling schooling should be expensive, as many households choose a small-value strategy by means of totally free curriculum and library sources.

“People ignore that households are homeschooling because they’ve decided on to not be component of the general public school program,” she reported. 

Upcoming steps and timeline

In its software, Colearn also touted the successes of its Arizona constitution faculty, which opened in 2021. That university also provides a $600 annual stipend to moms and dads or plan mentors for tutorial products and extracurricular functions. 

At Education and learning A single, Colearn’s application is beneath review by a workforce that is made up of finance, services, and instructional consultants, as perfectly as legal counsel, in accordance to Instruction One’s internet site. 

Programs that make it through the total method are in the long run authorized by the a few members of the Schooling One board. 

The faculty hopes to open up for the 2023-24 faculty yr. Though it’s not clear when Training One particular will approve or drop the application, the authorizer recommends that colleges submit an software at least 9 months in advance of their meant start out date. 

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education and learning plan and writes about K-12 schools across the point out. Get in touch with her at [email protected].

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EDITORIAL: Online learning remains paramount component of education after pandemic

EDITORIAL: Online learning remains paramount component of education after pandemic

The coronavirus sickness (COVID-19) pandemic brought numerous new troubles, and we all had to adapt to new techniques of present in the earth. We masked up, we went on socially distanced walks, we stayed in touch with close friends and spouse and children by using social media and video clip chat. These ended up the realities of the pandemic, for absolutely everyone.

For college students, however, that truth also bundled college. We were made use of to in-person courses with an instructor educating, with classmates correct by us if we did not have an understanding of one thing, and with buddies often nearby with whom we could complain or anxiety about assignments.

The pandemic interrupted all of that — individuals are essential moments and experiences that we will under no circumstances get back again. In its put, we have been uncovered to digital programs. Synchronous and asynchronous learning grew to become popular vocabulary when talking about academics. These concepts are what received us by the pandemic and held us on monitor to graduate.

Now that we have returned to primarily in-individual understanding, it has turn into obvious that online learning was not as horrible as we experienced initially imagined. Its overall flexibility empowered pupils to go after their passions, concentration on internships and control employment.

Certainly, an in-individual understanding surroundings is conducive to a assortment of other activities that we believe of when we determine to go to school, but there is something about the digital landscape that ought to be taken severely as potential discussions about engineering and the digital age in pedagogy materialize.

For learners who commute, for illustration, it will be much easier to have a assortment of choices: Probably they can manage to only arrive to campus 2 times a 7 days instead of four instances a 7 days. For learners who may possibly be immunocompromised or with other disabilities, they will be made safer without the need of compromising their education and learning. For students who are fast paced, whether that usually means having on an internship or operating, virtual studying gives them the potential to craft a agenda on their have time.

Rutgers agrees — and the College is investigating how to improve and make additional long-lasting digital education selections. In a recent announcement, the College has produced public a council on on the internet training. The council is tasked with delivering the University with means to make improvements to the on line discovering infrastructure as a full. 

This is a clever, ahead-contemplating council. College students advantage from extended options. By Rutgers reimagining a blended structure exactly where the emphasis is even now on in-individual studying, but with reliable virtual alternatives, they are responding to broader cultural tendencies and assembly students’ demands additional carefully.

One of the most vital things of training is that it should be obtainable to every person. Sometimes, in-man or woman learning is not incredibly accessible. There are a vary of elements that contribute to generating a college student prosper academically or not, or if they can even study in a specific ecosystem. On the web learning accounts for these disparities and attempts to remedy them.

By providing extra virtual lessons, particularly far more asynchronous programs, Rutgers empowers its pupils to make the greatest decision for them selves. We believe that is a good detail — if we have acquired something these past several many years it is that younger people are a lot more than capable of being aware of how to take care of things and how to make their very own way. Despite these positive aspects, methods ought to be taken to ensure that on line platforms are both as protected and as obtainable as probable.

To the initially point, as society turns into extra digitized, the menace of hacking looms massive. As we witnessed throughout the pandemic, Zoom rooms can be infiltrated. The College should take all ways required to ensure that the on the internet sphere is just as shielded as the in-person 1.

About the latter level, the University should really choose a lot more action to make sure that on-line schoolwork is available to all Rutgers learners. To carry out this, Rutgers desires to make sure all pupils have access to Wi-Fi — whether by doing the job with community and condition governments, any individual enrolled at Rutgers need to have some type of obtain to the world-wide-web, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Rutgers really should also broaden the notebook rentals so pupils can go after digital discovering more comfortably.

Even a lot more, pupils will have to be proactive and vocal about their needs to each the University and their have professors. Similarly, though we have talked about issues connected to college students at duration, the burdens and problems placed on instructors cannot be dismissed.

Any strategy to transfer classes to an on-line format have to also make lifestyle less complicated for instructors. Online classes, each synchronous and asynchronous, need to have to have stringent cutoffs, and the instructors should be handled with the exact same quantity of regard as any other instructor.

As we emerge from the pandemic, lots of issues are different. The way we interact, the way we feel about health and fitness, the way we exist. As a distinct consequence, our education and learning system has essentially modified. Rutgers is in a special posture to be a chief in this new instructional age. We should go on prioritizing approaches that are best for pupils, and a combine of in-particular person and digital faculty seems like a sound position to commence.

The Each day Targum’s editorials stand for the views of the the vast majority of the 154th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Enterprise or its workers.

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Seven Educational Games for Students

Seven Educational Games for Students
Seven Educational Games for Students

Education is becoming more and more interactive and fun these days. Enjoyable methods prove to be a lot more effective than former conventional methods. Joining fun and education is an effective way of grabbing and holding students ‘ attention. Whether pre-schoolers or high school students. Learning through pastime gives children a deep, easy understanding of subjects and facts.

Games help students develop skills, talents, and understanding in school work or extracurricular activities. Learning through games is a multifunctional process. Educational games are on a constant increase every day. So, everyone needs to keep up with the developments, especially teachers, students, and parents. 

With the proper use of educational games, students can develop skills in science subjects, literature, writing, and many more. With this knowledge, they can be employed in medical fields, custom article review writing services, engineering occupations, and so on. This will help broaden everyone’s scope and understanding of choosing the best educational games and how best to use them.

Here is a list of the best educational games for students.

SplashLearn-Reading and Math Games 

Splashlearn uses games that develop motivation and learning in children. These games develop curiosity and a fearless thirst for knowledge in children who use all they learn. The games keep a child’s attention by being interesting and fun. Boredom is eliminated. So, the children become excited to learn more and retain the information better. 

Splashlearn offers different games in subjects and grades. 

Subject 

Grade

Mathematics

Elementary, preschool, and highschool

English 

Elementary, preschool, and highschool

Reading and letters from A-Z

Pre-school 

CBeebies 

CBeebies is only available for preschool kids ages 6 and under. The games usually encourage playfulness, and their programs are very simple for preschoolers to understand. They provide options such as video clips to watch and fun pastimes to learn. Their programs are simple, fun, and very child-friendly. They protect children from bad content that will affect them negatively because children’s minds are very receptive at that stage. The kind of programs they offer are easy to understand and stick to the students’ memories for a long time. 

 Online games available on CBeebies: 

  • Puzzle.
  • Colouring.
  • Games for exploration. 
  • Fun outdoor games.  
  • Memory-enhancing and many more.

Shifu Plug

Shifu Plugo is mostly suited for children in elementary school. It focuses on realistic early learning, which is interactive and engages children through stories. These stories are very realistic and enjoyable for children of all ages. Shifu kits have a gamepad of 5 kits in tunes, slingshots, counting, lettering, and links. 

 Some games available are: 

  • Reboot: Includes wonders of the earth, dinosaurs, planets, etc. 
  • Plug: Includes realistic and interactive stories. Children develop their vocabulary, word spelling, alphabet, Grammer, phonetics, and so on through these stories. 

CBC Kids Games  

CBC kids games are available for elementary students aged 8-13.  These games help children to be curious about their world and everything around them. They are pushed to question and try to find answers about everything around them. Pastimes include adventure, puzzles, learning about animals, playing sports, action games, and many more fun and exciting ones. 

Math Playground 

Math Playground is an amazing mathematical game available to students of all ages. Students learn math formulas and how to apply them through interactive and fun processes. They have characters like Superheros teaching them in environments like playgrounds. Math playground captures students’ attention from the beginning of the learning process to the end. 

 Featured games: 

  •  Step-by-step equations 
  •  Division Derby 
  •  Sum stacks 
  •  Number sequence 
  •  Amusement park addition 
  •  Factor pair up 
  •  Algebraic Reasoning and many more 

 Colory

Colory is an art game. It focuses on artistic aesthetic development in students. Students understand the use of colors and how best to put them together to form something beautiful. The colory interface is very easy to use and understand, making it ideal for students of all ages to use. 

Features 

  • Provides different options of painting tools for children to use. From brushes to palettes, paints in different colors, and so on. 
  • It helps students know the names of different art tools and understand how to use them. 
  • Access to many kinds of pictures to paint.
  • Children learn about many great artists and get inspiration from them.
  • Sharing of their work on social media is possible. This increases social activities among students. They can roam one another.
  • It is available, even offline.
  • It serves as a means of reducing stress. 

Name that Tune 

This is a perfect game for music lovers. Students in high school enjoy this type of game much more than younger students. Studies have shown that most students around that age appreciate music and use it in most activities. They listen to music as they do school work, do house chores, drive, visit with friends, and do other fun activities. Whether alone or with friends. 

How this works:

  • Involves two or more participants 
  • A moderator arranges a collection of songs from different genres 
  • Then plays it for participants 
  • The participants are to say the name of the artist, genre, or song title. Depending on what they provide 
  • The number of rounds they can play is unlimited. 

Name that tune is a type of game that increases music appreciation in students. It allows them to broaden their music choice and learn about different artists and genres. 

Code Spells 

The most important feature of this game is its focus on coding. Every parent and guardian must know how important it is to teach their wards about codes and how to use them. Computer coding uses a set of instructions to communicate with a computer. There are many coding languages existing with their own set of rules. Learning about all these coding languages can be a difficult task for students. However, with the use of this coding game, progress is made as easy as ABC. 

Conclusion

We all have to keep up with the new introductions in this fast-changing world of technology and its many inventions. Every child, parent, and teacher should always be updated on the new and interactive games introduced and learn how to use them properly. These games make the whole learning process so much easier for everyone. Especially the children who can be educated in a fun and interesting way, making them seek more than knowledge through education at all times.  

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More Black families turned to homeschooling during pandemic — and are sticking with it

More Black families turned to homeschooling during pandemic — and are sticking with it

Homeschooling, when a relatively area of interest sort of instruction that has been rising steadily in the past many years, has seen a massive uptick due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Black families adopting the apply at a notably substantial level.

During the pandemic, the costs of families that dwelling-schooled their young children doubled, according to the most new report produced by the U.S. Census. In Black or African American households, the modify was primarily extraordinary, likely from 3{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} in the spring of 2020 to 16{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} by the drop.

Joyce Burges, co-founder of the National Black Property Educators association, based near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, explained to ABC News the group experienced been viewing a “gradual increase in the number of Black families” homeschooling, but “with the pandemic it rose so extremely.”

The motives are many, she stated, ranging from dad and mom wanting to train a far more assorted curriculum to getting equipped to greater deal with the specific needs of their little ones.

PHOTO: A woman and child work on computers in an undated stock photo.

The quantities are just likely to keep on to increase, she claimed, incorporating that “training is not just brick and mortar, it will never ever go again to that yet again.”

Jania Otey advised ABC Information that there are myriad reasons why she house-educational institutions her kids, but in the end she desires the kids to “excel and progress.”

“We wished them to be equipped to grasp a idea speedily or a topic matter,” she said. “We wished to be able to transfer them on and create upon these points and not remain into 1 subject.”

For Otey, a further rationale at the rear of the determination to home-school Caleb and another son was “to supply a safe, participating, balanced atmosphere for our youngsters.”

Though reports from the National Center for Training Studies exhibit the follow of house-education has been traditionally incredibly white, the demographic shift is unsurprising for authorities these as Cheryl Fields-Smith, professor of elementary schooling at the University of Ga.

“Instructors are informed what to instruct, when to train it, how to instruct it, and that does not constantly align with the pupils in the classroom,” Fields-Smith informed ABC Information.

The traits experienced currently been set in position, but “the pandemic built it increase much a lot more promptly.”

PHOTO: An adult and child with a computer in an undated stock photo.

When she was initial starting her analysis, Fields-Smith said she was shocked to see Black family members homeschooling, because she considered it was a predominantly white phenomenon.

“I was just blown absent,” she explained, finding out about how Black families were being adapting to make home-education perform for them.

Likewise, Joyce Burges felt herself in the minority as a Black mom creating the determination to dwelling-university her small children. She remembers vividly the pleasure at seeing another Black relatives at a household-education meeting for the initially time, much more than 20 many years back.

Now, she can stage to illustrations these kinds of as the mom and dad of Venus and Serena Williams, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith as Black famous people who have dwelling-schooled their little ones.

Family members can uncover sources and instructing lessons on “every subject matter,” she said, and she hopes to restart their conference series soon, by which Black people can listen to about other parents’ ordeals homeschooling.

Burges, who homeschooled her 5 kids, explained that it was eventually “​​one of the toughest conclusions we have at any time experienced to make. But it was 1 of the finest.”

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How much should you walk every day to reduce risk?

How much should you walk every day to reduce risk?

black and white photo of feet walking on pavementShare on Pinterest
How many steps a day help offset dementia risk? Researchers may now have the answer. Image credit: Christopher Fanelli/EyeEm/Getty Images.
  • Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide and is the seventh leading cause of death globally.
  • With the proportion of older people in the population increasing, the number of dementia cases is also on the rise.
  • There is mounting evidence that regular physical exercise not only benefits general health, but is also one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
  • In good news for those who struggle to fit exercise into their daily routine, a new study has shown that walking around 4,000 steps a day may reduce dementia risk by 25{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}.
  • Upping their daily step count to just under 10,000 could halve a person’s risk of developing dementia.

As the global population ages, cases of dementia are also on the rise worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that some 55 million people currently have dementia, and the number is set to rise to 139 million by 2050.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest form of dementia, affects around 5.8 million people in the United States alone.

The greatest risk factors for dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, are aging and genetics. Dementia is most common in those aged over 75, and having a close relative with dementia may increase a person’s risk of developing the disorder.

Other risk factors that we cannot control include sex — females are more at risk than males — and ethnicity. However, lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical exercise, controlling blood pressure, and keeping the brain stimulated, can decrease a person’s risk of dementia, even for those who have one or more risk factors.

Dr. Anton Porsteinsson, professor and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE) at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told Medical News Today:

“A broad, healthy approach factoring in lifestyle, diet, exercise, cognitive stimulation, socialization, and sleep all make a difference. Many of them [can be effective] even if started later in life.”

And physical exercise need not mean sweating it out at the gym or taking up a new sport.

According to a study recently published in JAMA Neurology, simply increasing the number of steps a person takes each day can decrease their dementia risk by as much as 50{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}.

The study used data from the UK Biobank. The 78,430 participants, of whom 44.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} were male and 55.3{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} female, had a mean age of 61.1 years. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease and dementia when they enrolled in the study. Researchers followed up with participants after a median of 6.9 years (6.4–7.5 years).

For the study, participants had to wear an accelerometer on their dominant wrist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to measure physical activity. The researchers then used an algorithm to work out the step count from the data collected by the accelerometer.

The researchers controlled for variables such as age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, smoking, overall health, and diet when analyzing the data.

At follow-up, 866 participants, or 1.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, had developed dementia.

While welcoming the study findings, Dr. Claire Sexton, Alzheimer’s Association senior director of scientific programs and outreach, who was not involved in the study, told MNT:

“There are a few important caveats of this study. The population sampled was majority white, and therefore may not be generalizable to other race/ ethnic groups. This study also does not demonstrate definitive causation between step count and dementia risk; therefore, more research is needed.”

“The Alzheimer’s Association is conducting a clinical trial combining exercise with other lifestyle factors, like diet and social/ cognitive engagement, to determine if these factors in combination reduce risk of cognitive decline,” she added.

Dr. Porsteinsson agreed: “There are definite limitations to observational cohort studies but advantages as well. They are hypothesis-generating, that is they point us toward what we may want to study further in a controlled, randomized study. The good news here is that there is a bulk of evidence that suggests that exercise is beneficial in staving off dementia.”

“This is an important study that may help inform public health guidelines around the amount of physical activity necessary to reap health benefits,” said Dr. Sexton.

“These results are not surprising given the robust data we have linking physical activity and better cognition. A strength of this paper is it used an objective, widely-understood measure of step count rather than self-reported data,” she noted.

The researchers found that both the number of steps and stepping intensity were associated with reduced dementia risk. For the greatest benefit — a 50{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} reduction in dementia risk — participants had to walk around 9,800 steps per day. Above this number, no further benefit was seen.

However, the good news for those who cannot achieve this many steps was that just 3,826 steps a day reduced dementia risk by 25{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}.

Dr. Porsteinsson agreed that any exercise will help reduce risk. “[It’s] never too late to get started and even a relatively small effort is beneficial and can then be added to as endurance improves,” he told us.

Purposeful steps, defined as more than 40 steps per minute, such as when going for a walk, increased the association with reduced dementia risk.

“Here, we see a ‘dose’ effect, that is, more intense and purposeful walking is more beneficial than leisurely walking. Also, people often walk with others (walk and talk) so you can get a social component and an interactive component in as well.”

– Dr. Anton Porsteinsson

This study adds to building evidence that staying active as you age can maintain physical and mental health and improve longevity.

Another large-scale study of almost 650,000 military veterans found that being physically fit reduced dementia risk by up to 33{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}. In this study, even a small amount of exercise was found to help reduce dementia risk.

An analysis from the Alzheimer’s Society of 11 studies found that, out of taking regular exercise, not smoking, moderating alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight, and eating a healthy diet, it was regular exercise that had the greatest impact on dementia risk.

For Alzheimer’s disease, regular exercise reduced risk by up to 45{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}.

“The bottom line is we know physical activity supports good cardiovascular health — and what’s good for the heart is good for the brain. Find something you enjoy doing and stick to it.”

– Dr. Claire Sexton