TL;DR: Fucking exercise, bro. So good. Am I right?
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
220 points (98.2% liked)
science
19423 readers
374 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
rule #1: be kind
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
220
Running rewires your brain cells—igniting memory-saving genes against alzheimer’s
(www.sciencedaily.com)
I think the important part overall is cardio. You need to elevate your heart rate for sustained periods of time. Lifting weights is better than not, but your brain benefits from the increased and improved blood flow "to clean out the garbage" (much like quality sleep).
My anxiety attacks elevate my heart rate daily. Does that count?
Actually, it probably does. But the negative effects of anxiety probably outweigh it.
Lol. I feel ya!
It actually increases the risk of dementia: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7355582/
Have you tried daily exercise, mindfulness, and anxiety-reducing supplements?
Have you tried not having ADHD?
is heartrate the deciding factor here? if so, my gooning sessions and horror games achieve that just as well
amateur
No. Exercise SUCKS.
Gotta do it, but in 65 years I have yet to find any exercise "good" or "fun" or "enjoyable" or "invigorating."
When I force myself to do my workout it's walking at 135 steps/minute, 8% incline, and when I check my heart rate at the end of the 35 minutes it takes to do 3k, (I'm short with short legs) it's about 145. Running is not an option.
It leaves me dripping with sweat and in a bad mood. I only do it because I have to. So don't give me that shit.
This. No matter how much I do it, I never get that "invigorated" feeling people talk about.
I always end up just feeling like shit and, because of my CMT, I take longer to recover. What may take a normal person a few hours to recover from will take me an entire day. My normal is being constantly fatigued, exercising just exacerbates it. Hell, not to even mention that my doctor even told me that running is not a good exercise for someone with my condition because of the inevitable atrophying of the extremities means that impact from my feet hitting the ground is damaging my joints.
I'm also autistic and the sensory overload of being sticky from sweat and overheated from exertion literally makes me want to flay myself to escape my own skin.
Yeah you should definitely avoid running. At a guess, maybe in-pool exercises would be less uncomfortable? Keep you cooler and balance out the skin sensations? But with fatigue issues you'll want to stay shallow enough to stand unless you're a good floater, and have someone near the pool just in case.
Or is exercising something you should even be doing? Maybe you have a doctor's excuse!
Doctor has advised "low impact" exercises such as swimming and cycling as alternatives
Those would be good alternatives if I had access to them. No pool anywhere nearby and no infrastructure to cycle safely. Rural area is aggressively anti-cyclist. Like "people will run you off the road into the ditch for laughs" aggressively anti-cyclist. Too poor to afford stationary equipment, much less a home with a yard to put a pool.
Even still, I'm fighting a losing battle. My body will atrophy no matter what I do. All any exercises will accomplish is slowing the degradation. Already have partial loss of use in my hands, haven't been able to play my guitar in over a decade now, and only a matter of time before I can no longer use my legs.
No. Exercise SUCKS.
Then don't "exercise". At least not formal workouts.
One "life hack" for people who hate working out is simply to do more things manually.
Errands? Walk or bike.
Hungry? Prepare the meal from scratch.
Laundry? Try handwashing.
The idea is to move, and if possible, move enough to elevate your heartrate. Add resistance whenever possible.
Of course, this is the bare minimum you can do for yourself. Doing more will bring greater benefits, but anything is better than just sitting in a car, at a desk, in front of a TV.
And the more you do with consistency, the easier things get, and your body won't feel run down doing basic things.
Always has been. Now imma sit here and not do any.
Of all the fucking things. I hate running so much. Ran for years, hated it the whole time. Finally just couldn't do it anymore. Was so sock of sore knees and shins, never mind being out in the damn cold before work on a gross winter day, dark, gray, wet. I hated getting up extra early before work and then having to jam in a shower and THEN start the day. I am so envious of people who find it enjoyable. They're so happy on their run, feeling good, satisfied with what they did. Hell, they go and do crazy things like marathons, 5ks etc. Such a foreign concept.
I dont feel better having stopped, but the thought of doing it again just fills me with dread.
Why can't they discover that reading a book while listening to music is fantastic for you?
Running sucks and kicks up my asthma because of the bouncing while breathing, but doing rowing machines isn't an issue because I can breathe with the motions.
I think any extended activity of working your larger muscles for a lengthy period of time should have similar results. Like bikes, ellipticals, and other things that are a lot smoother than running.
Well, the title of this article is misleading. You are correct in your assumption that is is exercise, not specifically running. They used mice on running wheels as part of the research.
Still, love to be mad about running and another vote for the rower. Cheap water rower knock off ftw.
Reading a book while listening to music totally is good for you. Just not the same way physical exercise is. My suggestion is to find a level of exercise you find palatable. Once a week I do a loop around a local park, partially run partially walked. I also walk (without running) once or twice a week.
The reason I don't do it daily and the reason I don't always run is because I know I would just quit working out instead of continuing my regiment. So, that's the best for me. Find an amount/location/pace of running that's palatable to you and try to stick to it. Only increase the workout if you don't dread the idea.
Yes running sucks. I believe similar benefits can be derived by walking and cycling - stationary biking?
I'm right there with you. I'll try running again the day that I see a runner smiling while running.
I hate running too it's just boring as hell. I ride my bike and enjoy that though.
Same. I hate running, but it's just so damn effective as exercise. I definitely prefer bicycling.
A 5k isn't all that much though, it's only 3.1 miles. About twelve laps around a track. Anyone in vaguely healthy shape should be able to do this.
How can women run without their breasts falling off ?
start with a program like couch to 5k, you should probably slow down aswell. going as fast as you can (aka sprinting) is quite an unsustainable starting out.
This was a study on mice using a running wheel and how their brains changed, which they then compared to human brain tissue from people who had Alzheimer.
I'm sure running helps, but the headline is a bit sensationalized.
Well, they only tested running, they can't factually generalize to all cardio. It's kind of hard getting mice to stay on a bike.
No, the headline was accurate, but unfortunately the murine target audience can't read.
I used to run 3mi each day until I had to stop due to hip issues that I'm still trying to fix. I never thought I'd miss it this much. One of the biggest things I've been wanting to do for the past few years is to just run for the hell of it. You never realize how fortunate you are to do something until it's taken from you.
This is why I think the recommendation should be focused on heart rate profiles rather than "running", which is bad for your joints. Let's be real here — the running is just a proxy for a sustained elevated heart rate + oxygenation + full body motion/engagement — so swimming or skipping would likely be a better trade off for your muscular/skeletal system over a lifetime; the problem is that they require "equipment" that's not always available.
Likewise, running in a heavily polluted environment (outdoors in a city) is probably far worse than all other cardio in a cleaner air environment (indoors with HVAC or around air filter).
That's why I advocate for elliptical machines if someone really wants to "run." Running isn't bad for you if you're wear proper shoes, have good form / posture, and run on soft ground. But many people don't do those and end up increasing their life expectancy but with terrible joints. Elliptical machines solve the issue by forcing your body to actually run properly but they eliminate the shocks that come with each step. And you're right - swimming is by far the best cardio anyone can do. Plus everyone needs to learn how to swim.
Sadly I can't do either for now, but hoping to by next Spring.
I've always and only ever heard doctors phrase their recommendation in terms of heart rate. The study here is announcing the result of what they tested. They didn't put mice on bikes or towers or ellipticals, so they couldn't really conclude about those options.
Most people with Alzheimer's can't run. Which is probably good, because who knows where they'd end up?
They always tell you to run, but never what to run FROM.
Apparently, away from dementia 🤷🏻♂️
Apparently dementia.
Your demons
Just RUN FOREST RUN !
Does that include double bass drumming?
So there's nothing we can do then.
Running from large predators will definitely help with the dementia.
Don't forget to run?
Run and remember why my knees are fucked, or don't... Ask me again after trump fucks us all put of Medicare...
So another reason to make me feel bad that I'm lazy? Ok.