Alzheimer's Tai Chi Treatment

Increasing numbers of studies are being done to test the efficacy of tai chi exercise in helping people with Alzheimer's. Although the quality of the studies done so far is not ideal, results indicate that doing tai chi can help symptoms to improve or, at the very least, not worsen.

Alzheimer's Symptoms

• The main symptom of Alzheimer's is the continuing loss of mental cognition and memory. Other symptoms can include depression, insomnia, disorientation and lack of interest in social activities or life in general.

Tai Chi

• Tai chi is a series of slow movements performed with breathing techniques. Although it comes from a Chinese martial art, it is more used now for its health benefits, part of which stem from using mind, body and spirit united toward a common goal.

Cognitive Benefits

• With the decrease in cognitive abilities, the brain is unable to make the neural connections needed to perform tasks and to reason. Learning tai chi helps to make the brain work and reestablish those pathways.

Emotional Benefits

• Greater independence of movement, as well as the ability to learn something new, results in patients feeling more confident and happier. Patients who perform tai chi regularly have been found to get less depressed.

Tai Chi Classes

• It is best to have a teacher when you are first learning tai chi. Classes can often be found at your local YMCA or a local provider of Continuing Adult Education.