Say Om

Dementia presents many challenges. Among them: It hampers the ability to exercise – a key component in the fight against the disease. 

But, thanks to FAU researchers, there’s hope. A new study measuring the impact of chair yoga – yoga poses performed while sitting or leaning on a chair – on older adults with moderate-to-severe dementia yielded promising findings. 

The study, published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias, compared chair yoga with two other methods.

“Researchers examined the effects of chair yoga on physical function, including balance and mobility, and compared the effects with chair-based exercise and music intervention,” notes a press release. “They also looked at the effects of chair yoga on reducing psychological symptoms like anxiety and depression, behavioral symptoms like agitation or aggression, and improved quality of life. They also explored the effects of chair yoga on sleep problems.”

The quality of life of the chair yoga group improved significantly compared to the music intervention group, while the chair yoga and chair-based exercise groups exhibited less depression when compared to the music intervention group.

“Although some participants showed mild levels of agitation or wandering prior to the yoga session, they became calm and attentive when the yoga interventionist started demonstrating yoga poses,” says Juyoung Park, lead author and an associate professor in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work in the College for Design and Social Inquiry, in a press release.