People with dementia who participate in a regular exercise program may improve their ability to perform daily tasks more independently, a new study finds.

It’s known that exercise benefits people with dementia, and now a Swedish research team has demonstrated that those who participated in a regular exercise program improved their balance and were able to perform several tasks of daily life more independently.

The study involved 186 people with dementia in 16 different residential care facilities. They were all 65 years of age or above and in need of assistance with personal care.

They were divided into two groups. One group participated in a 45-minute daily workout program two or three times a week for four months. The program included various functional exercises that aimed to improve leg strength, balance and walking, which are part of everyday activities.

The second group, instead of physical training, participated in stimulating activities of group conversations, singing and reading aloud sessions, so they would also have the same positive effects through togetherness and attention that the other group received. .

All of the participants were tested participants were tested before and after the program’s completion. Since dementia is progressive, all of participants’ abilities to independently manage everyday activities deteriorated, however, this occurred at a slower pace in the exercise group and they showed an improved balance.

The participants with vascular dementia, which can be caused by small strokes, improved more than those with Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said in their study, which appears in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.