Does someone you know or love are living with neurological disorders? In that case, this blog is for you. We will take you through the best exercises for neurological disorders. 

Regular physical activity has been shown to have positive effects on brain health and may even impact the course of disease progression. While these conditions can present challenges, staying active and engaged in movement can be a powerful tool for managing symptoms and improving overall well-being. 

How Do Neurological Disorders Make us Inactive?

In a number of ways, neurological problems can make us less active, both directly by limiting our physical abilities and indirectly by making it hard for us to think clearly and feel emotionally. These are some important points:

Physical Inabilities of the Body:

• Muscle tightness and weakness: Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke can make muscles weak and stiff, which makes moving around hard and tiring.
• Problems with balance and rhythm can make you more likely to fall and keep you from doing things, especially ones that require quickness.
• Sensory impairments: Loss of sight or hearing can make it harder to locate things and take part in activities.
• Pain and tiredness: Long-term pain and tiredness are common in many neurological diseases and can make people much less motivated and energetic to move around. 

How Do Exercises Improve Neurology and Brain Function?

When you work out, do you think about neurology? After reading this, you might. Exercise not only improves mental health, cognitive skills, and memory, but it also stops some neurological conditions from getting worse.

• When you work out, your brain’s areas responsible for rational thinking and your social, physical, and intellectual success get more oxygen and new blood vessels grow.
• Stress hormones are lowered by exercise, and neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine are raised. Neurotransmitters are known to speed up the processing of information.
• Neurotrophic (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor, and basic fibroblast growth factor) are boosted by exercise. These help neurons survive and differentiate in the growing brain, and they also help dendritic branching and synaptic machinery in the adult brain (ibid).

8 Best Exercises for Neurological Disorders

Art and Craft 

Art therapy can be used by healthcare workers to help people who are recovering from a number of illnesses including neurological disorders. Art therapy can help people deal with stress and show feelings they might not normally talk about.

However, art therapy has benefits beyond its emotional effects. People who draw, color, paint, or make crafts need to be able to think critically and coordinate their hands and eyes. Additionally, working with art products or tools for a long time can help build muscle strength and endurance.

Visual Processing Team

Putting pictures next to each other that are slightly different is a great way for people who have recently had a stroke to keep their minds active. You have to compare and contrast the pictures in these tasks to find small changes. This can help you focus and improve your ability to understand spatial information.

Tai Chi

Slow, deliberate moves, deep breathing, and focus are all parts of this gentle form of exercise. It can help you relax and be more aware while also making your balance, coordination, flexibility, and strength better.

Stand with One Leg

Standing on one leg for as long as you can is a good way to improve your balance. Start by hanging on to a chair or wall for support. Gradually work your way up to standing without help. This helps build coordination and balance during the recovery time period. 

Exercises in a Chair

You can use a chair for support during these workouts, which work different muscle groups in your upper and lower body. Squats, lunges, arm raises, and rows are some examples.

Yoga

A lot of yoga exercises can help you get stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. Pick moves that are good for your fitness level and skill level.

Some of the good things that yoga can do are help with tiredness, mental health, muscle strength and function, sensory issues, balance, gait, bladder problems, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the nervous system.

Dancing

It’s fun and interesting to dance, and it can help your brain, balance, and rhythm. It can also improve your mood and make you feel less stressed.

In the past few years, dance-based programs have been used to help people with neurological diseases and illnesses feel better. Helpful outcomes have been observed for people with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and sadness.

Building a New Hobby or Skill

Learning something new, like a language or an instrument, can keep your brain sharp and give it something new to think about. 

Life is all about how interested we are in living. It is not the position we hold at work, nor is it how much money we have that determines the quality of life. It is how willing we are to live our life to the fullest. 

Why is Consistency Necessary?

Research has shown that even just 10 minutes of exercise for neurological disorders can improve brain function. However, consistent exercise over time is what leads to long-term cognitive gains.

To see changes in cognitive ability, you need to exercise for at least 6 to 12 months. Even though changes have been seen in the brain after shorter periods of exercise, these changes don’t always lead to better brain function right away. Over time, you have to be consistent.