Health Notes: Hot yoga deemed safe; plus, exercise helps dementia sufferers

ACE says it’s safe to turn up the heat in yoga class

There’s plenty of speculation out there that hot yoga isn’t safe. But until the American Council on Exercise recruited Dr. John Pocari, the head of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, to do some research, there was no scientific evidence one way or the other.

Despite concerns of heat stroke and dehydration among some folks, the ACE-sponsored study recently found there was no difference in the core body temperature of yoga practitioners in a hot yoga class and those in a regular class.

The study showed that the participants in the hot yoga class perceived they worked harder than those in the other class, probably because they were dripping more sweat than the others — but they weren’t actually working harder.

The highest core body temperature recorded in the hot yoga group was 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit, which Dr. Pocari noted is well below the 104-degree threshold where heat-related problems began.

The intensity for each class, the study found, was “light” exercise.

Researchers did emphasize the need to hydrate properly before and after hot yoga to better regulate core body temperature. They also said easing into hot exercise is a good idea as the body needs time to get adjusted to such environments.

So what? Some of your customers may want to try a hot yoga class but have heeded the unfounded warnings that it’s dangerous. Tell them it’s not and urge them to buy that yoga gear from you.

For the scientifically minded: Find an article recapping the study here.

Regular exercise for people with dementia eases burden for caregivers

Caring for loved ones is always a stressful situation, but if your loved ones are suffering from dementia regular exercise could help both you and them.

One study, recently published online by the Cochrane Library, reviewed 16 trials of almost 1,000 elderly people with dementia and found that those who engaged in regular exercise delayed memory problems and prolonged ability to care for themselves.

Among some of the activities the subjects were able to keep doing were bathing and dressing themselves.

Also, said Dr. Zaldy Tan, the medical director of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, improving a person’s memory and ability to do simple tasks helps in other areas.

“I think exercise is one intervention that’s going to turn out to be good for other things like, for example, reducing one’s risk for falls,” Tan told Reuter’s Health in a story. “Falling is one thing that is a big problem for people with dementia.”

So what? Everybody has aging parents and when they’re shopping for themselves, maybe encourage them to do a little shopping for their parents, too. We saw some neat products at HFB, like the exercise ChairMaster, which doubles as a recumbent bike and lounge chair, for the older population.

For the scientifically minded: For a free abstract of the article, click here.