If a person fails to combine walking and simultaneously solving a certain mental task, then this may be an indicator of an early stage of dementia.
Scientists from the Arthur C. Marcus Institute for the Study of Aging conducted an experiment that proved that the inability to do two things in parallel – to walk and solve a simple task in your mind – indicates the onset of a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain. Most often it is a manifestation of dementia. In The Lancet, the authors of the study spoke about its details.
The experiment involved a thousand Spaniards aged 40 to 64 years. Smartphone application-based surveillance lasted more than two years. Step indicators were recorded both during normal walking and when some additional task was set for the walker. For example, it was necessary to talk to someone in the process of walking or calculate the cost of a habitual purchase.
People aged 65 and over have some trouble multitasking. If this manifested itself clearly, with a strong delay in time, and even an easy task required great effort, then this indicated impending dementia.
Sometimes a similar problem begins to manifest itself already in middle age. In such people, brain aging begins earlier, experts say.