Maryann, a registered nurse with a high genetic risk and family history of Alzheimer’s, is encouraging people to practice a simple daily hand movement to help prevent this devastating disease. Known on TikTok as @maryann_with_a_plan, she focuses her content on brain health, Alzheimer’s, dementia prevention, and risk reduction.
Maryann highlights the importance of a bilateral coordination exercise that engages both hands in a coordinated pattern. This routine, she explains, can improve memory, focus, and overall brain function by stimulating neural pathways.
Supporting this approach, the British Gymnastics Foundation has developed Love to Move, the UK’s largest age and dementia-friendly seated exercise program. Designed for older adults and those with cognitive conditions like dementia and Parkinson’s, the program includes bilateral exercises proven to activate communication between brain neurons. Many participants have regained skills they believed lost due to cognitive decline.
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Maryann demonstrates her hand exercise by tapping her thumb and index finger together on one hand, then sequentially touching her thumb to each remaining finger on the same hand. She then repeats the pattern with the other hand before switching back and forth. She reassures beginners that mistakes are normal, emphasizing that the exercise challenges the brain to learn a new skill that enhances coordination, reaction time, and cognitive reserve.
Cognitive reserve is a critical concept in dementia prevention. Research from Harvard Health reveals that individuals with higher cognitive reserve can better withstand brain damage related to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. This reserve helps maintain daily function despite underlying brain changes and supports resilience against stress, surgery, and environmental toxins.
Maryann stresses that this hand movement is one part of a broader prevention strategy. Along with the exercise, maintaining healthy sleep patterns, a balanced diet, regular physical activity, and ongoing mental stimulation are key pillars to reducing Alzheimer’s risk.
The Alzheimer’s Society and NHS also advocate for staying active, eating well, and keeping the mind engaged as essential steps to lower dementia risk. While early symptoms can vary, recognizing changes in memory or cognition early on is important.
This simple, practical hand exercise offers a promising tool to support brain health daily, helping build resilience against cognitive decline.