Ever since Chris Hemsworth learned that he has a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, he’s adjusted his daily routines.
“I’m incorporating more solitude into my life,” Hemsworth, 40, told Men’s Health in a profile published on Tuesday, October 3. “I’ve always been pretty consistent with my exercise commitments, but lately I’ve really felt the importance of taking time for yourself without any outside voice or stimulation and making time for stillness.”
The Thor: Love and Thunder star has long been known for staying in peak physical shape, even launching the Centr workout program. Since discovering the Alzheimer’s link, Hemsworth shifted his daily fitness routine.
“My weight fluctuates a lot due to differing roles and also my own interests in regards to challenging my body in different ways. I’m lifting less frequently than I was,” he told the magazine. “I’m incorporating more cardio and endurance workouts, which I much prefer than heavy body-building style sessions.”
Hemsworth has also added more mental health workouts into his daily schedule.
“I do a lot of meditation and breath work mostly during sauna and ice bath routines,” he explained to the outlet. “For me, my favorite mindfulness work comes from the immersion in physical activities that allow me to be fully present and force me out of my head and into my body, in particular surfing.”
Hemsworth — who shares three children with wife Elsa Pataky — also tries to step “back from the internal chatter” of his mind by limiting his screen time before going to sleep and getting more hours of shut-eye each night.
The Australia native found out while filming his National Geographic docuseries, Limitless, that he had an increased risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. For the show, which aired in November 2022, Hemsworth underwent a series of genetic tests. The results concluded that the actor has two copies of the APOE4 gene, one from each of his parents.
“It’s like one in a thousand people [who have two copies of the gene] … or one in 10,000. I can’t remember. But eight to 10 times more likely,” he told Vanity Fair of his chances of suffering from the neurodegenerative disease. “Since you told me that, I feel like my memory’s getting worse. It’s a placebo effect — or it’s taking place!”
While Hemsworth had a new understanding of his own mortality after the test, he already had a working knowledge of Alzheimer’s as his grandfather is currently suffering from the disease.
“I haven’t seen him in a few years, but my other family members have and there’s some days where he’s quite joyful and gives you a big hug,” he told Vanity Fair in 2022. “But my mum was saying he’s just a really friendly guy. I’m not sure he actually remembers much anymore and he slips in and out of Dutch, which is his original language, so he’ll be talking Dutch and English and then a mash-up and then maybe some other new words as well.”
