One of the things many of us worry about as we age is the loss of our mental capacity. With dementia – and more specifically Alzheimer’s Disease – on the rise, many of us know the devastation of cognitive decline first hand and it provides a sobering look into our own possible futures. Fortunately, there are many things one can do now to keep the brain healthy and potentially reduce the risk for developing dementia.
Engage your mind
Those who continue learning new things and challenging their minds throughout life are less likely to develop dementia. When it comes to your brain, you either “use it or lose it.” A study at Rush University found that people who engaged in mentally stimulating activities – from reading a newspaper to playing chess to learning a new skill – were 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia than someone who was mentally inactive. Another study done a UC-Berkeley suggests that not all people who develop beta-amyloid deposits – a destructive protein association with Alzheimer’s disease – will develop symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s. According to Dr. William Jagust, the study’s principle investigator, “it’s very possible that people who spend a lifetime involved in cognitively stimulating activity have brains that are better able to adapt to potential damage.”
Exercise your body
As we discussed in The Importance of Exercise as We Age, the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation says that physical exercise reduces your risk of developing the disease by 50 percent. John Medina, an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine, agrees with this finding. He claims that aerobic exercise can cut your risk of Alzheimer’s in half.
Eat well
A study by the Columbia University Medical Center showed that people who closely followed a Mediterranean-like diet (a diet high in vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish and healthy oils like olive oil and low in dairy products, red meat and poultry) were 36 percent less likely to have areas of brain damage than those who didn’t follow the diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, a Mediterranean diet may slow cognitive decline, reduce the risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and prevent Alzheimer’s-related deaths.
Make your social life a top priority
Maintaining an active social life has a positive effect on the brain. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that elderly people who had an active social life had slower rates of memory loss. In fact, those who were most socially active had less than half the rate of memory decline than those who were least socially active. Mayo Clinic’s National Institute on Aging conducted a study that found that socializing with others made participants (who had a median age of 87) 55 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment.
Get more sleep
Several studies have shown that your brain has a wonderful way of eliminating toxic waste, including beta-amyloid proteins. These studies also discovered that the system that accomplishes this feat is 10 times more active during sleep. So if you’re not getting enough quality sleep, your brain can’t eliminate waste efficiently. A study from UC-Berkeley discovered that poor sleep caused more buildup of beta-amyloid proteins and that this buildup effected people’s ability to sleep well, a classic vicious cycle. The good news is that poor sleep is a highly reversible condition.
Meditate
A study from UCLA discovered that people who had been meditating for an average of 20 years had larger brains than those who didn’t meditate. Smaller brain size has been identified as a potential risk factor for Alzheimer’s. But you don’t have to been a lifelong devotee to reap benefit from meditation. A study conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston had people between the ages of 55 and 90, all of whom had MCI, do a guided meditation for 15 to 30 minutes a day and practice yoga for at least two hours a week for eight weeks. After eight weeks, participants’ MRIs showed a slowing of brain shrinkage and improved functional connectivity compared to the group who didn’t meditate.
