Alzheimer’s Association International Conference has 5 tips to guard your brain against memory loss:
GET BETTER SHUT-EYE
Studies of >6,000 people linked poor sleep quality, especially sleep apnea to mild cognitive impairment >> raises the risk of later Alzheimer’s. Other research showed poor sleep can spur amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. “Sleep disorders are so common, and we think many are quite treatable.”
EXERCISE YOUR GRAY MATTER
Seniors often are advised to work crossword puzzles, take music lessons or learn a new language to keep the brain engaged. The protective effects of learning may start decades earlier in life. In Sweden, researchers at the Karolinska Institute unearthed school report cards and work histories of >7,000 older adults. Good grades as young as age 10 predicted lower risk of dementia later in life. So did getting a job that required expertise with numbers or, for women, complex interactions with people eg researchers or teachers. Learning and complex thinking strengthen connections between nerve cells, building up “cognitive reserve” so as Alzheimer’s brews, the brain can withstand more damage before symptoms
GET MOVING
Physical activity counters a list of damaging problems—high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol—that can increase the risk of memory impairment later in life. Get started early: One study tracked the habits of 3,200 young adults for 25 yrs, and found those who were the least active had the worst cognition when they were middle-aged.
DON’T FORGET MENTAL HEALTH
Late-life depression is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Harvard researchers found loneliness is, too, accelerating cognitive decline in a study that tracked more than 8,000 seniors for over a decade. Stress is bad for the brain as well, Lipton said esp how we cope with it. Brooding over stressful events, for example, prolongs the harmful effects on brain cells. One study found seniors with the poorest coping skills were much more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment over nearly 4 years than seniors who could shrug off the stress.
EAT HEALTHY
Diets high in fruits and vegetables and lower in fat and sugar are good for the arteries that keep blood flowing to the brain. Type 2 diabetes raises the risk of dementia later in life. Lipton’s lab recently found a healthy diet lowered seniors’ risk of impaired “executive function” as they got older—how the brain pays attention, organizes and multitasks. http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/lifestyle-changes-may-guard-aging-brain-against-memory-loss/
This photo provided by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows Michael Gendy of King, N.C. Gendy continues to exercise after participating in a Wake Forest School of Medicine study that found aerobic activity may lower a risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s. (Cagney Gentry/Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center via AP)
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