List to Do For Brain Health

A 2013 study showed that women who’ve crossed the menopause threshold experience subtle declines in cognitive function. These skills include learning, remembering, problemsolving, and paying attention. Before you beg your doctor for a prescription for hormones, know that (1) the early menopause brain fog is transient; (2) the long-term effects of menopause on mental function are negligible; and (3) hormone replacement doesn’t seem to help and may, in fact, worsen cognitive performance.

For men and women, rates of dementia rise with age. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (the most common type of dementia) doubles every five years for people over age sixty-five. By age eighty-five, between 25 and 50 percent of people have signs of the disease.

Does that mean that if you live long enough, you’re destined to develop dementia? Certainly not! Dementia is a disease, not a normal age change. It’s marked by the progressive deterioration of memory, other intellectual functions, and the ability to perform daily tasks. The other most common type of dementia is vascular dementia (also called multi-infarct dementia), a condition that occurs when blood clots in brain arteries destroy small areas of tissue.

How do you know if memory loss is normal? Some degree of age-related forgetfulness happens to almost everyone. Whereas long-term memory (the names of your loved ones, significant events from your past) is normally well preserved, short-term memory gets a bit fuzzier. For instance, you may remember exactly what you were doing when you learned about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but forget where you put your car keys, why you walked into a room, or the name of the actor in the movie you saw last week. People with dementia forget big things: the names of close friends, how to balance a checkbook, or how to navigate from home to grocery store.

Research has shown that some two-thirds of memory-zapping aging can be attributed to lifestyle. This means there’s a lot you can do to “head” it off! See the following list.

• Pay attention. Often, we forget mundane things (especially things we can do automatically) out of distraction. The drawback is that we may later forget, say, where we parked the car or whether we turned off the stove. Stay, as much as possible, in the present moment. Life is often more enjoyable when we are fully aware.

• Develop routines. Store the keys (and glasses, checkbooks, cell phones, etc.) in the same place. That way, you know where to find them.

• Stay organized. Calendars and to-do lists can act as peripheral brains. The simple act of writing things down (the people you met at last night’s party, or the title of the book you heard about) helps lay down memory tracks.

• Protect your cardiovascular system. Arterial disease raises the risk for Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, and stroke.

• Manage your blood sugar. People with type-2 diabetes or even borderline high blood sugar have problems with insulin, the hormone that ushers glucose from the blood into the cells. Specifically, tissues don’t respond well to insulin (a condition called insulin resistance), which causes the pancreas to churn out more insulin. Insulin resistance has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Possible reasons include alterations in neurotransmitters (chemicals used to communicate nerve impulses) and increases in inflammation, glucose, and beta-amyloid (misfolded protein that’s toxic to brain cells). In addition, diabetes greatly increases the risk of stroke, primarily because high glucose damages arteries. If you have diabetes, work closely with your physician to keep your blood sugar within the normal range.

• Exercise. Studies show that regular physical activity maintains brain health. A 2012 study of seniors with mild cognitive impairment found their condition was less likely to progress if they stayed active. Another study showed that an aerobic training program for older adults increased the size of the hippocampus (a brain region critical to memory that shrinks with advancing age and more dramatically in those with Alzheimer’s) and improved spatial memory. Why is exercise so protective? The reasons include increased blood flow to the brain, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, stress relief, social and mental stimulation, and a boost in chemicals that protect brain cells.

• Eat plants. Diets high in saturated fat increase dementia risk, but, those full of vegetables and fish lower it. The Mediterranean diet,which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, and olive oil, serves as a stellar example. It seems to protect against Alzheimer’s disease and slows the rate of age-related cognitive decline. It fends off cardiovascular disease and diabetes, both dementia risk factors. It’s replete with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory fatty acids, and other brain-friendly nutrients. Inflammation and oxidation place stress on the brain and are correlated with Alzheimer’s disease.

• Limit servings of meat and whole-fat dairy products.

• Limit servings of meat, butter, and full-fat dairy. These foods contain protein and other nutrients, but they’re also high in saturated fats,which are linked with a risk of dementia.

• Avoid junk food which is low in valuable nutrients and high in simple sugars and unhealthy fats such as trans fatty acids. High intake of junk foods can,over time, promote disease of the blood vessels that supply the brain with nutrients and oxygen. Studies indicate that trans fatty acids increase beta-amyloid in the brain.

• Shake off salt. Excessive intake increases blood pressure, raises the risk of stroke, and possibly impairs cognitive function. Don’t worry that you won’t get enough. Many foods naturally contain salt. Plus, whenever you eat prepared foods, you’re getting an ample dose.

• Shun tobacco smoke. It’s a source of inflammation and a factor in cardiovascular disease and stroke which are, risk factors for dementia.

• Enjoy small amounts of alcohol. Moderate alcohol intake (one glass a day for women and two for men—each glass consisting of 5 ounces [150 ml] of wine, 12 ounces [355 ml] of beer, or 1.5 ounces [42 ml] of 80-proof distilled spirits) provides some degree of dementia protection. Red wine, thanks to its resveratrol (an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory polyphenol) may have an added benefit. Keep a lid on it. High intake of alcohol damages the brain.

• Stress less. Chronic, serious stress damages the hippocampus, an area involved in forming and retrieving memories.

• Sleep deep. You consolidate (gel) recently acquired memories during sleep. Sleep deprivation undermines cognitive skills. In mice, sleep deprivation increases brain levels of damaging beta-amyloid.

• Stay socially connected. Robust relationships protect health in many ways. A recent study found that feeling lonely (which is different from being alone) correlated with an increased risk of dementia.

• Use your intellect. Read, work, attend lectures, listen to the news, solve crossword puzzles, or play music. These activities build cognitive reserve, the equivalent of a savings account. This reserve is thought to explain why up to a third of cognitively normal people have, upon their death, tissue signs of Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study found that continued intellectual activity delayed the onset of symptoms of Alzheimer’s, even when brain scans suggested tissue changes associated with that disease.

• Keep learning. Lean a new language, sport, or activity, expand your vocabulary, try tango lessons, or take up a musical instrument. It’s never too late. Older people sometimes take a bit longer to learn new skills. That’s fine. What’s the rush, anyway?

• Meditate. A regular meditation practice improves cognitive function.

In addition to dementia, another feared brain calamity is stroke. Most of the time what happens is akin to a heart attack. In this case, a blood clot obstructs blood flow in arteries that supply the brain rather than the heart. Less often, a weakened artery bleeds into the brain. The loss of function depends upon the size of the damage.