12 Good Health Habits To Reduce Your Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease
How can we keep our brains tuned later in life? Stay engaged. Memory changes can be frustrating, but the good news is that, thanks to decades of research, you can learn how to get your mind active. There are various strategies we can use to protect and improve memory. Here are several you might try:
- Stay engaged intellectually; read books, magazines, and newspapers
- Stay connected with your friends and your community
- Go to church, synagogue or mosque
- Stay purposed and physically active
- Stay connected to your grandchildren and spouse
- Explore the world
- Enjoy games & puzzles
- Get enough sleep (7 to 9 hours)
- Do not smoke (cigarettes, vapors or other tobacco products)
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Eat a balanced diet (low in saturated and trans fats)
- Certain health conditions that can impair cognitive skills include diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, depression, hypothyroidism, and high LDL (bad) cholesterol. If you have any of these health issues, you can help protect your memory by following your doctor’s advice carefully.
I understand that we all have that occasional “senior moment.” Perhaps you’ve got up to go into the kitchen and then cannot remember why. Struggle to instantly remember a name of someone you run across randomly. Memory lapses can happen at any age, but aging alone is generally not a cause of cognitive decline, significant memory loss is generally not due to aging, its due to organic, neurological disorders or brain injury. Studies have shown that you can prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease with just some basic good health habits such has these.