Mid-Life Self-Care Can Reduce Dementia Risk
When it comes to disease, the best time to do something about it is BEFORE you’re knee-deep in it. The same holds true for dementia, a cognitive disease characterized by a loss of memory, personality changes, and impaired reasoning skills.
The stunning prediction with regard to dementia prevalence expects the number of people affected by it to TRIPLE by 2050, from 50 million persons worldwide to 150 million!
Growing up, I was very much aware of this life-altering disease as it had begun to transform my maternal grandmother in her 60’s. By her mid-70’s, my “Nauny” (a modification of the Italian “Nonna”, for grandmother) was misplacing things regularly, talking out of context, and sometimes simply getting lost in her own sentences. She seemed to be a shell of the person she used to be, even though, at my young age, I never knew the “real” her.
My mother mental state followed suit in her 60’s and would have continued to decline, had lung cancer not taken her life at the age of 70.
Being the next female in that generational line, you bet I am making a concerted effort to steer clear of my family’s well-worn path towards dementia! Many, many studies have been published over the past 10 years, and their authors are very hopeful—though not certain—that making certain lifestyle choices can help a person significantly reduce their risk of being counted among the millions of seniors affected worldwide.
If you are between the ages of 45-65 years, now is the best time to impact the future health of your brain! Here are seven pro-active steps you and I can take which, as per research, have shown to be very promising in terms of deterring dementia.
- Manage high blood pressure. Think exercise and medication, if need be.
- Back down from obesity (Thinking you’re probably just overweight, not obese? Click her to know for sure: BMI Calculator)
- Correction of hearing loss. Get your hearing checked after 50 years old (and then every 3 years afterwards) and get don’t shy away from being fitted with a hearing aid if it is recommended.
- Smoking cessation. Enough said.
- Fight against inactivity. In other words, get moving! Yard work, long walks, trips to the gym, etc.
- Stay socially connected. Call a friend. Join a team/group. Serve in your church or community.
- Rein in your blood sugar levels. Poorly managed diabetes (and even pre-diabetes) can lead to brain cell loss. Never let you blood get sweeter than you are, haha!
I expect you are like me: wanting a brain which serves you well straight through your last trimester of life. If so, join me in the fight. It’s certainly worth all our efforts!