This HAS to be the top questions on everyone's mind these days. What do we know today about preventing Alzheimer's? We definitely know from research that diet and exercise play an important role in keeping our brains, and bodies, healthy. I just wrote about the benefits of following a Mediterranean diet in my blog dated August 25, 2016. In addition, we know that exercise plays another important role in cognitive health. I came across an article that appears in a recent Time magazine. I've been checking into the research mentioned in the article and I want to summarize for you what I have found.

The article's main point is this: taking care of your heart is important for brain health. "When it comes to preventing cognitive decline, simple lifestyle changes are finally being borne out by science" (Oaklander, 2016, p. 40). There is finally scientific evidence that diet and exercise are integral for brain health. Finally, new research is showing that lifestyle interventions which target diet, exercise, sleep, and stress can affect the levels of tau that build up in the brain.

Here's the scoop:

Heart health is key. Reducing your risk of heart disease keeps your brain healthy. Pay attention to and treat such things as high cholesterol, obesity, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes (Oaklander, 2016).

Exercise. Aerobic exercise can improve cognition. How? Aerobic exercise has been shown to grow brain regions, such as the hippocampus. The hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain that will begin to shrink as we age, and a smaller hippocampus has been linked with Alzheimer's in some studies (Oaklander, 2016). The hippocampus is involved in memory.

Learn new things. By learning new things, we can create more neural connections. You can create more brain structure by engaging in activities that will challenge you to learn new things. For example: Try a new puzzle, learn a new dance, devote some time to meditation, play a new game.

Be a social creature! Make it a regular date on your calendar to get together with friends. Research has shown that people who are social have higher cognition (Oaklander, 2016).

Get your sleep. Research studies have shown a link between poor sleep and Alzheimer's. Improving your sleep routine can reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

In a 12-week study published in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease in January of 2016, researchers conducted a study of 127 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and an average age of 70.69 for a period of 18 months (Fotuhi, Lubinski, Trullinger, Hausterman, Riloff, Hadadi, & Raji, (2016). The study showed that "when protective factors such as cognitive stimulation, stress reduction, improved diet, better fitness, and treatment of sleep issues are combined, patients do experience a reversal of the cognitive decline and can increase the volume of their hippocampus" (Fotuhi, et.al., 2016, p. 136).

The bottom line is that it's really important for us to take the time to plan healthy meals, schedule exercise into our daily routine, practice meditation, and make heart health a priority. Reach out to those around you who can help you achieve this goal. By working together, we can help each other maintain a happy, healthy brain!

References:

Fotuhi, M., Lubinski, B., Trullinger, M., Hausterman, N., Riloff, T., Hadadi, M., & Raji, C.A. (2016, January). A personalized 12-week "brain fitness program" for improving cognitive function and increasing the volume of hippocampus in elderly with mild cognitive impairment. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease - JPAD, 3(3), 133-137.

Oaklander, M. (2016, August). Untangling Alzheimer's. Time, 188(7), 40-43.

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