September is the third annual World Alzheimer’s Month, a worldwide campaign organized by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) to raise awareness of, and challenge the stigma associated with, this debilitating condition.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, affecting some 36 million worldwide, with an estimated annual cost of approximately $600 million. The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s is age, with the likelihood of developing the disease doubling about every five years after the age of 65. The number of people who suffer from the disease is therefore predicted to triple by the year 2050.
With the threat of this epidemic looming on the horizon – not to mention the promise of huge profits – drug companies have invested huge amounts of time and money into research and development of treatments that can slow progression of the disease or stop it in its tracks. But so far they have failed, with the vast majority of drugs that showed potential in animal studies proving to be ineffective when tested in humans.
While effective treatments may still be a long way off, other research suggests that a number of lifestyle factors may reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or delay the onset of the disease:
1. Exercise your body: What’s good for your heart is good for your brain, and so maintaining good cardiovascular health is essential for a healthy brain. The single, most important thing to do to keep your heart healthy is to stop smoking. Another is to exercise regularly; this not only reduces your risk of heart disease and diabetes, but also reduces your risk of suffering a stroke, as well as boosting your mood and self-esteem.
2. Exercise your brain: Your brain is like a muscle that needs to be flexed regularly to stay in good working order. Although the jury’s still out on whether expensive brain training programs are of any benefit to overall brain health, there is some evidence that keeping your brain active by reading, doing puzzles, or learning a new language or musical instrument could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
3. Stay in school: Education has a neuroprotective effect. There’s now good evidence that the more highly educated a person is, the lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and the better they’ll be able to cope with the disease when it does develop. Similarly, the more educated a person is, the better they will recover after a stroke or other brain injury.
4. Maintain a balanced diet: You’ve probably read about something about fish being good “brain food,” because they are enriched in omega oils, but in fact, the evidence so far is conflicting and inconclusive. Nobody doubts the benefits of maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, however – like exercising regularly, it prevents excessive weight gain and is important for good cardiovascular health. And although it’s still not clear whether it’s worth spending your money on fish oil supplements, there’s good evidence that adhering to a Mediterranean diet can lower the rate of age-related cognitive decline and reduce Alzheimer’s risk.
5. Get motivated: Like education, having purpose in life, or being driven towards achieving a specific goal, also has a neuroprotective effect. We still don’t know exactly why this may be. What does seem clear, however, is that it’s never too late to go back to school or learn a new skill, and that motivating oneself to do so can be beneficial for your brain.
6. Sleep well: Sleep disturbances are linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, as well to neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety, stress, and depression. In most of these conditions, sleep disturbances seem to arise decades before other symptoms, and may be the earliest behavioural manifestation of them. All the evidence suggests that the relationship is bidirectional – that is, poor sleep patterns may lead to pathological brain changes, which in turn may exacerbate sleep disturbances.
The very latest research, published earlier this month in the journal Neurology, shows that poor sleep quality in people over 60 years of age is associated with widespread increased brain shrinkage. Thus, maintaining good sleep hygiene throughout life thus seems to be essential for slowing or preventing the brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s and a wide range of other conditions.
Alzheimer’s is an extremely complex disease that clearly involves a combination of environmental and genetic factors. While each of the factors listed above has been shown to influence Alzheimer’s risk, many of the observed effects are quite subtle. It may be the case that combinations of these factors have a cumulative effect on reducing Alzheimer’s risk, but this remains to be seen, as much of the research into these so-called modifiable risk factors is still in its infancy.
For more information on how to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s, read the ADI’s World Alzheimer Report 2014, Dementia and Risk Reduction: An Analysis of Protective and Modifiable Factors.
