Dementia: THESE lifestyle habits can help to reduce your risk, according to study
Reducing your chances of dementia
As people grow older, they usually become more vulnerable to several health conditions because of their age factor. One such condition, which usually affects the elderly, is dementia. Dementia is the loss of abilities like thinking, remembering, and reasoning, so much so that it interferes with a person's daily life. Sometimes it worsens so much that people are unable to manage their emotions and this can even alter their personalities.
All this sounds a bit scary, which is why the findings of this new study can help us to adapt certain lifestyle changes and habits which would reduce our risk of developing dementia. What’s more, these habits are very easy to follow and come with multiple health benefits. Read on to find out what these are.
Lifestyle factors which affect dementia risks
For this large study, more than 501,000 people with an average age of 56 from a U.K. database filled out questionnaires in which they were asked about how often they participated in various physical activities, household and job-related tasks and mental activities, like social visits.
Questions related to the participants' transportation habits, use of electronic devices and education levels were also considered for the study. Participants' family history for dementia was also taken into consideration to narrow down genetic risk factors.
The participants were followed for an average of 11 years, and about 5,200 of them had developed dementia by the end of the study.
Here’s how each lifestyle habit can help
The researchers found that your daily walk, cleaning the house and lunch with friends are all associated with reduced risks for multiple forms of dementia.
Whether you are engaging in physical activities like climbing stairs, or positive mental activities like frequently visiting your family and friends; these healthy habits have proved effective in reducing risk of dementia. These findings were reached after adjusting for factors such as age, income and smoking.
As per data, people who exercised frequently were at 35 percent lower risk for dementia than those who were not regular with their exercises. Giving you more reasons to mop the floor, participants who engaged in household chores were at a 21 percent lower risk than those who did not.
Coming to social interactions, having a good time with your near and dear ones is also healthy as those who had daily visits with family and friends experienced a 15 percent lower risk.
What causes dementia
Dementia is caused when there is some damage to your nerve cells and their connections in the brain, which destroys your brain’s ability to communicate with its various areas. The impact of dementia can be different on different people, depending on which area of their brain is damaged.
Dementia can also happen due to blocked blood flow to your brain, because of which it is unable to meet its oxygen and nutrients requirement. Some dementias aren’t reversible and may worsen over time. However, many of these conditions are treatable, and the symptoms could improve with appropriate treatment.
Risk factors for dementia
While the risk of dementia is higher among older people, it is not exclusive to the elderly. As per research, young onset dementia – the onset of symptoms before age 65 – accounts for up to 9% of cases.
Social isolation is also a risk factor for dementia and older people could suddenly become isolated after retirement if all their social interactions are tied to their work. Additional risk factors include depression, low educational attainment, cognitive inactivity and even air pollution.
Several other studies also show that people can reduce their risk of dementia by being physically active, not smoking, avoiding alcohol, maintaining healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
What is the take-away?
Dr. Allison Reiss, associate professor at NYU Long Island School of Medicine who serves on an Alzheimer's Foundation of America advisory board says, "We can't just look at this study and say, 'if you exercise, you're going to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's' -- that is not a conclusion we can come to, but this is one more piece of the evidence that suggests that exercise is really, really good for your brain."
Researchers add that this study shows that no matter what our age or life situation, we have to find ways to stay physically active, mentally active, and socially engaged to keep our brains healthy from middle age to old age.