A Healthy Lifestyle Could Help Prevent Dementia
12/28/2022
Naples, FL (12/27/22) – Every three seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with a type of dementia, which is the general term for the loss of memory, language and ability to make decisions enough that it impacts everyday life. Caused by damage to brain cells, dementia is becoming increasingly more common and a leading cause of disability and dependency among older Americans. However, evidence suggests living a healthy lifestyle could help prevent severe cognitive decline and a dementia diagnosis.
“Today, there’s no cure for dementia so our best course of action is to prevent the condition from developing,” says Dr. Emilio Garrido, M.D., PhD, a physician with Physicians Regional Medical Group. “Making a lifelong commitment to healthy living is our best bet for reducing the risk of dementia and increasing our quality of life.”
Dr. Garrido recommends these lifestyle changes for preventing dementia and living a healthier life:
- Eat fresh food: A regular diet of processed and packaged foods is associated with a higher risk of dementia according to the American Academy of Neurology. Keep your brain and body healthy with whole fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean protein.
- Learn new things: Continuously challenge your mind with new activities and hobbies. Mental exercises like puzzles, card games or painting can help maintain cognitive function.
- Manage blood pressure levels: High blood pressure, or hypertension, can damage blood vessels in the brain, and if left unchecked could also lead to serious conditions like heart attack and Stroke.
- Remain social: Keep up with family, friends or get involved in your community through clubs and other organizations. Maintaining a social life can greatly benefit memory, ward off loneliness and improve mental health.
- Stay active: Cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain and reduces the risk of cognitive decline. Just 30 minutes a day, five times a week of moderate exercise helps to maintain mental sharpness and improve overall health.
Dr. Garrido says, “I have found that many patients with hearing loss are not compliant with using hearing aids due to a stigma, or other reason, but recent studies have linked development of dementia and/or worsening of cognitive function to not using hearing aids. I also found patients that are clearly experiencing hearing problems, but they have never seen an audiologist or ENT.” According to these studies, with limited hearing, your brain has limited opportunity to process language, and it appears that you forgot something that you never hear in the first place, but also chronically the decrease input of information (via auditory channels, and processing) will cause some cognitive decline (use it or lose it).
Also discuss with a primary provider to screen for any possibility of depression, as this can also cause a cognitive problem, and, in some cases, patients with depression have been misdiagnosed with dementia (pseudodementia).
Maintaining good and healthy sleep hygiene, new studies show that you need at least a minimum of six hours of healthy, and refreshing sleep. Problems like insomnia, sleep deprivation, obstructive sleep apnea may affect quality of sleep and lead to cognitive difficulties including memory problems, poor attention and concentration, headaches, etc.
An extreme deterioration in cognitive abilities is not a normal part of the aging process. If you or a loved one are experiencing memory issues, schedule an appointment.
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