If you want to remain sharp and be in control of your life during your senior years, there are proactive techniques that will keep you mentally alert while you age. A growing body of research indicates that exercise and lifestyle choices are beneficial in the prevention or reduction of getting Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other kinds of dementia. Though AD can be influenced by genetic factors, you can still increase your chance at delaying it, minimizing it, or warding it off.
Statistics gathered from extensive research shows an increased risk for Alzheimer’s Disease if one or more of your relatives have or had Alzheimer’s Disease – around 50%, but it has less to do with genes and more about their lifestyle. For example, if your mother and father were smokers and rarely exercised, you might have adopted their negative habits as well. What can you do to break the pattern and prevent AD? Take action and take control today, right now in fact. Even if you’re in your 50s or 60s, you can still reverse a few of the damage done to your brain from poor eating habits, inactivity, or adverse life style choices. Scientists have discovered that the brain has got the capability to repair cells and neurotransmitters, and improve cognitive functions and memory, even as you continue to age.
Here are 5 things to consider while you’re still young enough to accomplish something about this.
1. Eat organic food. It sounds simple, but too many people still aren’t getting enough mind-protecting antioxidants found within fresh fruits and vegetables. A balanced, dairy-free diet that uses low-fat protein sources will protect the mind for the long run.
2. Take supplement if necessary. Several diets lack nutrients which have been proven to support brain health. Included in this are sources of fatty acids found in fish and specific herbs and minerals that could improve cognitive function.
3. Exercise plenty. Originally, exercise was considered to increase blood circulation and oxygen delivery to brain cells. That’s still true, but a written report prepared for the National Institutes of Health indicates that exercise can also activate the production of growth factors, which are molecules created by the body to restore and keep maintaining nerves.
4. Reduce your cholesterol intake. Many people with early symptoms of dementia or AD could have had a mini-stroke that damaged neurotransmitters within the brain. By controlling cholesterol levels, arteries are free from plaque that may cause strokes.
5. Do mental exercises daily. Reading, solving puzzles every day, and simply learning and processing new information all contribute to an active, alert, and healthy brain. It’s normal for people to forget names or dates sometimes. However, the more you practice remembering these bits of information, the better your brain can retain it throughout the senior years. Regarding mental challenges, the greater one does, the longer it is possible to delay cognitive decline as well. It’s not just your body that needs exercise, but your brain as well.
