I’m at risk. You might be, too.
My family history includes some close relatives who developed dementia, and studies have suggested that genetics can affect dementia risk. While family history is not a guarantee that any of us will develop dementia (or heart disease, cancer, or any of the other diseases that can be influenced by heredity), the risk is there.
What I need to do is control the controllable.
The risk of developing many diseases can be influenced not only by fate (genetics), but also by habit -the day to day choices we make about how we care for, nourish, and exercise our bodies and our minds.
CARING FOR YOUR BODY
Healthy nutrition and regular exercise lay the foundation of health. Now while we can’t say for sure that our exercise and nutrition habits directly cause diseases like dementia, it is well established that certain types of “lifestyle choices” can increase your risk.
Further, there are very few (if any) health conditions that can’t be improved with a good quality exercise plan and positive changes to your diet.
Diet, for example, can affect cholesterol and “plaque” in the veins, increasing the risk of vascular dementia. High alcohol consumption, too, increases not only the risk of dementia but also heart disease (which, in turn, can lead to dementia).
Dietary habits influence your risk of developing diabetes, a major risk factor for dementia that increases the chance of developing several types of cancer.
Cancer and dementia risk are also affected by exercise habits. While studies have found that aerobic or “cardio” exercise in particular helps prevent dementia, any type of exercise can reduce your risk while at the same time lowering your chances of heart disease.
When it comes to heart health, cancer, and dementia, one thing stands out as quite possibly the worst lifestyle choice you could make: smoking. Smokers have substantially higher risk of heart disease, cardiac death, stroke, and at least two dozen different types of cancer. In addition, smokers are 30% to 40% more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s. Quitting rolls these risks back — and the sooner you quit the better for your body and your mind.
CARING FOR YOUR MIND
It’s not just the choices we make regarding our physical health that can affect our dementia risk, but also the choices we make about the well-being of our minds. Just like physical exercise is a key to keeping your body healthy and well, mental “exercise” is vital to protect your brain from the effects of aging.
Research has shown that people who keep more mentally active throughout their lives have brains that resist age-related shrinking. Areas responsible for memory, especially, tend to be larger, which correlates to a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Mental exercise really is a wonder-drug, but one that doesn’t come in a pill. Instead, this wonder-drug comes with doses of other social, physical, and learning activities like dancing, Tai Chi, art, learning a new language, or doing crossword puzzles.
These types of activities also help reduce stress — another factor contributing to dementia risk. Left unchecked, the hormones released by your body under psychological or emotional stress cause inflammation in your brain, increasing the risk of memory disorders and dementia in a way similar to chronic insomnia and other sleep disorders.
The link between sleep and memory function is well-established, and it has been long observed that dementia can cause poor sleep patterns. Newer studies, though, suggest that this relationship goes both ways — dementia may indeed cause poor sleep, but lack of sleep itself puts you at greater risk for developing dementia.
Sleeping fewer than five hours per night doubles the risk of dementia and early death compared to individuals who get six or more hours of shuteye. Relying on six hours per night is only slightly better: versus the “normal” seven, it still bumps your risk up by 30%.
We don’t always get to write our own script, but we do choose how to act out the part we’re given. Getting good exercise and nutrition, eliminating smoking and limiting alcohol use, managing our stress, and practicing healthy sleep habits can minimize our risk factors and make the most of the genetic cards we’ve been dealt.