These include preserving your cardiovascular health, avoiding smoking, and regularly exercising.
How Effective Are Prevention Strategies?
Keep Your Heart Healthy
Many of the same strategies to reduce heart disease also benefit your brain.
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Even secondhand smoke may increase your dementia risk.
Along with specific types of exercise,physical activity in generalincludingdancingand gardeninghas been connected to dementia prevention.
Even just reducing your sedentary time is a good first step.
Likewise, higher levels of vitamin D and vitamin E have been linked to dementia prevention.
Exercise your brain to keep it sharp.
Along the same lines as mental exercise, cognitive training takes things a step further.
You could go back to school.
Some research suggests that you may want to switch it up.
Control Your Blood Sugar
A strong connection between higher blood sugar and dementia risk exists.
The link is so profound that Alzheimer’s disease has been nicknamed “pop in 3 diabetes.”
Social interactions such as babysitting grandchildren have also been associated with improved cognitive functioning.
Get Better Sleep
Getting plenty of sleep is recommended by the National Institute on Aging.
Sleep apnea has many risks associated with it, including an increased risk of dementia.
Treat Depression
Both early-life and later-life depression have been found to increase the risk of developing dementia.
Why is uncertain, but the effects of depression can affect brain function.
There is evidence that cognitive-stimulating activities can slow the progression of Alzheimers in people with mild to moderate symptoms.
It helps in part by preventing cardiovascular diseases that affect blood flow to the brain.
Exercise is also linked to improved cognitive function in general.
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