May 3, 2024
Discover what you can do about dementia. It is one of our greatest fears and year by year we learn more about what we can do to offset losing our mind.
After my mother suffered an epileptic fit, we were told it was the first stage of dementia and within two years she wouldn’t know who we were.
That is an all too familiar diagnosis. In my mother’s case that never came to pass and she lived another eight years with full control of her mental capabilities. Perhaps she was an exception, so it is as well to recognise the symptoms.
In his latest book, “How to Prevent Dementia — Understanding and Managing Cognitive Decline,” Dr. Richard Restak, a clinical professor of neurology, emphasizes two principles: significant personality change and its impact on relationships. If both are present, early dementia may be a concern.
Restak, 81, highlights the importance of observing alterations in behaviour, especially regarding temper issues. He explains that a typical personality change, such as difficulty controlling temper, could indicate cognitive decline. He provides an example of a man reacting angrily to a sports score revelation at a dinner party, illustrating the impact of impaired executive function on self-regulation.
The sports fan mentioned earlier was experiencing early stages of frontotemporal dementia, marked by an outburst from the amygdala that the frontal lobe couldn’t handle. This incident, initially standing out as unusual, became more common as the disease progressed.
Dementia, a term encompassing mental function decline, often lacks a clear starting point. It’s compared to a slow walk from the shallow end of a swimming pool into the deep. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), affecting different age groups, may progress to Alzheimer’s, with symptoms including forgetting recent conversations and making poor financial decisions.
Dementia can manifest through various signs such as loss of correct words, misplaced items, getting lost, apathy, speech issues, and emotional and behavioural disorders like anxieties, depression, reclusiveness, hoarding, impatience, delusions, and hallucinations. As Dr. Restak notes, these are essentially “disorders of thought.”
The fear of dementia is widespread, but Dr. Restak believes a remedy may be available within a decade. Despite this, any memory lapse in midlife often triggers concerns about dementia, with denial being a common response. However, forgetting can result from not paying attention rather than memory loss. Dr. Restak notes that people may forget their grandchildren’s names not because they can’t remember but because they’re not actively trying.
Or we’re using the wrong memory system. For example, when learning to drive, you had to focus until “you’d simply do it without even thinking about it. That’s called procedural memory.” It becomes encoded in the brain, meaning “if you have to alter that procedure, it’s going to take a deliberate attempt”. It’s why, if you plan to drop off your suit at the dry cleaner on your drive to work, once you sit in the car, sip your coffee, turn on the radio, procedural memory kicks in … And you forget your suit on the back seat.
There are ways to maximise the chance of staying mentally sharp.
Develop a Passionate Interest:
Immerse yourself in knowledge acquisition. Viewing the brain as a network rather than hierarchical, Dr Richard Restak suggests finding practical interests, like learning a new language, to enhance cognitive function, avoiding the drawbacks of studying something disliked.
Expand Your Vocabulary Daily:
Embrace curiosity by learning a new word each day, delving into subtle linguistic differences. Engage in activities like Sudoku and crosswords to stimulate cognitive activity and maintain a curious mindset.
Cultivate Logic and Humour:
Enhance cognitive powers by shifting between concrete and abstract thought. Solving riddles, like the cowboy on Tuesday, fosters cognitive agility. Restak asserts that making puns and enjoying dad jokes also contribute to mental flexibility.
Read Fiction for Mental Exercise:
Challenge your brain with good fiction, requiring significant mental effort. Utilize technology as an auxiliary tool, not a substitute, to enhance reading experiences. Restak recommends reading fiction for pleasure, emphasizing the mental work involved in remembering characters and navigating complex narratives.
Prioritize Hearing Health:
Recognize the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline. Regular hearing checks are crucial, as mishearing and misconstruing information can lead to cognitive problems. Addressing hearing issues early helps mitigate the risk of enduring cognitive problems associated with hearing loss.
Prioritize Enjoyable Exercise:
Regular exercise, particularly aerobic activity, strengthens brain cell connections and enhances cognitive function. Aerobic exercise slightly outweighs anaerobic for brain health, but the key is finding an enjoyable activity. Whether it’s lifting weights or walking, the emphasis is on making exercise enjoyable rather than a chore. Mind-body practices like yoga, Tai chi and meditation promote relaxation and, indirectly, cognitive health. Visit our Look after your Body section to find out more about Tai Chi and other exercises.
Socialise:
Andrew Sommerlad, associate professor of psychiatry at University College London (UCL), in his research published this year in Nature Aging, shows how greater participation in midlife and late-life social gatherings is associated with 30 to 50 per cent lower dementia risk. “You must see friends and try to interact socially with as many different groups as you can, at the gym, at a weekly park run or as part of any hobby as it really does provide a workout for the brain,” he says. “Meeting people in any social situation, even a friend for coffee or a Zoom call with relatives, is cognitively demanding, it requires us to think and react and make judgments, to remember things about people and to make jokes or internally assess responses, all of which exercises the brain.”
Embrace the Power of Naps:
Napping, especially within an hour of lunch for 20-30 minutes, not only boosts energy but also offers cognitive benefits, including improved memory and learning. Developing a nap habit can contribute to an individual’s overall sleep quality, and to counter grogginess, a pre-nap coffee can be effective.
Typically, we get less sleep as we age but getting too little or too much are risk factors for diminished cognitive reserve. “A few nights of reduced sleep won’t make much difference,” Sommerlad says. “But sleep serves a function as there is a glymphatic clearance in the brain when we are asleep and the theory is that there is reduced clearance of these harmful products if you don’t sleep well.” Ideally, seven to nine hours is optimal for enhancing cognitive reserve.
Enjoy Your Coffee:
Contrary to common concerns, enjoying two to three cups of coffee or tea daily has been associated with a 28% reduction in dementia risk, as per a UK Biobank study. Caffeine, according to Restak, enhances working memory, alertness, and reduces amyloid plaques in animal models. However, it’s advised to consult with a doctor, especially for those with hypertension.
Consider Intermittent Fasting:
While the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for cardiovascular health and inflammation reduction, timing matters too. Research suggests that intermittent fasting (IF) stimulates the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), essential for learning and memory. IF also triggers autophagy, promoting cellular repair and regeneration.
If you are dealing with someone suffering from Dementia/Alzheimer’s and would be prepared to share your experience, it might be of great help to someone else.
Learn how you can improve your memory.
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