Middle-aged family caregivers – especially those watching a parent lose their memory – might worry about suffering the same fate. The good news is midlife is not too late to start taking steps to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, other dementias or age-related memory loss.
“In general, as people get older, their cells age—a process called cellular aging,” explained Leslie Kernisan, MD, MPH, founder of BetterHealthWhileAging.net and author of “When Your Aging Parent Needs Help.” “In terms of biology, as our cells age, they become less resilient and less able to repair themselves and function optimally.”
Yet, cells are so much better in middle age than they will be in 20 years, Kernisan noted—which is why it’s not too late for most people. Reduce the risk of later having significant memory problems or cognitive issues by doing things to minimize, rather than accelerate, cellular aging.
“Inflammation and blood sugar that are either high or going up and down a lot tends to accelerate cellular aging,” she warned. “What tends to reduce it is exercise, sleep and finding ways to avoid chronic, ongoing stress.”
For family caregivers who take excellent care of their care recipients but neglect their own health, that can be easy to say yet hard to do, said geriatrician Victoria Braund, MD, FACP, CMD, NorthShore University HealthSystem.
“Don’t put your loved one in front of your own health,” she said. “During middle age you need a colonoscopy, mammograms, blood pressure and lab checks. You need to take care of yourself as well.”
Five lifestyle changes to promote brain health
Looking for guidance on how to promote brain health? Monica Moreno, senior director at the Alzheimer’s Association, recommends the following lifestyle changes:
- Exercise regularly – Regular cardiovascular exercise helps increase blood flow to the body and brain. There’s strong evidence regular physical activity is linked to better memory and thinking.
- Maintain a heart-healthy diet – Stick to a meal schedule full of fruits and vegetables to ensure a well-balanced diet. Some evidence suggests a healthful diet is linked to cognitive performance. The Mediterranean and DASH diets, which emphasize whole grains, green leafy vegetables, fish and berries, are linked to better cognitive functioning and help reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Get proper sleep – Maintaining a regular, uninterrupted sleep pattern benefits physical and psychological health and helps clear waste from the brain. Adults should get at least seven hours of sleep each night and try to keep a routine bedtime.
- Stay socially and mentally active – Meaningful social engagement may support cognitive health, so stay connected with friends and family. Engage your mind by doing activities that stump you, like completing a jigsaw puzzle or playing strategy games, or challenge yourself further by learning a new language or musical instrument.
- Keep your heart healthy – A recent study shows strong evidence that a healthier heart is connected to a healthier brain. The study shows that aggressively treating high blood pressure in older adults can help reduce the development of mild cognitive impairment.
“Many of these lifestyle changes have been shown to lower the risk of other diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s,” Moreno said. “With few drawbacks and plenty of known benefits, healthy lifestyle choices can improve your health and possibly protect your brain.”
Slow cellular aging in the brain
Inflammation and blood sugar can be related to how people eat, but often it’s mediated by the gut microbiome and the particulars of their body, Kernisan explained.
“The microbiome is the ecosystem of cells in your gut,” she said. “It’s the reason why slightly different diets work for different people.”
For example, some people tolerate fats easily and, after eating, won’t experience huge spikes of fats that stay in their body for a long time and irritate cells. Other people will eat the same foods and their blood fat level will stay high for much longer.
“What you’re aiming for is lower levels of inflammation and more stable blood sugar,” Kernisan said. “Higher levels of inflammation and blood sugar accelerate cellular aging in brain cells.”
Kernisan said it’s best to follow an eating plan customized for you, a diet that will generate less signs of inflammation and stabilize blood sugar. You can meet with your doctor or take advantage of newer services that are available, such as ZOE, a nutrition program developed in the UK that starts with an assessment of your gut microbiome, obtained from a stool sample.
Challenge your brain
Join a book club and you’ll be forced to read a new genre. Swap out the GPS for a map and figure out the directions yourself. Brush your teeth with your nondominant hand. All these activities will challenge your brain, which is exactly what it needs—but doesn’t want.
“The brain likes to take the easy way out,” Braund said, noting there’s evidence that when you do new things and get out of your rut, it’s good for your brain.
“We do things the same way: Stay home on Saturday night and watch Netflix. Drive the same way to work. It’s important to stress our brains a bit. Go out with people we don’t know well on a Saturday night. It works the brain harder, makes it think in new ways. It’s a muscle just like your heart and needs to work.”
Making lifestyle changes is an ongoing process. Look within yourself to determine what area you need to improve and take small steps to get there. Change takes time but the benefits are worth it.
