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Nothing can completely prevent a particular amount of cognitive decline that comes with ageing. While certain degree of memory loss is considered normal among ageing people, dementia, which generally refers to the gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember, can severely affect a person’s daily functioning.
There is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia, but there are various things you can do to lower your risk of developing the condition as you get older.
Here are the results of the latest studies that reveal what can or can’t prevent dementia.
1. Education can fight dementia- to a point.
Does getting a PhD degree make you less vulnerable to dementia? According to a new study published in Neuroepidemiology, education can fight cognitive decline to a certain point. After conducting memory tests and recall tests of over 11,000 older Europeans for almost a decade, scientists discovered that people with higher education displayed lower rates of dementia. However, they also found that education didn’t seem to influence the rate at which the people’s cognitive functions declined when they were already diagnosed with dementia. Scientists concluded that education provided people larger cognitive reserve, so that when cognitive decline starts, it took them longer to experience the effects.
2. Staying mentally active can delay development of dementia.
Solving crossword puzzles, learning a new language and nurturing your relationships can help delay the onset of dementia. But a study of almost 1,200 older people showed that people who engaged in such activities may also experience dementia later. Interestingly, once dementia begins, their cognitive functions decline more quickly compared to others.
3. Exercising lowers the risk of developing dementia.
In the past, severals studies have shown that high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes can put you at greater risk of developing dementia.
This is because poor health contributes to less blood flow to the brain, which is important for nourishing brain nerves and keeping healthy nerve connections. Thus, hitting the gym regularly may keep your heart healthy and lower your risk of dementia.
In fact, people with sedentary lifestyles were found to have the same risk of developing dementia as people who carry a genetic mutation that makes them at higher risk of the condition.
