What lifestyle choices can cause dementia?

There are various lifestyles changes that we can all benefit from to avoid dementia which promote a healthy body and mind. As always, the usual suspects appear, including sleep, exercise and diet, but there are some others to consider too. 

Avoiding brain injury

So whenever you are riding your bike, or on a horse, make sure you keep your head covered. Similarly, always wear a seatbelt when travelling in a car. Head trauma may increase your risk of developing brain disease in the future, so make sure you guard against these risks as adequately as possible.

Keep your brain active

They say that challenging yourself is a great way to keep your brain active, so that it is being used and active. I suppose the best example of this is that we must exercise to keep healthy and so too we must exercise our brains. This is very important if you live alone, so try to continue reading and carry out mental exercises such as crosswords and sudoku puzzles. Knitting has also been shown to have benefits in dementia care, as again it uses certain parts of the brain, so keep the hobbies and creative activities up!

Diet

Well when do we not hear that diet is important? So it really does seem like refined sugar and fats are not good for much of our health, only as the odd treat. A balanced diet of cereals, vegetables, protein and fruit, as well as going easy on the booze, will help to maintain a healthy mind (as well as body). The mediterranean diet is also shown to have benefits in reducing the risk in dementia. According to research, those who follow this type of diet are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzeheimers. It is worth investigating in making changes to diet as this can support you even if you have been diagnosed with dementia. 

Exercise

Not only do our bodies and physical appearance benefit from getting ample exercise, increasing your cardiovascular activities can support brain activity. Pushing up levels of serotonin, the happy chemical, in our bodies and keeping blood flowing around our bodies and into our brains, staves off the build up of fats and promotes the breakdown of proteins in our bodies. Cardiovascular exercise is one that we all need to partake in, as it boosts heart rate and mood.

Keep lungs healthy

If you haven’t already, then now is the time to consider giving up smoking. Smoking cigarettes impacts the lungs and can lead to a reduced airflow and ability to transfer of gas into your blood-stream. With lower levels of oxygen in the blood-stream, as well as toxins contained within cigarettes, this is thought to increase your risk of developing Alzheimers, a form of dementia. 

Inflammation of the lungs with abnormal lung tissue and scarring, such as sarcoidosis can also increase a patient’s risk of dementia because the lungs are not able to transfer as much oxygen into the blood.

Sleep  

We all need more, but the reality is that getting enough sleep can help to benefit your mental health and longer term guard against your risk of getting dementia. So start making the necessary changes now to ensure you are achieving the required amount of shut eye. It’s not just to reduce those dark circles it gives your brain and body time to repair, rest and recuperate. 

Social activities  

It is thought to be healthy, you need to be taking part in social events and activities. Being able to interact with other people and enjoy their company, as well as interacting in conversations is good for brain activity, as well as state of mind.

Summary

In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is important to make changes that will reduce your dementia risk. The key is not to panic, but some of these changes can also support and reduce symptoms and the development of dementia.