In This ArticleView AllIn This Article13 FactorsPreventionBrain Health To-Do List
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
13 Factors
Prevention
Brain Health To-Do List
Researchers agree that the cause of Alzheimer’s is likely multifactorial, with some unpreventable risk factors, such as age, genetics, hearing loss or traumatic brain injury, and then some preventable risk factors, like smoking, diet and more below.
13 Factors to Decrease Risk of Cognitive Decline
To try to prevent decline, reduce stroke risk and more, all Americans should work with their primary care doctors to keep tabs on 13 factors that have proven links to brain health.
These include the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, plus six other factors:
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The #1 Food for Boosting Brain Health, According to a Dietitian
Benefits of Prevention
You shouldn’t wait until you’re 65 to discuss these action items or to introduce healthier habits, suggestsRonald M. Lazar, Ph.D., FAHA, the Evelyn F. McKnight Endowed Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging and the director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
“Prevention doesn’t start in older age; it exists along the healthcare continuum from pediatrics to adulthood. The evidence in this statement demonstrates that early attention to these factors improves later life outcomes,” says Lazar, who is also a professor of neurology and neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Scientists are learning more about how to prevent cognitive decline before changes to the brain have begun. We have compiled the latest research and found Life’s Essential 8 plus other factors like sleep, mental health and education are a more comprehensive lifestyle strategy that optimizes brain health in addition to cardiovascular health.”
Asharp, healthy brainis responsible for a wide variety of tasks, all of which are crucial to thrive and maneuver independently through the world:
“Many people think ofhigh blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and other risk factors as affecting only heart health, yet these very same risk factors affect our brain health. Patients might be more likely to pay attention to the importance of addressing modifiable risk factors if they understood the links,” Lazar says. “I’ve given lectures, and what people tell me is, the one thing they do not want to lose during the course of their lives is their mind.”
Why Exercise Is Good for Your Mental Health
Brain-Boosting To-Do List
So at your next checkup, present your doctor with this list and ask him or her if you can test or talk through all of these important brain-impacting elements. But you need not wait until then to start making mental (and physical!) wellness a priority.
Based on the 13-item checklist, consider this your brain-boosting to-do—all of which you can start today:
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Disease Indicators.Cognitive health and caregiving.World Health Organization.Dementia.Alzheimer’s Association.Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s disease: What’s the difference?National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?American Heart Association.Life’s Essential 8.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use.How to quit smoking.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Disease Indicators.Cognitive health and caregiving.World Health Organization.Dementia.Alzheimer’s Association.Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s disease: What’s the difference?National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?American Heart Association.Life’s Essential 8.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use.How to quit smoking.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Disease Indicators.Cognitive health and caregiving.World Health Organization.Dementia.Alzheimer’s Association.Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s disease: What’s the difference?National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?American Heart Association.Life’s Essential 8.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use.How to quit smoking.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Disease Indicators.Cognitive health and caregiving.
World Health Organization.Dementia.
Alzheimer’s Association.Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s disease: What’s the difference?
National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging.What causes Alzheimer’s disease?
American Heart Association.Life’s Essential 8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use.How to quit smoking.
