I began doing presentations on brain health and memory several years ago, mainly to educate the “worried well” about behaviors that might indicate cognitive decline and about lifestyle practices that would help maintain brain function. Most people with Alzheimer’s are 65 or older. After age 65, the risk of Alzheimer’s doubles every five years. After… Continue reading →

Ping pong has been touted as an excellent way to get both cognitive stimulation and physical exercise. It is also social, both live and using the Oculus Quest virtual reality (VR) system. During COVID I have been playing ping pong with my son, who lives in another state. We can carry on a conversation and… Continue reading →

Next week and the week following is the 2020 International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Virtual Conference, Leadership Summit and Expo https://icaaconference.icaa.cc/ The theme this year is “Aging well: the great disruptor.” In addition to prominent keynotes by Colin Milner and Ken Dychtwald, there will be presentations on a variety of topics from cognitive and… Continue reading →

About 5.8 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease, and this number is expected to swell to 14 million by 2050. Numerous older adults are concerned about memory loss. Many Americans, including four out of five older adults, routinely use dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, or herbs. The dietary supplement market is now an… Continue reading →

Studies have shown numerous benefits of dark chocolate, especially for brain health. Dark chocolate may protect the brain against aging, oxidation, and inflammation. Because they boost blood flow, the compounds in dark chocolate improve memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving skills. Cocoa’s flavonoids penetrate and accumulate in the brain regions involved in learning and… Continue reading →

Art can take us on an internal journey through sensation and strong emotion, or it can simply amaze us with its beauty. Our reactions to a piece of art may be varied, but there is no denying its ability to have an impact. Art may be good medicine for the soul, but it is also… Continue reading →

In a recent study that reviewed factors linked to dementia, researchers estimated that 35% could be attributed to potentially controllable risk factors. Rates of dementia have fallen by up to 20% in high-income countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, over the past twenty years. The theory is that this decline is… Continue reading →

Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the University of Massachusetts Boston have received a 4-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study if voice and language patterns captured by voice assistants, like Alexa, can be used to identify people in an early stage of dementia or cognitive impairment. They are experimenting to… Continue reading →

Dr. Peter Snyder, a professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, has been conducting research into retinal scanning technology that could detect signs of Alzheimer’s as early as 20 years before symptoms appear. Scientists are interested in the retina because it is an extension of the brain. As part of our nervous system it… Continue reading →