It’s probably no secret that our brain’s aging is dependent on both our genetics and lifestyle practices. Some of the lifestyle practices that research has linked to how our brain ages include exercise, avoiding tobacco, and playing an instrument or speaking a second language. A review paper published Thursday in the journal Genomic Psychiatry suggests… Continue reading →
Modifiable risk factors for dementia include smoking, lack of exercise, hearing loss, obesity, and high blood pressure, among others listed by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care. One of the more recent additions to their list is visual impairment, which one study (Varadaraj et al., 2021) concluded as having possibly led to… Continue reading →
Many older adults take numerous medications. This practice, called polypharmacy, has been linked to lower memory function. It is becoming apparent that some of those commonly prescribed drugs may contribute to memory difficulties. Some affect short-term memory, which refers to anything that happened within the last 30 seconds. Examples of this are forgetting what you… Continue reading →
In recent research, the emphasis on sleep duration as a key factor for health has shifted towards the consistency of sleep schedules. A groundbreaking study involving over 60,000 participants from the UK Biobank has revealed that sleep regularity is a more significant predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration. This study, which utilized more than… Continue reading →
Everyone has experienced the power of aromas to evoke recollections of past experiences. You may walk into a room and smell something cooking, or the scent of a perfume or cologne a loved one wore years ago, and memories just suddenly surface. This happens because the olfactory system is the only sensory system that has… Continue reading →
People who are experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline should seek a diagnosis. An early diagnosis can make a difference, since it can cause someone to make lifestyle changes and/or start a treatment that can help them maintain or even improve their cognitive abilities. However, Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, a board-certified behavioral neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute’s Alzheimer’s… Continue reading →
About 65 percent of adults older than 60 years have some hearing loss. However, a Johns Hopkins study revealed that only about 14 percent of people experiencing hearing loss get hearing aids. People who do not hear well tend not to socialize, because they have difficulty participating in conversations. They are also generally less involved… Continue reading →
So, what is one to do? Some say that if you do not drink at all, there is no good reason to start. Heavy drinkers can benefit the most from drinking less. And others should consider how much risk they are willing to take, based on their individual risk for certain diseases. Ultimately, reducing the… Continue reading →
6392968 © Artem Illarionov | Dreamstime.com A question I am sometimes asked when speaking about memory and brain health is: do statins cause memory problems? So, I decided to investigate the research on this. And like many areas of research, the results are not clear! Since many treatments that can help the heart can also help the brain, it… Continue reading →
An estimated 5.7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease—the most common type of dementia—and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. Early diagnosis is crucial for patients to benefit from the few therapies available. To diagnose this disease, doctors must conduct numerous clinical and neuropsychological tests. However, there is growing… Continue reading →