Susan is living the active lifestyle she always knew she would in retirement. She travels a lot and at 68 she’s been to more than a dozen countries and is planning a lot more trips. On any given day, you might find her out on the lake, tackling a new hiking trail with the grandchildren, or volunteering at the local children’s hospital.
Seeing and doing new things is what Susan’s all about. But in the back of her mind, Susan is worried that cognitive decline or dementia could change all that.
When Susan’s mother was about her age she started exhibiting the first signs of cognitive decline. Over a period of 15 years, Susan watched as the woman who had always cared for her and loved her unconditionally struggled with seemingly simple tasks. She forgets random things. Eventually, she could only identify Susan on a good day.
Having seen what her mother went through, Susan has always attempted to stay healthy, eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise. But she isn’t certain that will be enough. Are there established ways to delay dementia or cognitive decline?
Luckily, there are things that can be done to avert cognitive decline. Three of them are listed here.
1. Get Exercise
Susan learned that she’s already on the right track. She does try to get the suggested amount of exercise each day.
Many studies support the fact that people who do modest exercise consistently as they get older have a decreased risk for cognitive decline and dementia. They’ve also shown a positive effect on people who are already experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline.
Here are a number of reasons why researchers think consistent exercise can stave off mental decline.
- Exercise slows the degeneration of the nervous system that typically happens as a person ages. The brain needs these nerves to communicate with the body, process memories, and consider how to do things. Scientists believe that because exercise slows this deterioration, it also slows cognitive decline.
- Exercise may increase the production of neuroprotection factors. There are mechanisms in your body that safeguard some cells from damage. These protectors might be produced at a higher level in individuals who get enough exercise.
- Exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Blood brings nutrients and oxygen to cells in the brain. Cells will die when cardiovascular disease obstructs this blood flow. By keeping the vessels and heart healthy, exercise may be able to delay dementia.
2. Have Vision Concerns Treated
The rate of mental decline was cut nearly in half in individuals who had their cataracts removed according to an 18-year study carried out on 2000 people.
While this study focused on one prevalent cause for loss of eyesight, this study supports the fact that preserving eyesight as you age is important for your cognitive health.
Losing eyesight at an older age can cause a person to withdraw from their circle of friends and stop doing things they love. Further studies have investigated links between social isolation and advancing dementia.
If you have cataracts, don’t just ignore them. You’ll be protecting yourself against the development of dementia if you do what you can to maintain healthy vision.
3. Get Hearing Aids
If you have untreated hearing loss, you may be on your way into cognitive decline. The same researchers from the cataract research gave 2000 different people who had hearing loss a hearing aid. They used the same methods to test for the progression of cognitive decline.
They got even more impressive results. Mental decline was decreased by 75% in the participants who received hearing aids. So the dementia symptoms they were already noticing simply stopped.
This has some likely reasons.
The social component is the first thing. People tend to go into isolation when they have untreated hearing loss because interacting with friends at restaurants and clubs becomes a challenge.
Also, a person gradually forgets how to hear when they start to lose their hearing. If the individual waits years to get a hearing aid, this deterioration advances into other parts of the brain.
In fact, researchers have actually compared the brains of people with untreated hearing loss to people who wear hearing aids using an MRI. People who have untreated hearing loss actually have shrinking of the brain.
That’s definitely not good for your memory and mental capabilities.
If you have hearing aids, wear them to ward off dementia. If you’re procrastinating on getting a hearing aid, even with hearing loss, it’s time to contact us for a hearing examination. Learn how you can hear better with today’s technological advancements in hearing aids.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258000/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/10/11/hearing-aids-slow-dementia-75-new-study-finds/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6581941/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5764000/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_aging/healthy_body/the-hidden-risks-of-hearing-loss