A Year of Wellness Series: June 2021- Brain Health at Midlife

I don’t know if you are the same, but my memory isn’t what it used to be.  Some days I wonder if I’m in early Alzheimer’s when I call out my kid’s name and I get it wrong the first try (and sometimes the second try)!  Or I go into the kitchen for something, and I forget what I was going for by the time I get there.  The struggle is real!  I’m starting to worry about my brain health at midlife!

It’s common occurrences like this with people at midlife that have led to numerous programs and apps on the market geared toward training your brain.  Cognitive training has become a billion-dollar industry despite having little evidence proving they prevent Alzheimer’s, dementia, and cognitive decline (1).

But if there isn’t any hard evidence supporting these apps and games to keep our brain from declining as we age, what does the evidence say that we can do to improve or at least keep our current brain health at midlife?  Studies suggest that controlled computerized cognitive training does have some benefit in boosting brain performance, although more research is needed to tell us how effective it is and if the effects last (2).

Year of Wellness Series

This blog post is continuing my Year of Wellness Series, and in June 2021 I’m focusing on improving my brain health at midlife.

This year I am continuing my own path to improving my health through small improvements each month of 2021, and sharing that journey with you.  Part one of my year of wellness series is about assessing your health and lifestyle and then using that information to make a list of small and attainable goals throughout the next year that are specific and tailored to you and your needs.  You can find that blog article here.  My other posts you can find at:

February 2021 – Ways to Sleep Better at Midlife.

March 2021 – Daily Fluid Intake During Menopause.

April 2021 – How To Declutter To Improve Your Health.

May 2021 – Midlife Skin Care

Many researchers suggest that our lifestyle has a huge part to play in how our brain declines as we age.

Poor brain health can affect not only our cognition, but our general body health as well.  As we age, we start to have slowing of the messages between our Neurones (brain cells).  We also have death of Neurones due to normal aging.

It is important then to maintain optimal function of, and between our neurones.  We can do this making small changes in our lifestyle to be as healthy as we can be.  I feel that it’s important to start with just one, and when you’ve mastered that, then choose another to work on.  If you go all in and change everything in your life, those changes are harder to sustain than if you move slowly.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association released a guide for seven behaviors to help you optimize your brain health at midlife.  These include:

1. Don’t smoke or quit smoking if you do.
2. Increase your physical activity.
3. Optimize your BMI and weight.
4. Eat a healthy diet.
5. Keep blood pressure near 120/80mmHg.
6. Maintain cholesterol levels within normal limits.
7. Keep your blood glucose within normal limits (3).

How can we follow this guide to improve our brain health at midlife?

 

Quit Smoking

Well quitting smoking, or never starting has a huge effect on our brain health at midlife.  Smoking reduces our oxygenation to our body tissues (including our brain) with each cigarette.   Smoking cigarettes makes you 30 percent more likely to develop Dementia and quitting smoking decreases the risk of dementia to that of a non-smoker (4).  When you smoke, your risk of stroke is 2-4 times higher than a non-smoker according to the CDC (5).  Making changes to your lifestyle by omitting smoking and nicotine has the huge effect on your brain health, so please consider this one of your first priorities for improving your lifestyle.

Eat Healthy

Eating healthy boosts our IQ, improves our mood, helps us think quicker, and have a better memory (3).  A diet such as the Mediterranean Diet includes healthy fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats while giving us the nutrients and vitamins we need.  This diet deceases our intake of cholesterol and foods high in sugar, while promoting brain health (2, 6).  Eating healthy helps keep our BMI, Blood Pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose within normal limits.  It also decreases our risk of stroke and other health conditions such as diabetes and atherosclerosis which affects our brain function (7).

Increase Physical Activity

Physical activity is associated with improved cognition, attention, memory, and brain volume by improving blood flow to the brain and supporting function of new neural and vascular connections (8).  Physical activity can decrease our BMI, keep our blood pressure normalized and help to keep our blood glucose within normal limits.  Aerobic and weight training exercises have both shown benefit.  So, incorporating a small amount of exercise into your day as a start can help improve your brain health at midlife.

Decrease Stress

Excessive and sustained levels of Cortisol, the stress hormone, are released with chronic stress, and can affect our memory, attention, perception, and the ability to solve problems (9).  Participating in meditation, yoga, tai-chi, mindfulness and other relaxation exercises can help decrease our stress levels.  This will help decrease our blood pressure and promote healthy neurotransmitter regulation in the body, as well as decreasing Cortisol.   So, find what works for you to decrease your stress levels, and make sure you take the time each day to practice and reduce your stress.

Keep Your Brain Active

Participating in cognitively stimulating and rewarding activities can help maintain and improve our brain health at midlife (3) and improve our mental health as well.  So keep your brain active by:

• Learning something new (sport or hobby.)
• Learning a new dance- you’ll get a two for one benefit (mental and physical exercise).
• Take a class of a subject you’re interested in.
• Test your memory with games to promote memorization.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep decreases the amount of cortisol released in the body as well as helps to keep the blood pressure normalized.  Not getting enough sleep results in problems with memory and thinking and can increase our risk of injury.

Limit Alcohol

Limiting our alcohol intake can decrease blood pressure and improve blood sugar regulation, both of which improve brain health.  Limiting your alcohol intake to 2 drinks or less helps to keep your body healthy, including your brain.

Learn a New Language or Musical Instrument

Studies have shown that learning to play an instrument or learning a new language has proven to improve listening and hearing skills which boost brain health, as well as slowing cognitive decline (10, 11).  So, if you’re interested in learning these skills, it can definitely help keep your brain young.

Be Socially Active

Staying socially active as we age helps support brain health and reduce your risk of dementia, helps decrease blood pressure, and improves mental health and short-term memory (12, 13, 14).  And, staying socially active means different things to each of us, depending on whether you’re an introvert or extrovert.  So, find your social comfort zone and keep it active as you age!

Protect Your Brain

Protect your head to prevent increased risk of cognitive impairment associated with head injuries.  Wear a seatbelt when driving, a helmet when biking/skiing etc, and increase your total body muscle strength to reduce your risk of falls as you age (12, 13, 14).  Always protect your brain from injury as your fisk of cognitive decline increases with a head injury and it can happen easily.

Stay Healthy

Stay as healthy as possible and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia by:

• Decreasing your risk by managing/preventing conditions such as Diabetes, Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Atherosclerosis, and Depression.
• Get assessed regularly by your healthcare practitioner to ensure you don’t have undiagnosed conditions or underlying vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
• Take medications as prescribed and follow your healthcare practitioner’s advice for your healthcare conditions.

I hope that this list helps you understand what you can do to improve your brain health at midlife.  They are lifestyle changes that you can make to decrease your chances of developing Alzheimer’s and Dementia and keep your brain sharp well into your elderly years.

I hope that you will join me in this Year of Wellness, even if you don’t have many changes to make.  You can create your own goals and plans for wellness as it works for you.  If you have any questions or concerns, send me an email!

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter below.  This gives you access to all of the printables in my resource library.  Signing up for my newsletter also gives you updates on my blog articles as well as the Year of Wellness Series.

Please note that while I am a registered nurse, I am not your nurse and my opinions above do not constitute or replace medical advice.  Please discuss any questions or concerns with your dermatologist, physician or health care provider.   Also, see my disclaimer here for more information.

Take care,

 

Resources

 

1. https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/94815/lumosity-cant-prove-claims-say-scientists-but-brain-training-worth-researching
2. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001756
3. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/STR.0000000000000148
4. Zhong G, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Guo JJ, Zhao Y. Smoking is associated with an increased risk of dementia: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies with investigation of potential effect modifiers [published correction appears in PLoS One. 2015;10(4):e0126169]. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0118333. Published 2015 Mar 12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118333
5. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm
6. http://164.100.161.164/hindi/pdf/e-book/aug-sep-2010.pdf#page=26
7. Rajaram S, Jones J, Lee GJ. Plant-Based Dietary Patterns, Plant Foods, and Age-Related Cognitive Decline. Adv Nutr (Bethesda). 2019;10(Suppl_4):S422-S436. doi:10.1093/advances/nmz081, 10.1093/advances/nmz081
8. Koblinsky ND, Meusel LC, Greenwood CE, Anderson ND. Household physical activity is positively associated with gray matter volume in older adults. BMC geriatr.. 2021;21(1):104. doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02054-8, 10.1186/s12877-021-02054-8
9. Echouffo-Tcheugui JB, Conner SC, Himali JJ, Maillard P, DeCarli CS, Beiser AS, Vasan RS, Seshadri S. Circulating cortisol and cognitive and structural brain measures: The Framingham Heart Study. Neurology. 2018 Nov 20;91(21):e1961-e1970. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000006549. Epub 2018 Oct 24. PMID: 30355700; PMCID: PMC6260201.
10. Musical Training Orchestrates Coordinated Neuroplasticity in Auditory Brainstem and Cortex to Counteract Age-Related Declines in Categorical Vowel Perception. Gavin M. Bidelman and Claude Alain. Journal of Neuroscience 21 January 2015, 35 (3) 1240-1249; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3292-14.2015
11. Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging? Thomas H. Bak MD, Jack J. Nissan PhD, Michael M. Allerhand PhD, Ian J. Deary MD. 02 June 2014 https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24158
12. https://www.alz.org/help-support/brain_health/10_ways_to_love_your_brain
13. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/12-ways-to-keep-your-brain-young

https://womensbrainhealth.org/great-minds-think-alike/age-proof-your-brain