During our lives, we try to do as much as possible. More to see, more to hear, more places to visit and more to learn. And if in youth our motto is “To do everything at once”, then with age, physical and mental activity comes to naught: you want to relax, not run anywhere, enjoy the long-awaited doing nothing.
But if you follow the stated position, then in combination with many risk factors, people at some point in their lives who stop in further development are more likely to be treated for Alzheimer’s disease.
Risk factors:
– Wrong lifestyle: bad habits, overload, insufficient night sleep, lack of physical and mental activity.
– Improper diet: avoidance of foods containing vitamins in their natural form.
Let’s talk about risk factors in more detail.
There are things that are at risk and increase the likelihood of mental illness, but we can change them:
– smoking
– diseases (for example, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, physical inactivity and others)
– deficiency of vitamin B, folic acid
– insufficient intellectual activity
– lack of physical activity
– lack of a healthy diet
– lack of healthy sleep
depression in young and middle age.
There are things that cannot be changed:
– genetic predisposition
– elderly age
– female gender (yes, women suffer from diseases associated with weakening and memory disorder more often than men)
– traumatic brain injury
What should be done to minimize the risk of Alzheimer’s disease?
It will not be superfluous to undergo disease prevention for people who do not have a predisposition or have already begun the disease. First of all, you need to tune in to optimize your lifestyle.
1. Physical activity will reduce not only body weight, but also the level of blood pressure, as well as increase the blood supply to the brain. Physical activity slows down the development of Alzheimer’s disease and even prevents it.
Loads should be calculated depending on the physical characteristics and abilities of each person individually. So, in old age, the minimum (but necessary) level of activity can be attributed to walks in the fresh air for at least 30 minutes 3 times a day.
2. Proper and healthy nutrition prevents the development of many diseases, especially the so-called “diseases of old age.” Fresh vegetables and fruits contain more vitamins and are healthier than their medicinal counterparts.
There is a positive effect of antioxidants (found in vegetables and fruits), which reduce the risk of disease in old age. However, such antioxidants do not have any effect on people who already have the disease or are predisposed to it.
3. Another of the most important components is education and mental activity at any age. A high level of education and constant mental work allow our brain to create a certain reserve, due to which the clinical manifestations of the disease slow down.
In addition, in addition to active mental activity, social activity is also important. What matters is what a person does outside of work, how he spends his leisure time. People who engage in intense mental activity are more likely to spend active leisure, preferring intellectual entertainment and physical relaxation to lying on the couch.
Scientists also note that people who speak and speak two or more languages are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
What kind of mental activity can and should be organized in your free time? “You can’t keep learning!” – many people think. But it turns out that it is possible and necessary.
You can choose any mental activity you like, for example:
– study foreign languages (at any age) in order to go on a journey and understand others;
– learn new poems, as well as excerpts from prose;
– play chess and other intellectual board games;
– solve puzzles and puzzles;
– develop memory and memorization processes (go to work in a new way, learn to use both hands equally: for example, learn to write with your left hand if you are right-handed, and many other ways).
The main thing is that every day you learn something new and interesting for yourself, giving, as they say, food for thought.
If you are a healthy person, do not belong to the category of older people, but complain about the inability to remember any information, then everything is simple: lack of motivation, inattention, absent-mindedness play a cruel joke on you. But it should also be remembered that excessive workaholism and diligent mental (study work) are by no means so useful.
What to avoid during intensive mental work:
– stress
– mental and physical overload (you should not have a motto: “I love my job, I will come here on Saturday …” This story should not be about you)
– systematic / chronic overwork (a healthy and long night’s sleep will only benefit. Fatigue, as you know, tends to accumulate. It is very difficult to regain strength and health, and the latter in some cases is almost impossible).
Failure to follow these simple rules can lead to occasional forgetfulness, minor difficulty concentrating, and increased fatigue. And these are all symptoms of a mild cognitive disorder. If you ignore the first signs of trouble, then further – a stone’s throw to more serious health problems.
But it’s not a secret for anyone that with age, in principle, it is more difficult for people to memorize new information, it takes more concentration and more time for this process. It is constant mental, physical activity, proper nutrition (sufficient intake of antioxidants) that can slow down the process of “natural wear and tear of human memory”.