To stay sharper while aging, get active, challenge your brain, and eat healthy
That's according to initial results released Monday from a rigorous US study of lifestyle changes in seniors at risk of developing dementia. People following a combination of healthier habits slowed typical age-related cognitive decline — achieving scores on brain tests as if they were a year or two younger, researchers reported in JAMA and at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.
It's not too late to get started -- study participants were in their 60s and 70s -- and it doesn't require becoming a pickleball champ or swearing off ice cream.
'It was the first time I felt like I was doing something proactive to protect my brain,' said Phyllis Jones, 66, of Aurora, Illinois, who joined the study after caring for her mother with dementia and struggling with her own health problems.
It's too soon to know if stalling age-related decline also could reduce the risk of later Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. But Jones and other study participants underwent brain scans and blood tests that researchers now are analyzing for clues – such as whether people also saw a reduction in Alzheimer's-related protein buildup.
'We're all on a cognitive aging clock and anything we can do to slow that clock down, to me, that is a significant benefit,' said Laura Baker of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who led the study.
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- Time of India
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Time of India
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- Time of India
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Time of India
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