12 guidelines to help prevent dementia

What is dementia? It is a condition in which a person who has been living normally experiences a significant decline in various cognitive functions such as memory, language, and judgment due to acquired brain damage from various causes, leading to considerable impairment in daily life.

Dementia is one of the diseases that urgently needs prevention for a healthy old age for all of us, and the risk of developing dementia can be reduced through lifestyle improvements and proper management. Here are 12 guidelines that help prevent dementia.

 

Exercise regularly at least three times a week

Regular exercise improves cerebral blood flow and promotes the activity of brain cells, reducing the risk of dementia.

It is recommended to do at least three sessions of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, such as activities that make your heart beat faster and cause slight shortness of breath but still allow you to talk.

 

2. Do not smoke

The risk of developing dementia is 1.59 times higher in people who smoke compared to those who do not smoke. Additionally, smoking can cause various cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory illnesses.

If quitting smoking alone is difficult, participate in various smoking cessation support programs provided by the government.

 

3. Eating healthy with fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish

Healthy eating plays an important role in preventing dementia. In particular, maintaining a healthy diet centered around fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish, such as the Mediterranean diet, has been shown to reduce the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

 

4. Reduce or abstain from alcohol.

Excessive drinking is a direct risk factor for the development of dementia. Heavy drinking and binge drinking are known to increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment by 1.7 times.

It has been reported that people who habitually overdrink from middle age to old age have a 2.6 times higher likelihood of cognitive impairment compared to those who do not.

Avoid excessive drinking and it is better not to consume more than three glasses of alcohol at a time.

 

5. Consistently engage in cognitive training to prevent dementia

Cognitive training enhances the brain's cognitive functions in both healthy individuals and dementia patients. In Korea, a cognitive training method called "Dugeun Dugeun Brain Exercise," which uses newspapers to prevent dementia, has been developed.

Consistently enhance brain cognitive functions through dementia prevention cognitive training.

 

6. Continuously participate in social activities

Social activities have a positive impact on overall health and quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to stay in frequent contact with family and friends and to continuously participate in social activities.

Social activities that are easy to participate in include volunteering, religious activities at churches, temples, or other religious institutions, and participation in programs at welfare centers or senior citizen centers.

Continuous participation in social activities can relatively slow down the decline of cognitive functions.

 

7. Maintaining an appropriate weight

People who are underweight or obese have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to those with normal weight. To prevent dementia, maintaining weight within a normal range at a certain level is helpful.

 

8. Regularly manage blood pressure

In patients with uncontrolled hypertension, repeated microvascular damage can increase the risk of developing dementia.

Specifically, hypertensive patients are known to have a 1.61 times higher risk of dementia compared to general adults. Therefore, blood pressure should be regularly checked to prevent hypertension, and if hypertension has already occurred, lifestyle adjustments and medication treatment should be continuously managed to control blood pressure.

 

9. Regular management of diabetes

Although the exact reason or cause why diabetes affects the development of dementia has not been clearly identified so far, it has been confirmed that diabetes patients have approximately a 1.46 times higher risk of developing dementia compared to the general adult population.

In addition, complications such as kidney damage, retinopathy, hearing impairment, and cardiovascular disease can accompany diabetes patients, and these complications also increase the risk of developing dementia.

Therefore, if diagnosed with diabetes, lifestyle changes should be made to ensure normal metabolism in our body, and diabetes must be continuously managed through medication.

 

10. Regularly managing cholesterol

After middle age, it is necessary to regularly manage cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and the development of dementia.

One of the most effective ways to manage cholesterol is to reduce the intake of foods high in saturated fats.

However, if you have already been diagnosed with hyperlipidemia due to high blood cholesterol levels, you should take anti-hyperlipidemic medication, visit the hospital regularly, and manage your cholesterol levels consistently.

 

11. Preventing and Treating Depression

Depression, one of the risk factors for dementia, is known to increase the risk of developing dementia by about two times.

Depression can be quickly improved through support and encouragement from those around, counseling with professionals, and medication treatment.

Meanwhile, even in simple cases of geriatric depression, symptoms such as memory decline and attention deficits may appear, so if these symptoms occur, it is important to seek medical attention from a specialist early.

 

12. Do not ignore symptoms of hearing loss.

As people age, the auditory system undergoes aging, making it harder to hear sounds compared to before, which can make conversations with others difficult, and related behavioral and psychosocial disorders may also occur.

According to current research, hearing loss is reported to approximately double the risk of developing dementia.

Therefore, when symptoms of hearing loss appear, it is necessary to receive professional treatment and use hearing aids to improve quality of life.

 

[Source] Korea Policy Briefing (www.korea.kr)

 

 

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Alcohol and cigarettes are truly completely useless...
Exercise and communication with those around you are also essential ~
Fighting for a healthy body~