Experts reveal very simple steps you can take to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Nearly seven million people in the US are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and while there is no cure, experts are looking for ways to prevent it.

DailyMail.com spoke to Alzheimer’s experts who believe that engaging cognitive functions by reading works of fiction could slow or prevent the disease.

That’s because stories about distant lands and mythical creatures require readers to remember what happened early in the book in order to understand the ending.

“Fiction can evoke more intense emotions and images, along with new facts and ideas when reading nonfiction books,” says Dr. Zaldy Tan, professor of neurology and medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“But more than the type of book, the key here is sustainability,” Tan said, adding, “I encourage people to challenge their minds by reading something new.”

Neuroscientists have suggested that staying physically active and doing other activities such as knitting, chess, puzzles and gardening can also prevent cognitive decline.

“Leisure activities, including reading, have been associated with a lower risk of developing dementia in older adults,” Tan told DailyMail.com.

‘It is unclear whether actual reading – being exposed to new ideas, gaining new knowledge, learning new facts – or simply doing relaxing activities is the key to reducing the risk of dementia.

‘We do know that when we learn something new, our brain cells come out and make new connections.’

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease begin to develop 10 to 20 years before a person begins to show symptoms. That’s why it’s important to think about your health throughout your life, rather than waiting for symptoms to appear.

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the US, with 6.9 million people living with the disease, expected to double by 2050, according to the Brown University Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research.

Currently, someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s disease every 60 seconds, but within less than 30 years this will drop to every 33 seconds.

The reason this number is increasing is likely because there is a larger population of people over the age of 60, and that’s when you have the greatest risk factor for developing dementia, said Dr. Heather Snyder, vice president of the Alzheimer’s Association’s medical and health division. scientific relations told DailyMail.com.

“Science has made so much progress in the field of heart disease, which is of course something to celebrate, but this means life expectancy is increasing,” Snyder said.

Reading is widely considered a mentally engaging hobby due to the need to remember information and acts as a kind of mental workout for your brain – building neuron connections and slowing memory loss.

People who read for even 15 to 30 minutes a day can slow or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, reducing the rate of decline by 32 percent.

In 2022, a team of researchers from the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology discovered a link between leisure reading and building mental skills.

The study assessed a group of seniors between 60 and 79 years old who read 90 minutes a day, five days a week, for eight weeks, versus a group who completed word puzzles on an iPad.

At the end of the study, those in the reading group showed significant improvements in their working and episodic memory.

“Leisure reading, the kind that really gets you involved, is good for you, and it helps build the mental skills on which reading depends.” said Elizabeth Stine-Morrow, lead author of the study.

Other activities such as Chess, gardening and knitting have also been linked to slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Snyder said that unfortunately there aren’t enough new studies on the topic of how leisure activities slow dementia, but there was a study conducted by Mayo Clinic discovered in 2009 that knitting can delay memory loss.

Engaging in an activity like knitting helps stimulate numerous cognitive functions because it requires the person to pay close attention to patterns, count stitches and coordinate hand movements, and requires concentration and memory recall.

The Mayo Clinic study found that knitting is a mentally engaging task that challenges the brain and can slow dementia by improving the person’s attention span and problem-solving skills.

Likewise, regularly playing chess or another board game reduces the risk of dementia by nine percent, according to a 2023 study. study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“We don’t know if there is a direct cause and effect if we continue to engage and stimulate the brain,” Snyder said.

“When we stimulate and stimulate the brain through continuous learning, we exercise the brain,” which works just like any other muscle.

“When you read a book, you learn new information and you challenge your brain, you challenge the information you’re processing,” which creates new neuron connections or connections in the brain, she added.

As you get older, you lose some of the original links that held your cognitive functions in place, but by reading or participating in another mentally stimulating activity, you effectively replace the lost links and strengthen the existing ones.

Tan said that while researchers still don’t know if there is a difference between reading fiction and non-fiction books, “the key here is sustainability.” If someone enjoys reading, I would encourage him/her to read books that pique his or her interest.

“For example, if they prefer suspense novels, they should next try reading a biography of a person they admire.”

The brain is just like any other muscle, Tan said, so just like physical exercise where we need to train each muscle group individually, “we need to vary the things we read to achieve greater overall effects.”

There is also greater awareness of dementia now than in the past, meaning doctors are now having ‘those important conversations with people who would previously have gone undiagnosed’.

Snyder is leading an ongoing US Pointer study to understand the benefits of engaging in activities to slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The trial will follow 2,000 participants aged 60 to 79 who are at increased risk of dementia to determine whether different levels of activity have a positive impact on their cognitive health.

Snyder said the results of the study are expected to be released in 2025.

Her latest research follows a 2014 study in Finland that found that a combination of exercise, a healthy diet, monitoring heart health risks and cognitive stimulation slowed dementia.

“It really seems like new learning and continuing to challenge yourself and engage your brain as best you can” is the key to slowing cognitive decline, Snyder said.

She added that it’s important to always “challenge your mind, be curious and use your brain a lot.”