When we talk about our health and making healthy choices we are usually thinking about our physical health. What many people don’t realise is that healthy choices are very important for our brain health. We tend to start thinking more about our brain health as we get older and we start having memory issues and begin to worry about getting dementia. We can greatly reduce the risk of dementia by making healthy lifestyle choices throughout our life starting in our youth, but it’s never too late to start.
There are a number of things that we can do (exercise, eat healthy foods), and not do (smoke, drink excess amounts of alcohol), to greatly lower our risk of getting dementia.
Approximately 70% of Alzheimer’s sufferers are women. “For more than a decade, Women’s Brain Health Initiative has been working to spread the word about all of the positive choices that individuals can make to help keep their brains healthy as they age and decrease the risk of developing dementia,” said Lynn Posluns, President and CEO of Women’s Brain Health Initiative. “We refer to these choices as the ‘six pillars of brain health.’”
These 6 Pillars of Brain Health are: Exercise, Social Activity, Stress Management, Mental Stimulation, Nutrition, and Sleep. We have more control over our cognitive destiny than we may realise as 40% of all cases of dementia may be avoided through our lifestyle choices.
Getting a massage on a regular basis will definitely help your brain health as massage has been proven to reduce stress, improve your sleep and can even be considered a social activity with my friendly visits.
Women’s Brain Health Day is December 2nd. Check out womensbrainhealth.org for lots of information and to find out more about the things they’re doing including BrainFit, a new app that will be available soon for free and the MIND diet.
“Research now shows that the sooner you look after your brain health, the better the cognitive outcome.”
