be solved on the first try, Gandy says.
“But this provides a glimpse of what might be possible as we seek to characterize our work environments and as we have already characterized our diets and lifestyles, linking them to blood biomarkers and healthy brain outcomes,” he adds.
Preventing Dementia
If you don’t have the luxury of a mentally challenging job, you can also try the following to prevent dementia:
Eating Healthy
Antioxidants, omega-3 and fresh produce can help protect the body from dementia. Antioxidants reduce inflammation and injury to the neurons that carry messages to and from the brain.
Cut back on processed food with sugars and refined carbs
Food that has been processed is more likely to cause inflammation.
Drink more tea
Drinking 2-4 cups of tea a day can aid in mental alertness.
Food supplements
Folic acid, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Omega 3, 6 and 9 have been proven to support brain health.
Exercise
Exercise not only maintains old neural connections but makes new ones as well. Regular exercise can reduce your risk of developing dementia by 50%. Additionally, exercise is a great way to prevent further deterioration in people who are already experiencing cognitive problems.
Walking
There are several benefits to walking including improved lung and heart function, heightened observational skills, stabilizing blood pressure, lowering blood sugar, supporting digestive issues and reduction of anxiety and insomnia. Walking also calms an overactive brain.
Walking 6-9 miles a week lowers your risk of memory problems by 50% and walking 40 minutes three times a week helps improve cognitive skills.
De-stress
Constant stress takes a toll on the brain and can lead to shrinkage in the area of the brain that focuses on memory. Try breathing exercises, making time for fun and doing something relaxing such as reading, yoga, listening to music, etc.
Be social
Isolation is not good for our brains especially as we get older. The more people over 50 interact with others, the more they protect themselves from the onset of dementia.
Learn a new skill
Keeping your mind sharp is the best way to prevent dementia. What better way to do that than picking up a new skill? Having new goals helps your brain health.
Puzzles
Puzzles not only keep your mind sharp, they increase your brainpower. You can find puzzles in books, newspapers and mobile devices. You can build your brain power by choosing something difficult and new or trying familiar puzzles.
READ: Deep Sleep Gives Your Brain a Deep Clean
Get Sleep
Getting quality sleep allows the brain to process information (incoming) and compartmentalize. Unfortunately, as we get older, we don’t sleep as deeply or long as we did when we were younger. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day and refraining from using phones, laptops, etc. 2 hours before you go to bed.