Signs of Cognitive Decline and What You Can Do About It
The CDC defines a healthy brain as “one that can perform all the mental processes that are collectively known as cognition, including the ability to learn new things, intuition, judgment, language, and remembering”
With a rise in the elderly population and an increase in lifespan comes the challenge of battling age-related cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. There are an estimated 47 million people with dementia worldwide — a number that will increase to 75 million in 2030 and 131 million by 2050. In efforts to delay cognitive decline, it’s important to know what impacts the brain and what you can do to protect your brain, at any age.
Defining a Healthy Brain
Given that our brain uses so much energy, even at rest, the use of energy is what defines Optimal Brain Health. “Energy” in the brain is determined by blood flow to and from the brain. The brain cannot store energy for later use, like a fat or muscle cell, so this makes the use of brain energy extremely important.
Don't Break the Brain Bank
Avoid Extra Fees
The brain can be thought of as the piggy “brain bank” in which you have “energy coins.” In this example, the brain bank requires you to spend 100 energy coins per day. Once you have spent all your coins, mental performance begins to rapidly decline (2pm crash anyone?). Be careful not to spend more than your 100 coin allowance or you will pay extra overdraft fees in the future! After you have gotten rest and fully recovered, your daily allowance will renew so you can start the day fresh with more “energy coins.”
How you choose to spend your energy coins is completely up to you. However, do not be mistaken in thinking you can save energy coins as the brain burns energy even at rest! An excess of energy, due to lack of physical activity and calorie surplus, can create just as much damage as the lack of energy, caused by inflammation and trauma.
One Whealthy way to invest your energy coins is by investing your coins in activities which challenge your brain and force you to learn through experience. Another Whealthy way to invest coins is by making health-conscious related lifestyle choices. An alternative way to blow through energy coins is by doing things such as eating a poor diet, living a stressful life, not exercising, and not sleeping.
Invest early on
Maintain a Whealthy Brain
The American Heart Association has identified 7 factors impacting the health of your brain and as a result can have a negative or positive impact on your daily energy allowance.
Warning signs of an Aging brain in cognitive decline:
Trouble thinking, moving, and feeling, The inability to pay attention, trouble communicating thoughts, inability to problem solve and make decisions, unable to regulate emotions, a decrease in duration and quality of sleep, and a decrease in gut health.
How do you keep your brain Whealthy?
Diet
Following an anti- inflammatory diet such as the Mediterranean diet keep the brain healthy and functioning properly
The Mediterranean diet consists of “a high consumption of fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and unsaturated fatty acids; low consumption of meat and saturated fatty acids; low to moderate consumption of dairy products; moderate to high consumption of fish; and a regular but moderate drinking of alcohol.”
Physical and Mental Exercise
Retrain Your Brain
Exercise has had a crucial role in shaping cognitive capacity and brain evolution. When we fail to exercise we fail to utilize our energy efficiently which begins to build up in our bodies. Doesn't sound so bad right? Maybe you wont need that midday nap if you skip your morning workout. WRONG! Excess Energy caused by high caloric intake or lack of exercise, results in cellular waste which compromises cognitive function.
In addition to physical exercise, mental exercise is just as important. A few ways to perform mental exercises including practicing deep breathing/meditation and learning a language, instrument, or new skill. You can also play mentally stimulating games such as chess or bridge. One of the most convenient ways to train your brain is through apps such as headspace, brainhq, and lumosity.
Sleep
The brain's housekeeper
During the process of sleep your cleans the brain making sleep crucial for staging off disease in the brain such as Alzheimer’s. When proper housekeeping cannot take place because of lack of sleep, you may notice fogginess, mental confusion, inability to focus, and irritability. A chronic disruption in sleep, leading to less than 6 hours, has been linked to cognitive performance deficits. You may have also experienced a lack of discipline often leading to overeating and skipping workouts. This is because sleep disruption and poor mental health and directly linked.
The recommended amount of sleep is 7.5- 9 hours for optimal recovery, with 6 hours or less of sleep considered to be detrimental.
Vitamins and supplements
Looking to add additional brain support by supplementing with vitamins? - Stay up to date by joining our mailing list for a full list of brain specific vitamins and supplements.