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April 1, 2024
One of the greatest fears of those who are growing older is the fear of dependency. Our culture is one that honors independence, self-sufficiency and all those things that arise from “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps.” The older we get, the more worn out these bootstraps can become and the harder it is to pull up the boots. For some, there are no boots to pull. This month, I am sharing a few simple and even fun ways you may be able to slow loss of cognition and take care of your body regardless of your current state of ability. We are not going to worry about boots or bootstraps! Our focus will be on positivity and hope because there is plenty!
According to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, a recent study conducted in Australia with a pool of over 10,000 individuals 70 years or older was conducted over a 10-year period and found that the lifestyle people choose had a profound effect on their dementia risk. This Australian study published in JAMA Network Open looked at lifestyle choices and how they affect aging. The evidence suggested there is a path for a significant reduction in risk for dementia. Here are the findings in a nutshell:
- Cognition stimulating activities like taking classes, writing, doing puzzles, journaling and the use of computers can lower the risk of dementia as much as 11%!
- Puzzles and games alone can lower the risk by 9%.
- Arts, crafts, playing and listening to music, and reading could reduce the loss of cognition by 17%.
All of these contain some form of mental stimulation! To me, this all looks like enjoyment, certainly not a chore!
Another study published in the January 10th issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders identified six lifestyle factors for reducing the risk of dementia in older adults. These six factors were: physical exercise, social interaction, sleep quality, leisure activities, smoking status and alcohol consumption. In this two-year study, each participant was assigned a score for each of the six lifestyle factors and then chose to adopt positive changes with 5 to 6 of the healthy activities. Researchers checked in after two years. One of the findings was that it was difficult to persevere in the study with 5 or 6 changes; fewer changes were easier to accomplish. The significant findings here were that for each of the healthy activities individuals were successful in achieving at least a one-point higher score they successfully reduced early cognitive decline risk by 18%! That is an excellent reduction for a single element of one factor’s change!
If you are aging, it is not too late to improve on your overall cognitive and physical health. The Mind Diet in conjunction with physical activity and social engagement has shown promise in supporting cognitive and physical health. The number of steps walked a day for individuals to receive some cardio-vascular health benefit for those over the age of 60 is between 6000-9000 per day per Medical News Today versus the old 10,000 steps per day. Cognition and cardiovascular health are intricately linked.
Daily deep breathing exercises have been known reduce resting blood pressure and evidence a reduction in stress and anxiety according to the National Institute of Health. Furthermore, deep breathing can aid in cardiovascular health and brain oxygenation. Also supportive is the research on mindfulness meditation from the NIH which positively and profoundly affects our health in areas of managing stress, chronic pain, cognition and overall sense of wellbeing.
The moral of this story is that there are things we can do to promote our health and well-being as we age. Growing older is neither bleak nor is our journey set in stone. Not only can we do some of the outlined things, be can actually enjoy them. Most of the suggestions are engaging, creative and can be a lot of fun! We also partner up with friends or family to add more to the experience.
As always, our commitment at A Sandy Place is to support a holistic lifestyle and a path in life that enriches and supports us in our journey, one that brings us joy, hope and wellbeing. Check out our upcoming events and engagements at https://asandyplace.com/events/. We will be offering “Affirmations Affirm” again in April, check it out as this tool may be just what you need to accomplish your wellness goals!
As always,
Here’s to your wellness!
Sandra Place
