Dubai: Did you know that someone in the world develops Alzheimer’s Disease every three seconds? There were over 50 million people worldwide living with Dementia in 2020 and this number is expected to double every 20 years. Your general lifestyle can take its toll on your brain, and things like smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes can aggravate your brain’s decline more rapidly. According to Dr Amin Abdullah Al Shawabkeh, highly renowned Specialist Neurologist at Medcare Hospital, Al Safa, this however, doesn’t mean that you are destined for a life of Alzheimer’s and brain deterioration. He says that the good news is, that no matter your age, you can start exercising and training your brain to keep it healthy, active and alert and suggests trying these five simple things to really help your brain function at its most optimum.
Get Moving: Studies on a group of older, sedentary adults who took up walking regularly, showed significant improvements in memory performance, which is also related to growth of memory areas in the brain, over the period of a year. Dr Amin recommends taking up about 2 ½ hours or more of physical exercise a week to not only keep your body healthy, but your brain functioning optimally too.
Be More Mindful: While it is common knowledge that anxiety and stress can take its toll on your mental health, it can also impact your physical and brain health too. It has been suggested that Mindfulness Meditation can help to engage new neural pathways, resulting in improved, self-observational skills and increased mental flexibility,
Eat a heart-healthy diet: “What’s good for the heart is good for the brain” is a common saying and studies show that this might be true. Suggested dietary recommendations are similar to that of a Mediterranean diet, with an emphasis on vegetables, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry and olive oil. It is recommended that you stay away from refined sugar, which contributes to excess weight and premature ageing too, that you hydrate regularly and that you add omega-3 fatty acids into your diet, from dietary sources rather than from pill supplements.
Train Your Brain: According to various studies, training your brain might be easier than you think. Studies show that a quick card game, for example, can lead to greater brain volume in several regions on the brain while learning new words and building your vocabulary will not only make you sound smarter, but involves many regions in the brain that are important for visual and auditory processing. You could also try using your non-dominant hand to write with or to eat your dinner with. Another simple exercise is to try drawing a map of your hometown, remembering as much detail as possible, to help strengthen brain activity and memory functions.
Get more ZZZZZ: Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your brain functions as well as improve your brain’s ability to learn and remember new knowledge. This is due to the fact that sleep seems to effectively clear the brain of debris that might otherwise build up and create problems.
It is also suggested that having close relationships with others and leading a more sociable lifestyle contributes to a happier, healthier life and may help you live longer. It’s important for brain health too, as research suggests that the opposite to this, loneliness, seems to be a factor in developing Alzheimer’s.
Dr Amin concludes that the brain can be continuously and consistently enriched throughout ones’ life no matter your age or access to resources. He believes that if you change your lifestyle, even a little, not only your brain but your whole body will love it.
Dr Amin is located at Medcare Hospital Al Safa. For more information visit www.medcare.ae or follow @Medcareae.
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