Although there are no known causes for Alzheimer’s disease, a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and prevent its development. A healthy lifestyle includes our physical, mental, and social health. Identifying the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease early can also help treatment be more effective and minimize the negative effects.
Physical Health
Exercise
Regular physical activities and exercises are one of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Aerobic activity is a great option as light or moderately-intense activity to help you keep fit while keeping your heart, lungs, and blood circulation healthy too. Some examples of aerobic activities include brisk walking, dancing, yoga, tai chi, or swimming. 150-minutes of activity per week is recommended for the best effects.
Healthy And Balanced Diet
Maintaining our physical health also includes a healthy and balanced diet. Nutritional foods have also been found to boost our brain health. Wholegrain starchy foods, fruits, vegetables, beans, and fish are ideal ingredients to include in our daily meals. Red meat, salt, sugary foods, and high-fat dairy foods should be taken in moderation. TerraBella Southport offers Sensations dining, a restaurant-like environment with tableside service, which serves healthy chef-prepared meals and a variety of cuisine options meant for their residents.
Regular health tests are crucial in keeping us up-to-date with our body’s conditions and helping us take better care of ourselves. With that being said, abstinence from smoking and keeping alcohol to a minimum can also help us improve our physical health.
Mental And Social Health
Mental Stimulation Activities
Mental stimulation activities have been found to improve cognitive functioning and contribute to our brain health, helping to prevent the onset of dementia. We can do so by continuing to learn new things and challenging our brains, such as through learning foreign languages, practicing a music instrument, or partaking in strategy and memory games, puzzles, and riddles. These brain teasers make a great mental workout, helping us to engage our mind, process information, and develop our thinking skills. Choosing an activity that you enjoy also improves your mood, and combats mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Quality of Sleep
Good quality of sleep is critical for forming good chemicals in our brains that are important for memory formation and preventing memory loss. Having a good night’s sleep also boosts our mood and enhances our thinking processes. Establishing a regular sleep schedule is good for reinforcing our natural circadian rhythm, with an average of 7 to 9 hours per night.
Social Activities
Staying socially active and engaged helps to combat social isolation and feelings of loneliness, which can contribute to the decline of our mental health. Partaking in fun and engaging social activities, such as gardening, book clubs, and cooking classes, helps us to meet like-minded individuals with similar interests as we do. It also creates an environment for us to cultivate friendships and build a sense of belonging.
Conversing and connecting with other individuals also helps us to stimulate our brains, through active listening and communication, understanding the meaning of what the others are trying to relay, and finding words to express ourselves.
