Preventing the Symptoms of Dementia with A Healthy Lifestyle

drugs and medications such as memantine and cholinesterase can be used for cases of memory loss, which is one of the most common symptoms of dementia.

Aside from medical drugs and some behavioral treatments, it is very difficult to cure dementia if you already have it. Fortunately, there are certain ways to prevent the symptoms. NHS reports that there are certain lifestyle patterns that can lead to a higher chance of getting dementia. Let’s take a look at the factors below:

  • Exercise

Studies show that there is a linkbetween cardiovascular health and brain health because there are many blood vessels in the brain due to the brain’s need for blood for oxygen. If you don’t have a healthy cardiovascular system, the brain’s supply of oxygen will be cut off, leading the brain cells to deteriorate over time. One of the best ways to have a healthy cardiovascular system is to exercise regularly. Exercising can prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases which are conditions that may lead to dementia.

  • Diet

Aside from exercise, a good diet will also play a big factor in preventing dementia. If your current diet consists of a lot of saturated fat, processed sugars, and a lot of salt, then you may want to change it because it puts you at risk of a lot of conditions related to dementia such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

  • Mental Wellbeing

While dementia can be a cause of depression, depression may also be a cause of dementia. Untreated depression prevents you from using your brain functions much because of low mood and antisocial behavior. Due to this, you won’t feel like doing anything anymore. This may make your brain rusty over a period of time. Those who do not stimulate their brain often are candidates for dementia. This is why having a strong mind and having high mental resilience prevents dementia.

  • Smoking

Smoking is known to cause cardiovascular diseases by clogging and shortening the arteries in the body. As stated above, a damaged cardiovascular system may lead to brain cells not having enough oxygen. This leads to a higher chance of getting dementia.

  • Alcohol Consumption

Excessive consumption of alcohol may result in a damaged nervous system which in turn, directly affects the brain. If your nervous system is damaged, then your brain cells will also be damaged, leading to a higher chance of getting dementia.

Final Thoughts

The common lifestyle problems mentioned above do increase the risk of one getting dementia. While you may not feel the effects when you are younger, you will notice that things might be a bit different as you age. This is why people are encouraged to have a better lifestyle as early as now so that they won’t have to suffer the effects of dementia and other mental conditions when they become older.