Shots – Health News – One key to healthy aging is to keep our minds sharp.
And some of the best strategies to fend off dementia, stroke and even late-life depression come down to our daily habits.
“You can substantially reduce your risk through the lifestyle choices you make,” says Dr. Jonathan Rosand, a neurologist and Co-Founder of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Rosand and his collaborators have developed a way to gauge and track brain health, with a 21 point scale, called the brain care score.
The score helps people understand the importance of daily habits — such as sleep, diet and exercise. (You can calculate your score in about five minutes.)
“All of us have a fair amount of control,” Rosand says.
About 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, according to a Lancet commission report.
And even people who have genetic risk factors can benefit. A question Rosand is often asked is, “Doctor, what can I do so I don’t get dementia like my father or brother or sister?”
Ruth Bernstein knows the anxiety. “We watched my grandma be robbed of her identity,” from Alzheimer’s, Bernstein says. And now the same thing is happening to her mom. “It’s truly devastating,” she says.
As the mom of two kids, Bernstein wants to do all she can to protect her brain, and calculating her brain care score helped her understand the many lifestyle tweaks she can make. “It’s been super helpful,” Bernstein says. “It’s really motivated me because I understand how it can all add up.”
Bernstein finds herself going through a checklist of items on the score: “Have I got my steps in? How’s my sleep? Am I managing my stress?
At a recent social gathering she drank a glass of wine, but turned down a second. Limiting alcohol to fewer than 4 drinks a week leads to a higher score …
