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YoIsn’t it Sod’s Law? Just at the time in our lives when we begin to seriously consider our long-term health and mortality (perhaps after witnessing our elderly loved ones develop a disease like dementia), our responsibilities pile up so much that we can feel like if we were losing our mental capacities already. The names of our favorite animals and humans become a soup of interchangeable words. Our keys become more and more elusive. Alerts must be configured on all calendar entries.
But how can we know if this frustrating peeling is a reflection of age-related cognitive decline? the first signs of our own impending dementia; Or simply a too demanding phase from which we will recover? Could it just be normal forgetfulness? After all, we are not robots.
It may be comforting to hear from neurologist Richard Restak, 82, whose new book is How to Prevent Dementia: An Expert Guide to Long-Term Brain Health. He says there could be a more everyday reason for memory loss: “Throughout life, stress causes a decline in normal brain function: you have difficulties with memory; You can’t think of names.”
Of course, it’s impossible to completely avoid stressful things, but one you can choose to avoid, he says, is the worry of contracting Alzheimer’s due to slight forgetfulness: “There are examples of people leaving shopping centers and not being able to remember where they parked.” the car. Well, that’s a normal forgetfulness.”
A more troubling version of the story would be, Restak says, “if you leave the mall and don’t remember, ‘Did I drive here, did I take a bus, or did someone drop me off?'”
Restak is clearly still mentally sharp: in addition to writing books, he is a clinical professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC. But he calmly accepts a slight decline in his abilities that comes with age. He remembers a book tour dinner many years ago at which he was introduced to a dozen new people. “I had no problem remembering the names,” he says. “I’m not sure I can do that today.”
Problems remembering names can be easily solved; In any case, Restak tells me: “Memory is based on images, not words. So I could take your name, Amy Fleming, and see a picture of you on fire – on fire – and so, the next time I see you, your name will come to me.”
Memory also tends to have more to do with paying attention than cognitive deficits. Going back to Restak’s shopping center analogy, he says that if you have something more interesting in mind than the parking coordinates when you arrive, you will not pay attention to the seemingly insignificant parking area and therefore will not establish a memory of it. It’s much harder to pay attention to things that don’t excite us.
The signs of a memory depleted by dementia are much more marked, says Linda Clare, professor of clinical psychology of aging and dementia at the University of Exeter. “It’s a real gap somewhere that shouldn’t be,” she says. “My own experience was telling my mother that I was moving from Cambridge to North Wales and that she had found a house. And the next morning, she didn’t remember any of it. Then I knew for sure that this was not a normal forgetfulness.”
Clare recalls another example, that of a man who got into the car and couldn’t remember what the controls were for. “It’s those critical moments that send you to the doctor.” But she admits it’s difficult to draw precise markers, since circumstances other than dementia can cause dramatic momentary lapses, such as urinary tract infections, hormonal imbalances, mini-strokes, depression and anxiety.
If you are experiencing a dramatic memory lapse or cognitive changes that are not normal for you, the usual avenue of investigation would be a visit to a memory clinic, via referral from a GP.
“We’re trying to encourage people, if they notice a change in their functioning, to go to the doctor,” Clare says. This is partly because other health problems causing cognitive symptoms could be detected, such as cardiovascular diseases that affect blood flow to the brain, but also because medications can help slow the progression of dementia if taken on time.
But let’s back up a bit: If you’re panicking because you’re getting older and can’t name the actor in the movie you just saw, it’s worth diverting this mental energy toward positive actions. For example, you may want to start by learning new ways to manage stress. “Try to decrease stress and cognitive function will improve,” says Restak.
Clare suggests breaking the vicious cycle of worrying about your health by focusing on taking care of yourself. “It’s not always easy,” she says. “The responsibilities do not disappear. But is there a way to get a little more sleep or have someone give you a break for an hour or two to do something you want to do? The little things that keep you active are worth doing.”
On the other hand, having a mentally demanding job can be beneficial because it keeps the brain agile and strong, and makes a diagnosis of dementia less likely. “Anything a person can do to boost their mental functioning is a good thing,” Clare says. “We believe that complex mental activities are protective.”
It’s not that having a mentally taxing job is a prerequisite for brain health. Restak’s key phrase for addressing dementia is “cognitive reserve,” which is something you can build like a muscle. He says: “The brain remains very malleable throughout life, and cognitive reserve can be developed from childhood and at any time over the next 70 years.”
Having a well-exercised brain doesn’t necessarily prevent dementia, but it can keep you functional longer if you get the disease. Restak’s main advice is to find something that “interests you viscerally” and enjoy it as a “magnificent obsession: you continue building it with books, you go to the movies about it; This is how the mind stays alert.”
Keeping the brain doing new things, he says, is a way to “form new networks within the brain.” This applies to learning new languages, to musical skills, and is also why you should keep up with new technologies instead of letting others do it for you.
Reading novels is another power move to build cognitive reserves. “They are much more demanding in terms of cognitive functioning than a nonfiction book, which you can open to whatever chapter is of interest to you,” Restak says. “You can’t do that with a novel.” You have to keep in mind the story so far, who everyone is, follow the text and subtext, and use your imagination.
Novels and puzzles require working memory. “Working memory is associated with IQ,” she says. “If you have a strong working memory, there is no chance in the world that you will have dementia.”
Some of the exercises he suggests (see panel) “would stretch anyone,” he says. The medical definition of dementia is a loss of memory, language, problem solving, and other cognitive abilities that is severe enough to affect daily life.
“So “If you have enough working memory to learn and name, say, all the prime ministers since World War II, it can be categorically stated that you do not have dementia,” says Restak. “If you don’t follow politics, it would be just as good to list the members of your football team by position or alphabetically.”
In addition to reducing stress and maintaining mental alertness, sleep (especially naps) is memory’s friend. “Laboratory studies confirm that naps solidify information already learned,” Restak writes. “When we first learn something, that knowledge enters the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for the initial formation of a memory. When we take a nap, the activity of the hippocampus matches the pattern of activity that occurred when we learned the new information. Is called neural repetition.”
However, sleep problems usually increase with age. Restak says, “A nap during the day can be helpful in regulating nighttime sleep.”
None of this advice comes with guarantees. “You can’t take a specific person and predict whether he’s going to have Alzheimer’s or not based on his lifestyle,” Restak says. “A high percentage is genetic, but these steps will reduce the odds.”
Avoiding excessive drinking is another, he says. “Everyone recognizes that alcohol is harmful, but you have to live. If one drink a day makes you feel better about life, I’d say that’s fine. Balance it with other ways to prevent dementia, like getting plenty of exercise and eating a healthy diet, for example.”
Evidence also continues to grow on how to care for cardiovascular and hearing health and how to socialize as much as possible.
Fortunately, just as it’s never too late to build up your cognitive reserve, it’s never too late to improve your systemic health. “Making changes that benefit your health, at any stage, has an impact,” says Clare. “Even if you start exercising when you retire, it will still have a benefit. Do everything you can at that moment; “We will never be a lost cause.”
Who came after Wilson?
Five exercises to help develop cognitive reserve
Name all the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom from Winston Churchill to the present. Then do them backwards, then put them in alphabetical order, and then separate them by political party.
If you don’t follow the policy, list all the players on your favorite soccer team (or famous teams in history, such as the world champions England 1966 or France 1998) according to the position they play, or alphabetically.
Walk through the supermarket without checking your shopping list until the end.
Solve puzzles like Wordle and Sudoku. Restak says it’s helpful to do anything “that can allow or force you to move bits of information around in your mind.”