Ever worried that dementia could be in your future, especially if it runs in your family?
A new study shows that some really simple stuff—like exercising, doing chores, and visiting family and friends—can actually lower your chances of getting dementia.
This study comes from Neurology, the American Academy of Neurology’s medical journal, and it’s making a lot of people rethink how everyday habits might protect our brains as we get older.
What The Study Did
So, what exactly did the researchers look at? They gathered a big group of folks—over 500,000 people from the UK, to be exact—all middle-aged or older and who didn’t have dementia when the study started.
Everyone filled out questionnaires about their daily lives, from climbing stairs and walking to harder exercises like sports.
They were also asked about doing household chores and how they get to work—like walking or biking.
But that’s not all. People were also asked about what goes on in their heads.
Questions were about things like whether they go to adult learning classes, how often they hang out with family and friends, or if they go to places like pubs, social clubs, or religious groups.
Even how much they use electronic gadgets like computers and phones was in there!
The study also asked if dementia ran in their families, which would mean they might be more likely to get it. And then they followed these people for 11 years. By the end, 5,185 people had developed dementia.
The Findings: It’s All Good News
The researchers found out some really encouraging things. If you’re the kind of person who exercises a lot, does chores around the house, and hangs out with family and friends often, you’re way less likely to get dementia.
Specifically, those who were very active had a 35% lower chance, those who kept their homes tidy had a 21% lower chance, and those who visited family and friends every day had a 15% lower chance.
What about the numbers? Well, out of every 1,000 people in the study, only 0.45 who exercised a lot ended up with dementia.
That’s compared to 1.59 people who didn’t exercise much. Even simple chores made a difference. Only 0.86 people out of 1,000 who did chores regularly got dementia, versus 1.02 who didn’t do them often.
And those who saw their families daily? Just 0.62 got dementia, compared to 0.8 among people who saw their family and friends only once in a while.
Here’s the cherry on top: these benefits were for everyone, even if they had a family history of dementia. So, your genes don’t have to be your destiny.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Now, this study isn’t perfect. People had to remember and report their own activities, so there could be some errors.
And the researchers say they need to do more work to double-check these exciting findings. But all in all, it looks like staying physically and mentally active could be a straightforward way to lower your dementia risk.
So next time you’re tempted to skip that workout or pass on a family get-together, remember: your brain will thank you!
If you care about Alzheimer’s, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, and blood pressure problem at night may increase Alzheimer’s risk.
For more information on brain health, please see recent studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
The study was published in Neurology.
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