Early Intervention to Fight Depression and Dementia in Middle Age

2024-04-21 09:57:23 Compiled by World News Network and reported by You Baoqi in real time The fight against depression starts in your 40s.

The fight against dementia really begins in your 40s.

What is “middle age”? More and more research shows that middle age is not defined by age, but when your brain begins to change, and these changes may develop into dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases in time. future, there will be problems like cognitive decline.

Researchers suggest that early intervention improves brain health and that a closer look at the midlife brain could help people stay sharper in later years. Regular exercise, getting enough sleep and engaging in brain-stimulating activities can help you fight depression later in life.

When we reach our 40s and 50s, the amount of white matter, which is responsible for the connections between brain areas, decreases, causing the brain to process things more slowly and possibly lead to effect on psychology.

In addition, proteins can build up in our blood, causing mild inflammation in the body, which affects the ability of the hippocampus to decode and store new knowledge.

David Knopman, professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said maintaining heart health in middle age is the best way to avoid cognitive decline. Brain and heart health are closely related.

The same things that cause blockages in arteries in the heart also affect arteries in the brain, blocking blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain.

Although there is no surefire way to prevent depression, there are steps you can take to keep your heart and brain healthy, including regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, not ‘ smoking, and working to avoid or manage diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood pressure. cholesterol, obesity, and Treating difficult sleep apnea.

For middle-aged patients, doctors often focus on lifestyle improvements, said Jessica Caldwell, director of the Cleveland Clinic Women’s Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Center in Las Vegas. Things like diet and exercise can help control blood pressure and the risk of the disease. sugar But these habits are also important for future brain health.

“Eating more nutritiously, getting more exercise and getting enough sleep are all linked to better brain health,” Caldwell said.

Knopman says it’s also important to be active and engaged socially and mentally; “Working in a challenging environment has many benefits, stimulating the brain and leading to better outcomes for the body and mind,” he said.

Editor-in-Chief: Gu Zihuan

brain health
Dementia
Alzheimer’s disease

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