Memory loss can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Here are 6 good habits to adopt to maintain good cognitive health.
- Memory allows us to record, store and restore information acquired during daily life.
- With age, cognitive performance tends to decline.
- A study by Chinese researchers has confirmed that a healthy lifestyle is the best strategy to prevent memory loss.
Memory allows us to record, store and retrieve information acquired during our daily lives. Five interconnected systems play a role: working (or short-term) memory, semantic (language and knowledge), episodic (personal events), procedural (unconscious automatisms) and perceptive (relying on the senses). However, as we age, cognitive performance tends to decline.
Preventive measures to avoid memory loss
To avoid memory loss, you need to stimulate your memory. Health insurance recommends developing cognitive abilities: reading, doing crosswords, playing memory games or learning new skills are all activities that can help prevent memory loss. These activities stimulate the connections between nerve cells and promote neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and change. It is also recommended to maintain an active life rich in social relationships (cinema, meetings with friends, etc.). In addition, adopting a healthy lifestyle is important (physical exercise, varied and balanced diet, quality sleep, little alcohol and no tobacco).
A team of Chinese researchers wanted to verify this advice given for years by health professionals. They analyzed the health data of nearly 30,000 elderly people, collected over more than 10 years. Six factors were retained by the scientists as being linked to memory:
- A balanced diet ;
- regular physical activity: that is, at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity sport or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity per week;
- an active social connection (more than twice a week);
- regular cognitive activity (greater than or equal to twice a week);
- NO SMOKING ;
- do not drink alcohol.
Healthy living is essential to preserve memory
“Participants were classified into the favorable group if they had four to six healthy lifestyle factors, into the average group for two to three factors, and into the unfavorable group for zero to one factor.”, explain the authors from the study published in The BMJ.
The researchers found that people in the favorable group had a 90 percent lower risk of developing dementia, even though they had genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, compared to the unfavorable group. Volunteers in the average group had a 30 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to the unfavorable group.
The results of this study showed that a healthy and balanced diet and regular physical and cognitive activity were the main factors in preventing memory loss. However, the authors specify that a combination of several factors – or even all of them – is the best solution to prevent memory loss and dementia.
