Vascular Dementia – Right Amount of Sleep

Transcript

Minimizing the risk of vascular dementia is often within someone’s control. The reason that I said that is because the lifestyle choices we make have a significant impact on how our brains evolve. Vascular dementia is a lifestyle disease. By giving the brain what it needs to be healthy, people can stave off all types of neurological conditions and that includes vascular dementia. Here are the lifestyle changes that people need to engage in in order to prevent vascular dementia or improve symptoms once someone has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. First: regular exercise. Physical exercise gives the brain everything it needs to function properly. Exercise is the biggest promoter of neuro-plasticity, allowing the brain to heal, adapt and learn. Second: healthy eating. Eating highly processed foods can lead to inflammation, which causes the vessels in the brain to become inflamed leading to vascular dementia. Third: social connection. Connecting with other people, especially those who don’t think like we do those who can give us a different perspective on life, is important to creating new neurons and allowing new connections to be made within the brain. Fourth: getting a good night’s sleep. During the deeper stages of sleep, the brain releases brain derived neurotrophic factor, allowing the brain to heal and promoting neuroplasticity. Fifth: minimizing stress. Chronic stress kills neurons. Sixth: learning new games, having new hobbies, visiting new places. Being creatures of habit is killing the brain. New experiences allow the brain to make new neurons and new connections. Seventh: eliminate alcohol. Alcohol is a poison to the entire body, but especially the brain. Small amounts dehydrate the brain, while chronic drinkers can end up with cerebral atrophy. Minimizing the risk of vascular dementia is about the lifestyle choices people make. Encourage them to make brain-healthy choices.