With aging, the specter of dementia can loom large. However, an article published in The Wall Street Journal (4/11/2024) reports that a growing body of research suggests the key to keeping our minds sharp may lie in our choices during middle age.
Why it matters
The brain changes that can lead to dementia often start in your 40s and 50s, making midlife a critical window for prevention.
1 big idea: Improving your brain health earlier helps you stay sharper as you age.
“Middle age is an opportune time to make lifestyle choices and obtain treatment that will bring an enormous return on investment in old age,” —Terrie Moffitt, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University
A closer look
- In our 40s and 50s, parts of our brain, like the hippocampus, start to change faster, and connections between brain regions can decrease in volume. This can result in slower processing speed and other cognitive declines.
- Context: Processing speed declines gradually with age, which varies from person to person.
- Why is midlife a crucial time to focus on brain health? Because efforts to target dementia in older adults have failed mainly — interventions may have been attempted too late, after too much damage had already occurred.
The big picture
As the number of people projected to get dementia increases, the urgency to act in midlife becomes clear. Nearly 7 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and that figure is expected to reach 13 million by 2050.
Situational awareness:
- People who used cannabis or tobacco as teenagers and continued into their 40s show faster cognitive decline during midlife. But even outside these groups, some people are aging faster in their 40s and 50s, which research links to developing dementia later. INSERT LINK TO FASTER AGING HERE
- Women in midlife face added complications from the hormonal changes of menopause, which can affect the brain. Scientists are still studying how the brain adapts to these changes and the ultimate impact.
The takeaway
- Midlife is a critical window through which to improve brain health.
- Your choices, from diet and exercise to staying mentally and socially active, could pay off tremendously in your golden years.
- Confirmed: Untreated hearing loss increases your risk of dementia
- Mild hearing loss: 2X the risk
- Moderate hearing loss: 3X the risk
- Severe hearing loss: 5X the risk
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