High Blood Pressure and Dementia: Why the Lancet Commission Names It as a Key Risk Factor
If you have been told your blood pressure is “a little high” and have been putting off dealing with it, this article is worth your time. The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care analyzed decades of global research and identified high blood pressure as one of the most important modifiable risk factors for […]
Research & News45% of Dementia Cases Are Preventable. Here Is What the 2024 Lancet Commission Found.
For years, the number that circulated in brain health circles was 40%, the estimated share of preventable dementia cases if people addressed the right lifestyle factors. That number just got revised upward. The 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care updated its earlier 2020 analysis, adding two newly recognised risk factors and raising […]
Research & NewsIs Alzheimer’s Hereditary? What Your Genes Mean for Your Risk
My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when I was in my early thirties. I still remember the moment her neurologist used the word “hereditary” in conversation, and the quiet dread that settled in the room. Was this our family’s future? Were we already on a path we could not change? If you have a […]
ExerciseMobility Training and Dementia Prevention: What the Science Says
Most conversations about exercise and brain health focus on cardio. Run more. Get your heart rate up. Hit 150 minutes a week. That advice is solid, and there is real research behind it. But there is a quieter, less-discussed piece of the puzzle that deserves serious attention: mobility training. Your ability to move freely, bend […]
Social ConnectionSocial Isolation vs Loneliness: What Your Brain Needs
Most of us use the words “lonely” and “isolated” as though they mean the same thing. It makes sense. They often show up together, and both feel uncomfortable in similar ways. But research in brain health and cognitive aging has drawn a sharp line between the two, and that distinction matters more than most people […]
Social ConnectionBest Cognitive Training Programs for Alzheimer’s: An Evidence-Based Review
You have probably seen the ads promising that the best cognitive training programs will sharpen your memory and protect against Alzheimer’s disease. So you downloaded the app. You played for a few weeks. And then you were left wondering: did any of that actually do anything? It is a fair question, and the answer is […]
SleepSleep Apnea and Alzheimer’s Risk: What the Research Shows
Your partner nudges you awake again. You heard yourself stop breathing. You brush it off in the morning, blaming a stuffy nose or an awkward sleeping position. But what if that nightly pattern, repeated dozens or even hundreds of times, was quietly affecting your brain health decades before any memory symptoms appear? That is exactly […]
Social ConnectionCognitive Reserve and Social Activity: How Staying Connected May Be Building Your Brain’s Best Defense
Introduction Picture two people, both in their late 70s, who have the same amount of Alzheimer’s-related plaques in their brains when examined after death. One spent their final years struggling significantly with memory loss. The other remained sharp and independent until the very end. The difference between them? Researchers believe it often comes down to […]
Social ConnectionHow Relationships Protect Your Brain From Dementia
Think back to the last time you had a really good conversation with someone you care about. Maybe it was dinner with an old friend, a long phone call with a sibling, or a walk with your partner where the time just disappeared. You probably felt lighter afterward, more energized. What you may not have […]
StressCortisol and Memory Loss: What the Science Says About Stress and Your Brain
You walk into the kitchen and forget why you came. You lose your train of thought mid-sentence. You blank on a name you know perfectly well. You chalk it up to aging, but what if your stress levels are playing a bigger role than your birthday? Cortisol, the hormone your body releases in response to […]