There can be many factors that may be contributing to the risks you subject your brain to cognitive decline. These are factors such as obesity (due to overeating), diabetes (due to consuming too much sugar), depression, etc.

Although there may be no sure way of preventing Alzheimer’s it is best to be aware of any possible steps we can make to keep our brains healthy and avoid this disease. Below are some tips that may help.

Stimulate Your Brain by Learning another Language

If you are currently speaking 2 or more languages then you are in luck. It has been found out in the Journal of Neurology that speaking more languages delays dementia by 4 and a half years. So how does learning and speaking more languages help keep the brain fit? This kind of activity helps improve the brain’s capacities for attention tasks and executive functions.

Get Enough Sleep But Do Not Oversleep

It has been proven that lack of sleep may be a factor in cognitive decline or poor cognition. Seven to eight hours of sleep is best. Anything lower than that would make you susceptible to increase your chances of harming your brain’s mental function by as much as 2.6 times when you reach past the age of 65. Put your alarm clock to use and stimulate your mind through puzzles and good reading materials.

Socialize

University of Michigan researchers has found out possible benefits of social interaction to mental functions. Social interactions exercise and boost the processes in the brain involved in cognition. So don’t isolate yourself. It’s good to go out with family and friends once in a while to watch movies, participate in events, play board games or sports together, etc.

Buy Local and Organic Produce

Most fruits and vegetables imported from other countries are exposed to a chemical pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) which is a toxin banned from the US. According to JAMA Neurology, when DDT breaks down it produces a chemical compound DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene). This DDE is known to be present 4 times higher in people Alzheimer’s disease.

Watch What You Eat

A diet that mostly includes vegetables and fruits, fish and food with unsaturated fats can benefit the brain somehow in delaying the disease to people susceptible to Alzheimer’s. An example of this food selection is the Mediterranean diet.

It has been proven through a number of studies that people who ate a Mediterranean diet had lowered their risk of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) by 28 percent and a lowered their risk of progressing from MCI to Alzheimer’s by 48 percent.

sources: dailymail.co.uk, abcnews.go.com, alz.org, sciencedaily.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, everydayhealth.com