brain health Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Better Health While Aging

How Sleep Affects Health, & Changes With Aging

Sleep. Everybody needs it. Many of us don’t get enough of it.

These are common truths that almost everyone knows. But recently, I had the opportunity to learn quite a bit more about sleep, and how it affects health.

I came away convinced that sleep is a core pillar of health. It deserves more attention from us as doctors, and as individuals concerned about our own health or that of an aging relative.

I also know that sleep problems are very common among family caregivers, and among aging adults. So I was glad to learn more about sleep health, as this has the potential to really help people get through caregiving and aging challenges.

In this article, I’ll share some of the interesting facts I learned about sleep, including how it affects the health of the body and mind, and how it changes with aging.

You may also want to read the following related articles:

4 Things To Know About Sleep & Health

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How to Follow the Mediterranean Diet for Senior Health, & Related Research Findings

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

What kind of diet is best for maintaining the health of aging brains and bodies?

A common answer these days is the “Mediterranean diet,” due to a combination of recently published research studies and frequent media coverage.

In fact, a study published earlier this week found that older Spanish women who were randomly assigned to stick to a Mediterranean diet — supplemented by extra olive oil — developed fewer cases of invasive breast cancer, compared to women who were merely advised to reduce dietary fat.

This study was published by the same research team that reported earlier this year that Spaniards assigned to a Mediterranean diet — supplemented with either olive oil or nuts — experienced less cognitive decline. And a 2013 report from the same group found that the Mediterranean diet led to a 30% decrease in cardiovascular events (strokes and heart attacks).

Does this mean you should hustle to make sure your older relatives are eating a Mediterranean diet? Well, maybe. I will go into the study details later in the post, but for now, let’s say that the diet used in the study seems very sensible, provided one doesn’t suffer unduly from limited access to pork and cookies.

As is the case for many lifestyle changes that might affect cancer and dementia, a healthy diet reduces risk but is just one factor among many. Still, if we’ve learned of a good way to eat, why not consider it?

So in this post, here’s what I’ll review:

Just what people were eating, as part of the Spanish Mediterranean diet study (known as the PREDIMED study)
What kinds of older adults PREDIMED studied in Spain, and some of the major findings of interest
Where to find a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence for diet and brain health

How to follow the PREDIMED Mediterranean diet

PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) was a big randomized control trial conducted in Spain, from 2003 to 2009. It involved 7446 peopled aged 55-80. In the next section of the post I’ll describe the study in more detail, but let’s start with what you are probably most interested in:

Just what was the PREDIMED Mediterranean diet??

Fortunately, it is possible to find the research study’s materials online, and they describe the recommended diet in detail.

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How to Maintain Brain Health: The IOM Report on Cognitive Aging

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

If you’ve been wondering just how to maintain a healthy brain for yourself, or for an older relative, then I have some very good news.

In April, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a comprehensive report on this very topic. It’s called “Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action.”

This report manages to be innovative, comprehensive, and also incredibly useful to regular people and practicing doctors. That’s because the IOM created a number of practical guides and resource sheets, to accompany their detailed and exhaustively researched 385 page report.

To help get the word out about the highlights of this report, I’ve written an article about it for NextAvenue.org:

“4 Myths About Brain Health and How to Stay Sharp“

In this NextAvenue article, I review:

The definition of cognitive aging, and why everyone should expect it,
4 commonly believed myths about cognitive aging,
6 actions the IOM recommends people take to protect cognitive health as they age,
Why the IOM is telling doctors to pay special attention to preventing delirium, and identifying risky medications,
The IOM’s conclusions regarding diet and brain health,
What you should know if you or your relative has been diagnosed with a dementia such as Alzheimer’s.

Since we’re all part of an aging society, it’s good for all of us to learn more about how the brain tends to change with age, and how we can optimize brain health as people get older.

As the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM’s job is to provide “independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policy makers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.”

When an IOM committee makes recommendations on a given health topic, you can rest assured that this represents the best available medical knowledge.

So before you read yet another article about “brain-boosting foods,” take a look at the NextAvenue article summarizing the highlights of the IOM report.

“4 Myths About Brain Health and How to Stay Sharp“

And then let me know which of the report highlights were most interesting to you.

A common problem that speeds Alzheimer’s decline, and how to avoid it

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

Earlier this week, while I was listening to a social work colleague (Mary Hulme of Moonstone Geriatrics) give a talk on dementia at the public library, the following question came up:

“How can one keep Alzheimer’s from getting worse?”

Now, Alzheimer’s disease — the most common underlying cause of dementia symptoms — does slowly get worse no matter what. (Given enough years, it will eventually damage the brain to the point of causing a slow death, which is why Alzheimer’s is a terminal disease.)

But on the other hand, we do know that some things tend to slow the progression of brain decline, whereas other things seem to speed up the decline. In other words, the actions we take — and don’t take — can influence a person’s dementia journey.

In my experience, people often have heard about things that might slow down decline (exercise is one of my favorites).

But it seems to me that people are often much less well-informed about the things that can speed up Alzheimer’s decline. This is too bad, because often it is possible to take actions to avoid or minimize things that might cause dementia to get worse faster.

So today I’m going to write about what I think is the most important of these potentially dementia-accelerating problems: delirium.

Delirium: What it is, why it matters

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4 Things To Know About Sleep & Health

How to follow the PREDIMED Mediterranean diet

Delirium: What it is, why it matters

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