Summer isn’t just a time for beach days, barbecues and picnics in the park – it’s also the perfect opportunity to recharge your brain.
Just like we care for other aspects of our health, there are steps we can take to support brain health and lower the risk of dementia as we age.
Ahead of Dementia Action Week (May 19 – 25), we spoke to Professor Jonathan Schott, professor of neurology at UCL and chief medical officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, who outlined six easy ways to give your brain a boost this summer.
1. Learn a new skill (that you enjoy)
“Keep your brain active by doing the things that you enjoy doing,” recommends Schott. “I’ve previously said, ‘If you hate Sudoku, don’t do Sudoku’ as you’re not going to stick with it.”
It’s more about finding whatever keeps you engaged and stimulated, he emphasises.
“For some people, that’s reading a book, for others it will be playing chess or learning a new skill like crochet,” says Schott.
Learning a new skill, or getting better at a pre-existing one, helps keep your brain flexible, explains the neurology professor.
“What we think is, when you learn new skills, those areas [in the brain] get connected better together and the connections get stronger – that’s why when you repeat a skill over and over and over again then that movement becomes more automatic,” says Schott. “And we think that it probably makes the brain a bit more resilient.”2. Do something active everyday
“I think exercising is the single best thing that we can do,” says Schott. “We talk at Alzheimer’s Research UK about what’s good for your heart is good for your brain, and that’s because lots of the risk factors for your heart are also risk factors for brain diseases as well.
“Exercise can lower your blood pressure, can lower your cholesterol, can take your weight down and gives you a sense of wellbeing.
“Ideally, you want to be doing a little bit of exercise everyday and want to be doing something that gets your heart rate substantially elevated for at least 20 minutes three or four times a week.”
There is also growing evidence that suggests exercise can buffer some of the effects of the causes of dementia in the brain.
“The mechanisms aren’t entirely clear, but it’s likely that the chemicals that get released from the muscles get into the brain and may actually alter this,” he adds.
3. Go on regular walks
“What’s really interesting is that it does not need to be hugely vigorous exercise,” says Schott. “We’re not talking about running marathons, we’re talking about walking every day or walking up the stairs rather than taking a lift.
“Some of the research that we’ve done suggests that it’s actually relatively small but sustained amount of activity throughout your life, that may be the most beneficial.”
Walking with others also offers additional valuable social benefits, and Alzheimer’s Research UK is set to host a variety of Walk For A Cure events across the UK this summer – ranging from family-friendly, accessible 5km routes to more challenging 42km hikes.
4. Stay connected
Several studies also suggest that social isolation can raise the risk of dementia, so staying connected with others is a powerful way to support your brain health.
“Do things that you really enjoy doing yourself, but also with other people,” recommends Schott. “Staying connected helps you keep in touch with people, you get feedback on people and you can also compare how your brain performance is to other people’s.
“When I have someone who says to me, I’m a bit worried about my memory, my immediate thought is to say what’s your memory like compared to those people you hang out with?”
5. Get your blood pressure checked
“Keeping an eye on your blood pressure is really important,” says Schott. “We and others have found that it’s your blood pressure in your 30s and your 40s which actually may have the most impact on your brain health.”
The professor explains that monitoring blood pressure is important because dementia generally stems from two main causes: neurodegenerative diseases and cerebrovascular disease, with the latter involving damage to the brain’s blood vessels.
“By reducing the blood pressure, we think we’re probably putting less strain on the blood vessels in the brain, which makes them more robust and less likely to get clogged or less likely to burst,” he explains.
6. Complete Alzheimer UK’s Think Brain Health Check-in
“I would suggest that everybody does our Think Brain Health Check-in,” recommends Schott. “It’s been used by over half a million people in the UK, and you can go in and you can put in your own personal circumstances, and it’ll ask you questions about things like exercise, smoking, diet and alcohol, and will come up with some easy-to-follow advice.”
Join Alzheimer’s Research UK this summer with the return of Walk For A Cure, a series of accessible, 5km, nationwide walking events. For more details visit, Alzheimer’s Research UK : Walk for a Cure Home
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