How to Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Naturally
It’s only in recent years that medical professionals have come to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and the factors that may contribute to its development. While there isn’t a singular exact cause that can be pointed to, experts have agreed that it’s no longer just considered a late-life disease and is, in fact, potentially influenced by a variety of factors throughout your lifetime.
June has been officially labeled as Alzehimer’s Awareness Month by the Alzheimer’s Association. To help raise awareness for you, your family, friends, and loved ones, we’re taking a look at how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease naturally.
Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
June is officially Alzehimer’s Awareness Month as recognized by the Alzheimer's Association. There are currently over 6.5 million Americans living with Alzehimer’s disease with an expected rise to over 13 million by 2050. That’s a significant increase! The Alzheimer's Association has made it their mission to raise awareness, increase support, and provide resources for potential prevention or risk reduction for this disease.
How to Reduce Your Risk of Alzeheimer’s Disease
While often considered as part of age-related diseases like arthritis or osteoporosis, your risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease may actually be affected by a variety of factors throughout your lifetime. As medical experts continue to learn more, they’ve recognized correlations between Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular disease, diet, physical activity, and beyond.
While we may not be able to completely prevent Alzehimer’s disease at this time, there are some things you can do that may help reduce your risk or slow its progression. Let’s take a look at how to reduce the risk of Alzherimer’s disease naturally such as:
- Treating symptoms of depression
- Increasing physical activity
- Mental training to prevent cognitive decline
- Regulating blood pressure and circulation
- Adopting a healthy diet
Treating Symptoms of Depression
Starting off our exploration of how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease naturally is treating symptoms of depression. Studies have recognized the link between untreated depression and the increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This correlation is strong enough that many experts consider it an independent factor in assessing risks of Alzeheimer’s in some patients.
Many cognitive functions are affected by depression including memory, planning, and attention. This means that in older patient’s, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if these effects are part of cognitive decline, depression, or both.
Finding ways to treat symptoms of anxiety and depression may be effective ways to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s and prevent cognitive decline as you get older. If your feelings of anxiety and depression persist, please seek a medical professional right away for help.
Increasing Physical Activity
Next up as we explore how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease naturally comes increasing physical activity. Being active drastically lowers your risk for cardiovascular disease, which medical experts have agreed may contribute a significant risk to developing Alzheimer’s disease of other cognitive impairments.
Getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week may sound like a lot, but truthfully it’s only about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. This doesn’t mean you have to run out and join an expensive gym or run to the nearest bootcamp class. There are plenty of ways for how to start working out at home without a home gym that will give you full body workout exercises without having to go anywhere!
An increase in physical activity comes with the increased need for bodily care. Be sure to stretch beforehand and create a post-workout recovery routine to cool down after physical activity so that your body stays loose and your muscles recover. Athlete recovery tools like a luxury zero gravity chair can not only help with how the body heals itself, but can also double as a base for simple exercises! Who doesn’t love a multifunctional furniture piece that does it all?
Mental Activities to Prevent Cognitive Decline
When it comes to how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, researchers have discovered different ways that may be potentially effective. While there’s no current medical way to reverse or fully prevent memory loss in all cases, there are methods for preventing cognitive decline that may be helpful in the long term.
Of these, mental stimulation stands out as exceptionally important. This can be as simple as listening to music and sound options while relaxing in a zero gravity chair, playing brain games, reading a book, or journaling. You can even practice mental stimulation by simply being social with others! Studies have shown links between social interaction and the reduced risk of cognitive decline many times. Engaging with others and being social are key elements in stimulating our brains and keeping our cognition levels high as we age.
Regulating Blood Pressure and Circulation
Continuing our look into how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease naturally, we’ve arrived at regulating blood pressure and circulation. People living with high blood pressure have been associated with elevated risks of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline such as Alzheimer’s disease. This means finding ways to reduce blood pressure naturally can be beneficial in a number of ways.
Aside from simply listening to music or journaling in a zero gravity chair, these recliners may also be beneficial as ways to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive decline by stimulating blood circulation throughout the body. As you recline into the zero gravity position, the legs are elevated above the heart level and weight is evenly distributed along the body.
While some of the more well-known health benefits of zero gravity chairs focus on things like helping the body heal itself faster, providing back pain relief, and even possibly improving mental health, this position is also the catalyst for improving blood circulation. Increased blood circulation means higher cerebral blood flow (called CBF), too. Lower CBF has been associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and a contributor to health issues like dementia. This means that a higher CBF may help with how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairments as you get older.
Furthermore, bonus features of zero gravity luxury recliners such as massage and heat therapy may enhance these benefits even more. Heated zero gravity chairs and zero gravity recliners with massage features both improve blood flow while relaxing the mind and body.
Practicing an Alzheimer’s Prevention Diet
While there’s no method for completely eradicating the risk of Alzheimer's, experts have agreed that your diet may play a role. The most important thing is to achieve a well-balanced diet. Many experts recommend a more Mediterranean diet full of fruits, vegetables, and legumes while low in meat, sugar and saturated fats.
Alongside a healthy diet, it’s also recommended that you limit your alcohol intake and quit smoking as part of effective ways to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive decline.
While there’s no way to completely eliminate the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, there are things we can do to help prevent or slow its progression as we age. Learning effective methods for how to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease naturally can be as simple as adjusting your diet, exercising regularly, and choosing a zero gravity chair to look after your mind and body. Before you begin any new health routines, consult your healthcare professional to assess your risks and develop a treatment or prevention plan together.
To learn more about the benefits of zero gravity chairs for all ages, check out these additional resources:
