Unlock the 4 Surprising Daily Habits That Could Shield Your Brain from Alzheimer’s – Science Finally Reveals Them!
Make time for regular physical activity
Although the study did not track participants’ walking speed or how often they walked, the brain-protective benefits of walking—and physical activity in general—are clear. If you want to get more steps in, Ryan Sultan, MD, a double board-certified psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia, offers the following tips:
- Phone a friend. “Walking is not only exercise, but an opportunity to call a friend, collect your thoughts or catch up on new music or a book,” Dr. Sultan
- Take 10 minutes to move. “Walking is a way to break up the work day and refresh to allow for more productive work later on,” he says.
- Park further away. “It’s helpful to integrate walking into everyday life,” Dr. Sultan says. “It also helps when you have a destination to walk to, like a shopping center or grocery store.”
- Start small. “You don’t have to walk excessive distances when starting out,” he assures. “The habit of walking is the most important early on, not necessarily the distance or length of walk.”
- Keep sneakers in your car. “Make walking convenient by throwing your sneakers in your bag or car” so you’re always ready to squeeze in a little more movement, says Dr. Sultan.
Challenge your brain
Another study revealed at the conference and led by researchers in Finland, per NBC News, found that “cognitive training,” moving more and eating healthy helped to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease, especially in those with the APOE4 gene. Cognitive training can be anything from playing computer-based brain games or using a paper and pencil to challenge your mind. And physical activity included group-based exercise sessions that lasted 90 minutes (pickleball, anyone?), according to NBC News. Dr. Perlmutter explains why these results were seen after participants changed their habits.
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