Well aware of the aging brain, Celaya tries to keeps her body — and mind — active, hopefully delaying, even preventing dementia.
“When I do the chair yoga class, it always makes me feel good,” said Celaya. “And I also know I am giving my brain a workout, too. It requires a lot of concentration. Left foot, right foot. You have to use your brain.”
While you can be fit and still get Alzheimer’s, emerging research suggests a healthy lifestyle can make us less vulnerable to the disease. Researchers believe it may be possible to stall dementia for 10 years, maybe even prevent it altogether, with a good mix of exercise and diet.
Derin White, a training specialist at eight Dogwood Forest assisted living homes in Georgia, has seen first hand how eating healthy meals, along with computerized memory-stimulating programs and an exercise program, can give residents a major boost.
“We’ve had people move out of our memory care unit into the assisted living part,” said White, referring to people with cognitive impairment, not Alzheimer’s. “A lot of times people coming into memory care have been home by themselves a lot and they are depressed. They’ve had no structure. They come to a place where they are getting nutritious meals and they are in a stimulating environment and we sometimes see a ‘bounce-up’ effect.”
Exercise is the most important preventive measure for dementia, according to Dr. Majid Fotuhi, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at John Hopkins University School of Medicine and chairman of the Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness in Baltimore.
Exercise stimulates blood flow to the brain and helps generate new brain cells, making it the single most effective tool in fighting cognitive difficulties, he said.
Even for people already experiencing dementia, adopting a healthy lifestyle can slow down progress of the disease, he said. Researchers have found that people with dementia and poor health habits, such as smoking and obesity, can retard the onset of Alzheimer’s by exercising and eating a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, olive oil and other healthy fats.
Dr. Allan Levey, director of The Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said while someone may inherit the genes that cause Alzheimer’s disease, a healthy lifestyle could delay the onset for years, even decades. Obesity increases amyloid proteins in the brain, which are linked to Alzheimer’s, and shortens a person’s life span, while moderating daily calories has the opposite effect, he said.
For example, a person who is overweight, has diabetes, hypertension and gets little exercise and mental stimulation might see symptoms for Alzheimer’s beginning at 70. But that same person might not experience the symptoms until age 90 if he or she is in good shape, exercises regularly, plays bridge, participates in book club and enjoys an active social life, Levey said.
You could have identical twins die at age 80, Levey observed. One gets Alzheimer’s at age 70 and suffers 10 years before dying of a heart attack, while the other might also die at age 80 but never get Alzheimer’s. The former lived an unhealthy lifestyle, the other twin did not.
Fotuhi said people shouldn’t wait until they are in their 50s and 60s to improve brain health. Start in your 20s, he said, and approach brain health the same way you do to protect your heart. He recommends two to three servings a week of cold-water fish (such as wild salmon, mackerel and sardines), four-to-five servings every day of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins E and C such as kiwifruit, papaya and pomegranates.
“Your brain is juicy,” said Fotuhi. “If you don’t take care of yourself and you are 100 pounds overweight and you smoke, and you don’t move much, by the time you are 70, your brain will be like a dusty old house. Everything is sluggish. Brain cells are half asleep.”
Many Alzheimer’s experts believe “neurobic” exercise — brain teasers, learning a new language, even brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand — can help fortify the brain.
While some people turn to crossword puzzles and suduko number puzzles, Fotuhi emphasizes there are many other ways to give your brain a workout.
“You don’t have to be obsessed about puzzles,” he said. “But use it or lose it applies to the brain. Those who are curious — doing things like driving down a street and something catches your eye and you check it out — are more likely to keep those synapses in the brain healthy.”
Fotuhi suggests the following brain boosting exercises: Turn off the GPS and use a map; memorize numbers to whittle idle time (if you are stuck in traffic, memorize your credit card number or phone numbers of friends); take a ballroom dance class; undertake do-it-yourself projects (buy furniture you need to assemble yourself or fix the clogged sink without calling a handyman); learn to play a musical instrument.
Janett Harris, who is 88 and lives at an apartment at Atherton Place in Marietta, reads every day and volunteers at a nearby hospital to help keep her mind sharp. Rarely alone in her apartment, she often spends time with two friends who also live at Atherton. The trio, all widowed and retired nurses, share meals together and plan beach getaways.
The women stay active — body and mind. And Harris doesn’t let two artificial knees slow her down.
“So far, so good,” she says with a smile.
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Brain-boosting exercises
Dr. Majid Fotuhi, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at John Hopkins University School of Medicine and chairman of the Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness in Baltimore, recommends several brain boosting exercises:
Do math in your head.
While grocery shopping, tally the cost of your purchases in your head.
Benefits: left parietal lobe, the part of your brain used to make mathematical calculations.
Take a class in ballroom dancing.
You must pay attention to the sequence of steps, memorize them and then perform them while following the rhythm of the music and movements of your partner.
Benefits: parietal lobes (spatial awareness); frontal lobes (planning of movement) and cerebellum (balance and physical movement)
Prepare New Recipes.
Preparing an unfamiliar dish forces you to carefully follow instructions and coordinate the order and timing of each step.
Benefits: Both frontal lobes
Do Tai Chi.
Remembering sequences of the slow motion movements used in tai chi, a Chinese martial art that features ballet-like moves, relaxes the brain. (And an added bonus: this exercise can reduce stress).
Benefits: cerebellum and front lobes.
Learn to play a new instrument
Mastering the technique of any a new instrument exercises parts of your brain used for fine motor control, auditory processing and procedural thinking. If you already play an instrument, challenge yourself by learning a new song.
Benefits: both parietal lobes, both frontal lobes and the cerebellum.
Purchase furniture you have to assemble yourself.
Or fix the sink yourself. Having to figure out parts of the steps required gives your brain’s frontal lobes a stimulating workout.
Benefits: both frontal lobes and the cerebellum.
Read the news actively every day.
Reading about news events requires and activates “attention” centers of the brain, mostly the frontal lobes. Remembering scores of sporting events also heightens and sharpens the frontal lobes.
Benefits: Both frontal lobes.
Play mind games
If you are stuck in traffic or have some downtime, waiting in line at a grocery store, memorize your credit card numbers or phone numbers of friends. Also good: spell the names of cities and states backwards.
Benefits: frontal lobes, used in planning and abstract thinking and left temporal lobe, specialized for language functions.
Take a painting or sculpture class.
Learning a new art form uses your “right brain” which is responsible for the visual memory as well as creative imagination.
Benefits: Right parietal lobe and right parietal lobe.
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Neurobics class at Emory
“Neurobics IV: Even younger brains through Creative Thinking.” 10 -11 a.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 17 through March 6.
A $99 quarterly membership fee allows enrollment for up to four non-computer classes at The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Emory for adults 50 and older. Or select one for a “sampler’s fee” of $69. Classes are held at Emory Continuing Education at 1256 Briarcliff Rd.
To register, call 404-727-6000.
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