Maintaining Brain Health

Mar 2, 2024

Health

Today's Topic: Maintaining Brain Health

Starting at 40 years old, the brain begins to lose 5% of its mass each decade.

The rate of dementia & Alzheimer’s (loss of memory and ability to complete tasks) has doubled in the last few decades [1]. Here’s what you need to know about it:

Let’s first look at what happens when your brain degenerates, then we’ll dive into what you can do about it.

What happens

Dementia is a staged disease that severely impacts longevity [2]. The worse your cognitive decline, the less years you have left to live:

Scientists don’t fully understand brain diseases, but significant research shows there are ways to reduce your risk of developing them.

What happens to the brain as we age?

In our early years, our brains form more than a million new neural connections every second. By 6 years old, our brains have reached 90% of their full volume. [3]

As the brain ages, some changes occur:

Neurons die and waste byproducts (including the compound amyloid-beta associated with Alzheimer’s) are released [3]
Parts of the brain related to learning and memory shrink
Blood flow in the brain may decrease
Inflammation may increase
Communication between neurons may be less effective [4]

What degeneration looks like

40% of people will experience some form of memory loss after 65, but that doesn’t mean it’s dementia. [5]

People move through phases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) before being formally diagnosed with dementia and it’s possible to slow the decline at any point. [6]

Prevention

Following at least 4 of these 5 measures reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s by 60%. [7]

Physical activity: Blood flow naturally reduces as we age, and exercise naturally improves blood flow - counteracting the loss. [8]
Not smoking
Not drinking heavily
Following a Mediterranean-style diet: lots of vegetables, legumes, and whole grains
Engaging in “cognitive leisure activities” — mentally stimulating pastimes like:

Playing games
Reading
Socializing
Playing a musical instrument

(This is a big one: a study of over 6000 people showed cognitive leisure activities reduce the risk of dementia by 49%. [9])

If you’re under 50, there’s an extra opportunity to prevent brain diseases. It’s called cognitive reserve. [10]

We create cognitive reserves by:

Completing more education
- Getting a masters
- Taking extra courses
- Learning a language
Facing “occupational struggles” at work
- Overcoming obstacles
- Solving complex problems

When inevitable decline happens as we age, a brain with more cognitive reserves is better equipped to solve for losing certain functions.

Recap

The best thing you can do for your brain is live a full, engaging, healthy life. Even just feeling younger than you are improves your brain health. [11]

Get active
Don’t smoke
Avoid heavy drinking
Follow a Mediterranean-style diet
Engage in cognitive leisure activities
Increase your cognitive reserves if you’re under 50

The Haul: What you can’t miss in longevity this week

Podcasts

Huberman Lab gives great intel on how to optimize your cognitive function & brain health

00:06:23: Sleep deprivation harms executive function (working memory, self-control, behavior)
00:44:37: Boosting your dopamine (cardio, touching grass, etc.) improves your memory.
1:58:37: Boosting your dopamine also boosts your estrogen. Which in turn boosts your dopamine. It’s a feedback loop of feeling great.
2:04:43: Aerobic exercise (cardio) is as effective in improving brain function as cognitive therapy

The ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast lays out 9 longevity practices

08:24: People in blue zones eat way less meat than the average person — 90% of their diets are plant-based.
42:36: People in blue zones (areas where more people live to 100) don’t “work out” — they just incorporate movement into their lives. How can you move more today?
47:12: Stop thinking about toast. A Cornell study found just moving toasters off counters led to 4.4 lbs lost over 2 years.
47:12: If your 3 closest friends are unhealthy, you have a 150% higher chance of also being unhealthy.

Research

Handgrip strength is linked with cognitive function

Twitter

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Learned helplessness: When older people have a say in their lives, they live longer