12 Lifestyle Changes to Reduce or Delay dementia
Published: 01/04/2020
Managing a healthier lifestyle can significantly delay or reduce dementia risk, says a recent research from top UK health experts.
The report by The Lancet medical journal outlined 12 lifestyle factors that may have a significant impact on reducing the risk of dementia by up to 40%. Factors include alcohol consumption, exposure to air pollution and safer working practices.
The report which was published in medical journal The Lancet and was compiled with data from 28 researchers. It adds three more lifestyle factors to the nine factors in an earlier report released in 2017.
At Right At Home Central London, our dementia care team are professionally trained in forming strong relationships with clients who have dementia to help better manage their lifestyle, with our service are built around the 12 lifestyle factors.
People with dementia have complex problems and symptoms in many areas of their functioning. All our care plans are personal to the client with a focus on their health and wellbeing. Our experienced support staff create and manage lifestyle plans that cover psychological wellbeing, exercise, house cleaning, meal preparation, administering medication, health checks, and companionship.
The 12 lifestyle factor changes you can make to reduce the risk or delay dementia:
- Look after your blood pressure
- Treat hearing impairment
- Stop smoking
- Reduce air pollution
- Prevent head injury
- Avoid excessive alcohol
- Education on dementia
- Frequent exercise
- Minimise Diabetes
- A healthy diet
- Sleep
- Keeping mentally active
“Managing your lifestyle shows that you can reduce your risk of dementia, but for those who have it, the disease is manageable long-term. We are seeing a lot more younger people being diagnosed so it’s important to know you can still live well”, said Bryan McMorrine, managing director of Right at Home Central London. “Right at Home has award-winning attentive live-in care or regular hourly support that improves the quality of life for anyone living with dementia, as well as alleviating much of the worry and anxiety for family members, neighbours and friends affected by the illness.”
The Lancet report’s findings conclude that risk factors exist in all stages of life from early life (education), midlife (hypertension, obesity, hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, and alcohol misuse) and later life (smoking, depression, physical inactivity, social isolation, diabetes, and air pollution). All can contribute to increased dementia risk.
Dementia is caused by different diseases that affect the brain. It is not a disease in its own right and is actually the name for a group of symptoms that commonly include problems with memory, thinking, problem solving, language and perception. There are over 100 types of dementia.
Around 850,000 people in the UK live with dementia. It has been estimated that figure will rise to more than 1.2 million people in England and Wales by 2040.
For more information about our Right at Home Central London’s dementia services – click here
