An active lifestyle postpones cognitive aging and dementia!

Noting that there are approximately 47 million individuals with dementia syndrome in the world, experts say that this number is expected to triple and reach 150 million people in 2050.

Stating that there is a certain degree of cognitive aging in people who do not have dementia syndrome and age healthily, Head of the Department of Psychology (English) Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi said that up to 35 percent of dementia cases are caused by modifiable risk factors. By determining a healthy lifestyle, we can prevent or postpone the emergence of cognitive aging and dementia syndrome, even if we have a genetic predisposition."

Üsküdar University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Head of Psychology (English) Department, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi evaluated the issue of happy and healthy aging.

By 2050, there are expected to be 150 million people with dementia

Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi stated that people try to avoid cognitive aging and dementia syndrome as they age, and said that according to current estimates, there are approximately 47 million individuals suffering from dementia syndrome in the world, and this number is expected to triple and reach 150 million people in 2050.

Stating that there is a certain degree of cognitive aging in healthy aging people who do not have dementia syndrome, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi said that "How does it work? There may be slowness in information processing speed, mild memory problems and attention problems. These are considered normal aging up to a certain level. Thus, why does this kind of aging happen in our brains? Although we do not know much about the reason, we see that neurons are decreasing, the connections between neurons, that is, synapses, are decreasing, and accordingly, our cortex is thinning and our brain volume is shrinking, and the connectivity between different brain regions is decreasing."

To a certain extent, it is considered to be within the limits of normal aging

Stating that these changes in the brain, neuron deaths, and the temporal and spatial spread of neuropathological changes are accepted within the normal aging limits to a certain extent. Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi said that "After a certain period of time, we see that this evolves into pathological aging and dementia syndrome. Basically, these changes are seen as a shrinkage in the prefrontal cortex, which is the executor of mental functions, the hippocampus, which is responsible for long-term memory loss, and the temporal cortex, which is responsible for complex visual perception, language skills, and semantic memory. The hippocampus shrinks by one or two percent every year as of the moment of old age. We know that this rate is much higher in dementia syndrome and Alzheimer's dementia."

Up to 35 percent of dementia cases are caused by modifiable risk factors

Noting that there are many biological theories about why we age, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi stated that "Up to 35 percent of dementia cases are caused by modifiable risk factors. By determining a healthy lifestyle, we can prevent or postpone the emergence of cognitive aging and dementia syndrome, even if we have a genetic predisposition."

How can we best protect our brain health with the factors we have?

Pointing out that there is no known treatment method for neurodegenerative diseases, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi stated that "All strategies are aimed at postponing the symptoms and slowing down the symptoms. As a result, we do not have a chance to improve it yet. What do we do then? How can we determine a healthy lifestyle? How can we best protect our brain health with the factors we have? A hypothesis has been put forward. According to this hypothesis, establishing an active lifestyle and regular participation in certain activities throughout life postpones cognitive aging and dementia.

Intellectual and physical activities and social life keep the brain young

These activities can be listed as the first is intellectual activity, the second is physical activities, and the third is social life... Intellectual activity is a high level of education. A high career that requires a lot of complex mental activity, requires physical activity. Discussions, mental games, puzzles, readings, learning new things, playing an instrument, an intellectual activity in the brain that requires mental performance, mental effort, and creates new neural connections that tire our minds. The second is physical exercise... Physical activities are especially important for fostering cardiovascular health. Regulating blood flow. As a result, neurons in the brain are fed by blood flow. Activities that keep us physically active, such as dancing, gardening, and mobile. The other category is social life... To travel as much as possible, to participate in quality social life with the people in our lives."

Those who are physically active are less likely to die neurons in the brain

Noting that people who live a more sedentary life are compared with the physically active group, and it is seen that those who are physically active have less neuron death in the brain. Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi explained that cognitive aging and cell death are inevitable, that the effects of aging can be reduced by interfering with cognitive reserve, that intellectual capacity can be developed by receiving training, that social life can be enriched by increasing social interactions, and that brain health can be supported by increasing the level of physical activity.

A strong reservoir of cognitive reserves leads to better coping with the symptoms of diseases

Stating that a strong cognitive reserve store provides better coping with the symptoms of diseases in neurological diseases that damage the brain such as Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's dementia, MS, and stroke, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi said that "It causes clinical symptoms to appear later in Alzheimer's dementia or other dementias. Not in neurodegenerative diseases or neurological diseases, but in unexpected life events, exposure to stress, exposure to toxic substances, head trauma and all these life events, a stronger cognitive reserve allows us to cope with these events more easily and actually enter a faster recovery process."

There is a relationship between high education level and functional connectivity in the brain

Stating that a relationship has been found between high education level and functional connectivity in the brain, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi expressed that "Our intellectual capacity, mental participation, physical activity level and social life contribute to us in terms of cognitive aging and dementia, both through the brain structure and through the connectivity of the brain, based on the cognitive reserve hypothesis."

In our 20s, we should think about our 80s

Stating that learning to use technological devices is beneficial for the elderly in terms of increasing their cognitive reserve capacity, Asst. Prof. Merve Çebi said that "In fact, we need to move towards old age by keeping our mind and body active from childhood. In our twenties, of course, none of us thought about our eighties, we do not, but we should. If we do not think about it now, by the time we are sixty or seventy years old, we will have already lost a certain part of our brain, and there is no going back."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)