There is a lot of research revolving around dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These memory issues continue to affect more and more seniors every year. While there is no proven way to completely avoid developing dementia at some point in your life, there are steps you can take now to live a healthy lifestyle that may help reduce your risk.
What causes dementia? There are hereditary factors that influence the likelihood of someone developing dementia within their lifetime. It is believed that your environment and lifestyle can play a role in the development and progression of this disease.
Early Signs and Symptoms of Dementia include:
- Memory issues and forgetfulness
- Increasing confusion
- Inability to concentrate for long periods of time
- Inability to do activities of daily living independently
- Withdrawal and social isolation
Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
If you know someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s, you know how quickly the disease can progress. Similar to heart disease, there are some steps you can take today to keep your mind and body as healthy as possible. While it doesn’t entirely eliminate your risk of developing these memory issues – maintaining your mental, physical and emotional health is imperative as you age for a number of reasons.
Follow these steps below to keep your body and mind in shape as you age:
- Don’t smoke and avoid second-hand smoke as much as possible.
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight.
- Commit to regular exercise – especially aerobic.
- Limit your alcohol consumption.
- Schedule regular health exams and annual physical assessments.
- Keep your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels within the recommended range.
- Stimulate your mind as often as possible – read books, do puzzles, take classes, etc.
- Stay social.
- Improve your sleeping habits.
Making the Move to Full Time Memory Care
No matter what stage of life your loved one is in, Peregrine Senior Living offers something that no other memory care community can – we offer our residents innovative memory care therapies and the opportunity to search for purpose, validation and fulfillment, despite a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. That’s the Peregrine Way®, and you will only find it at our memory care community.
