Photo by cottonbro studio.

According to a study released in January of this year, co-authored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), New York University Langone, and Johns Hopkins University researchers, the risk of dementia in the US is estimated to be 42% for those over 55 years of age. This is more than double previous estimates and is accounted for not just by the aging American population, but also by the surging rates of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, medical conditions exacerbated by lifestyle tendencies that include poor diet, lack of exercise, social isolation, and other mental health issues.

New cases of dementia are expected to number as high as 500,000 in 2025, with the annual number of new cases rising to 1,000,000 by 2060.

What can you do to minimize your risk? Below are five research-backed strategies that may help you stay sharp well into your twilight years, and it’s not too soon to begin, even if not a single gray hair has sprouted on your head.

1. Improve Insulin Sensitivity

The NIH published a study in 2008 showing a clear connection between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s Disease. Since that time, some scientists and medical professionals have been referring to Alzheimer’s as “Type 3 Diabetes”. Insulin resistance happens when cells that normally move glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream for fuel after eating cease to function normally, i.e. “resisting” the effects of the presence of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. To compensate, the pancreas pumps more and more insulin into the bloodstream, but at some point, the pancreas cannot make up for the cells’ resistance and blood glucose rises to unhealthy levels. 

Risk factors such as genetics and normal aging may be impossible to control, but many cases of insulin resistance are caused by diets high in ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyle, inadequate sleep, obesity, and high levels of visceral body fat. Some medications such as steroids and certain blood pressure medications can also contribute to insulin resistance. Check with your provider if there is a concern about your meds.

The HOMA-IR blood test tells you more about your insulin resistance than the blood sugar levels typically included in a basic blood panel. The optimal score is 1.0 or below, while scores of 1.0-2.5 are considered normal. Above 2.5 can be a sign of early diabetes and insulin resistance.

To improve your insulin sensitivity, eat a whole food diet with plenty of fiber, get your weight under control, exercise regularly, and give yourself more time to sleep. Getting support from your provider will help you make the lifestyle modifications that are best suited to your current health status.

2. Learn New Skills

By learning new skills, both mental and physical, the brain is constantly creating new neurons and neural pathways, the stuff of cognitive capacity. This neuroplasticity, the brain’s lifelong ability to rewire itself when we ask it to, fends off the deterioration of neurons that reduces their ability to fire together, often seen in cognitive decline. Learning new skills maintains neuroplasticity.

Incorporate novel movements into your exercise or movement routine, such as learning a new sport or dance step, or trying out some of the neurology-based exercise videos that are free all over the internet. (Check out UK-based chiropractor Dr. Cuan Wayne Coetzee.)

New mental skills are just as important. Work on learning a new language, take up a musical instrument, read up on unfamiliar topics, change your daily habits and patterns, do puzzles or games that include strategy and planning, such as chess.

Be a lifelong learner. One study shows that even early childhood education sets up the brain for greater cognitive longevity. You are never too old or too young to expand your repertoire of physical and mental skills.

3. Build Muscular Strength

Loss of muscle mass has been linked to cognitive decline in a number of studies. A 2020 study published by the NIH and a 2022 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association both conclude that age-related loss of muscle mass is linked to faster rates of the deterioration of executive function in the brain. The body is never too old to build or rebuild muscle mass. Even for those who have not yet reached their golden years, it is important to maintain muscle mass for independence and overall health, including bone strength. We start to lose muscle mass as early as in our 30’s. Beginners can achieve benefits with as little as 20 minutes, three times per week, using light resistance equipment and even bodyweight. As strength builds, you will progress to longer sessions incorporating greater resistance. Strength training can also ward off depression, and can be literally empowering as household tasks, lifting the grandkids, or pruning your trees become easier to perform.

4. Avoid Social Isolation

Yes, there are some people who are true loners and thrive without human connection. However, the vast majority of us Homo sapiens, as eusocial creatures, do better when we have social contact. Modern life has broken up families and left many aging seniors living out their final years alone. Especially after the death of a partner, elders face grief and solitude at the same time, often leading to depression and increased stress hormones, both of which are linked to cognitive decline. Lacking the tasks of reading the social cues and emotions of another can also contribute to cognitive decline, according to research. If you feel lonely, reach out to friends and family. If none are available, try a local senior center or talk to your medical provider to investigate what resources there may be in your community. Volunteer if physically able. Even online connection can be fulfilling, as new friends can be made who share your interests. 

5. Try Natural Supplementation

With guidance from a trusted provider, do some research into what natural supplements may be protective of your cognition and work well with your current health condition. There is research showing benefits from a number of safe and natural substances. Anti-oxidants, Turmeric (curcumin), Ashwaganda, Gingko Biloba, Omega-3 fatty acids, and Lion’s Mane mushrooms have all been linked to cognitive protection in some studies. Be discerning in your research and consider your wallet when making choices. Food-based “supplementation” such as that represented in the “MIND” diet includes many foods also often found on the insulin sensitivity list: fiber, berries, olive oil, nuts, beans, fatty fish, leafy greens and all veggies, and whole grains. 

This list of five strategies is by no means exhaustive. A chat with your provider can help steer you towards how to incorporate these and other game plans of remaining one of the sharpest tools in the box, regardless of age. You might even improve your chances of becoming an octogenarian unicycle rider, a nonagenarian chess champion, or a centenarian social butterfly. 

Ann Constantino, submitted on behalf of the SoHum Health’s Outreach department.