Dementia: Doctor outlines changes to help prevent disease

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Dementia affects more than 850,000 people in the UK. And this number is set to climb even further by 2025. There are different types of dementia, with the most common being Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Here are three activities that “may help prevent” the condition.

Some risk factors hiking your chances of developing dementia are impossible to change, according to the NHS.

Things like age and genes belong on this exact list.

However, there are a few things that may help slow cognitive decline or even prevent it, Alzheimer’s Society shares.

Apart from the obvious lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, there are also fun activities designed to keep you socially and mentally active.

Three simple activities that you could pick up with friends or even alone include:

• Playing games
• Creative writing
• Learning a new language.

The charity explained: “Engaging in mental or social activities may help to build up your brain’s ability to cope with disease, relieve stress and improve your mood.

“This means doing these activities may help to delay, or even prevent, dementia from developing.”

Playing games

Anything from card games to chess can do the trick.

Three simple activities that you could pick up with friends or even alone include:
Playing games
Creative writing
Learning a new language.
The charity explained: “Engaging in mental or social activities may help to build up your brain’s ability to cope with disease, relieve stress and improve your mood.
“This means doing these activities may help to delay, or even prevent, dementia from developing.”
Playing games
Anything from card games to chess can do the trick.

This recommendation is even backed by research published in the British Medical Journal.

Looking at 3,675 participants, the study found that dementia risk was 15 percent lower for board game players.

Creative writing

Joining a writing class could offer the social aspect, which is thought to be beneficial for the brain.

Alzheimer’s Society shared: “Social activities are also good for the brain, making them a great way to reduce your risk of getting dementia.

“This includes interacting with other people online as well as in person.”

Learning a new language

A study, published in the Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, found that learning a second language could prevent the onset of dementia.

The researchers believe that learning a second language is difficult, which is in return making your brain work harder.

And using multiple languages can challenge the mind and create new neural pathways, the research reports.

What are the symptoms of dementia?

According to the NHS, the main dementia symptoms include problems with:

• Memory loss
• Thinking speed
• Mental sharpness and quickness
• Language (using words incorrectly, or having trouble speaking)
• Understanding
• Judgement
• Mood
• Movement
• Doing daily activities.

Dementia patients might also lose interest in things and activities they enjoyed before.

They might also find social interactions difficult and lose interest in them.

If you experience symptoms like these, you should see a GP, the NHS advises.

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