Your lifestyle may be aging your brain faster than you think

New research from the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Thompson Institute has discovered a relationship between lifestyle choices that affect dementia risk and early signs of brain aging.

Researchers discovered a reduction in white matter volume and an imbalance in electrical activity in the brains of participants whose lifestyle factors were linked to a higher risk of dementia. Dr. Thomas Pace, lead author of the study now published In Age and agingstated that there appeared factors such as eating habitsSleep patterns and physical activity levels could already be affecting the brain before any signs of cognitive decline.

“We wanted to determine whether the modifiable factors that affect people’s lives risk of dementia had no association with biological and functional markers of brain aging,” Dr. Pace said.

“The study was not longitudinal, so we cannot yet say with certainty that your lifestyle choices lead to earlier brain aging. But there is clearly a relationship between these two things.

“And this exists before any symptoms of dementia.”

In the same way that sun protection choices can show up on your skin and affect your future cancer risk, Dr. Pace and his colleagues discovered a relationship between a person’s lifestyle choices, their brain health, and their risk. future of dementia.

To test this, Dr Pace and colleagues used CogDrisk, an online tool developed by Neuroscience Research Australia and the University of New South Wales, to give participants a dementia risk score based on their demographics and their way of life.

“By controlling for non-modifiable factors like age, gender and education in the scoring, we were able to focus specifically on the risk of dementia posed solely by a participant’s lifestyle,” said Dr. Pace.

“We then used brain analysis tools like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine brain structure, electroencephalography (EEG) for brain electrical activity, and a series of cognitive tests to assess brain function. memory and thinking skills.

“What we found was that even among very healthy older adults, a higher modifiable risk of dementia was linked to two major indicators of brain health:white matter and the brain’s ability to balance its electrical activity.

“White matter volume is well established as a measure of early brain aging. But the other marker, the exponent that measures the balance of electrical activity in your brain, was new.”

With dementia set to become the leading cause of death among Australians according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Dr Pace and colleagues from the Thompson Institute’s Healthy Brain Aging program are encouraging people to take simple steps to reduce their future risk.

Study co-author Dr Sophie Andrews, who directs the Healthy Brain Aging program at the Thompson Institute, said the findings highlight the importance of acting early to reduce the risk of dementia.

“The positive aspect of ‘modifiable’ factors is that you can very easily lower your risk and reduce the signs of aging on your brain by making good lifestyle decisions – the sooner the better,” said Dr. Andrews.

“Some practical examples of changes that help reduce risk include a more Mediterranean diet, including olive oil, leafy vegetables and fish, aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, engaging in regular physical activity, and maintaining social connections, to name a few. »

It seems that the risk of dementia linked to your daily choices is “painted” on the canvas of your brain. The good news? The paint is still wet and you are holding the brush.