🧠 Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease – What Do We Know? (National Institute on Aging)

Promising lifestyle changes — like staying active, eating well, and managing blood pressure — may help reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Published In: National Institute on Aging
Date: October 2023
Authors: National Institute on Aging
Link to Study: NIA – Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease: What Do We Know?


Summary

This guide from the National Institute on Aging reviews current evidence on ways to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease. While no strategy has been proven to prevent Alzheimer’s, the report highlights promising lifestyle changes — including blood pressure control, physical activity, cognitive training, and hearing aid use — that may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Ongoing research is exploring these and other strategies further.


Key Takeaways

✅ Managing high blood pressure, especially in midlife, may lower dementia risk.
✅ Regular physical activity is linked to better brain health and slower cognitive decline.
✅ Cognitive training (like memory or reasoning exercises) can improve thinking skills and may delay decline.
✅ Using hearing aids may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in people with hearing loss.
✅ Social and mentally stimulating activities, such as games or crafts, may also help protect brain function.


Why It Matters for You

Staying physically and mentally active, eating a healthy diet, and managing health conditions like high blood pressure are practical steps you can take now to support long-term brain health.


Citation

National Institute on Aging. (2023). Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease: What Do We Know? Retrieved from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia/preventing-alzheimers-disease-what-do-we-know