5 Unusual Things Neurologists Do Every Day To Lower Their Risk Of Dementia

You won’t find brain puzzles on this list.

Because we are living longer than previous generations did, there is a higher likelihood that people will experience brain deterioration.

A study published in January showed that an estimated half a million people may be diagnosed with dementia this year. By 2060, the number is predicted to reach 1 million cases annually.

The aging population may be living with lifestyle chronic diseases like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, which also raise a person’s dementia risk. “We estimate that about 40% of cases of dementia are preventable through lifestyle and other factors,” said Dr. Meredith Bock, neurologist and chief medical officer at Remo Health. Just because you carry a gene that puts you at a higher risk for developing dementia doesn’t mean that you will.

“There’s certainly a benefit to lifestyle interventions, both at reducing the time of onset of dementia or potentially getting it at all,” Bock said.

Some of these interventions, like getting plenty of exercise or doing brain puzzles, are well known. Others, however, may not be. Below, neurologists share the behaviors they do daily to keep their risk of dementia low, which may seem unusual to some: