Brain Awareness: Ways to Love your Brain
Yesterday, I found myself chanting my pool mantra (“1-2-3-4.1-2-3, wait that’s not my kid, oh never mind, she’s over there now, ok 3, 4.”) as my eyes frantically darted around the premises. It’s SUPER relaxing, and if you haven’t taken four children under the age of 8 to the pool (2 of them non-swimmers and 1 in diapers) along with all their gear – well my friend, it’s the stuff summer dreams are made of.
I snapped out of my trance when I saw the father of one of my daughter’s classmates. We began chatting and he mentioned his Dad was staying with them from out of town and shared that as much as he enjoyed it, each visit became increasingly obvious that his dad was slipping further into dementia. It’s a sad situation that most of us can relate to, as many of us have had to watch helplessly while a loved one’s mental status declines.
Having children has changed my perspective on many things, including brain health. It adds a whole new layer of concern about developing Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. One of a parent’s greatest joys is to see how our children grow and their accomplishments in life. My husband is older than me, so I want to ensure we’re both doing whatever possible to lessen the odds of developing any form of dementia in hopes that neither of us becomes one of the sobering Alzheimer’s statistics:
Every 66 seconds someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s
Since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have increased by 89%
Over 5 Million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, by 2050 that number could top 16 Million
Because there’s no treatment yet, prevention and early detection are key. A team of Harvard students created an interactive tool that uses genetic data, demographic information, and cognitive test results to predict if a patient will develop Alzheimer’s with 87-93% accuracy. If you want to help prevent brain diseases from the comfort of your own home, consider participating in the Brain Health Registry. It has questionnaires, brain games and takes less than 3 hours per year to track your brain health.
While the statistics around Brain Disorders are unsettling, major strides are being made at identifying these diseases prior to becoming symptomatic, giving us the opportunity to support our most complex organ. With the tools we have now, I plan to be an old lady sitting on a porch reminiscing of the days when I used to gracefully escort my young children into the pool in the dog days of summer.