Part 3: Fighting future dementia

Better fitness can reduce the risk of becoming senile.

My Grandmother

My grandmother is losing her memory. Two years ago, she started getting lost while driving. She’d be a mile away from her house, but couldn’t remember how to get home. She’d pull into a parking lot and cry. MRIs revealed that she’d suffered some small strokes that caused brain damage. If you talk to her today, she’s energetic and happy, but she often repeats herself and asks her husband for answers to simple questions.

I can’t control my genetics, but I can control my movement and nutrition. My grandmother—whom I love dearly—has been overweight for as long as I can remember. She almost never drinks water, doesn’t exercise, and has a ‘happy hour’ drink nearly every day. Would she still stuffer the same cognitive problems if she’d never become overweight, ran marathons, and reduced her drinking? No one can say, but, for those of us who still have time to make changes, the research suggests we can improve our odds.

The Research

Exercise

You often read about how exercise and weight loss can give you more energy and make you look better, but have you considered that it might protect you from dementia?

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, “taking regular physical exercise appears to be one of the best things that you can do to reduce your risk of getting dementia.” In one study they cite, regular exercise had a greater effect in reducing dementia risk than not smoking, moderate alcohol intake, healthy body weight, and a healthy diet.

The Mayo clinic backs this up:

“Studies show that people who are physically active are less likely to experience a decline in their mental function and have a lowered risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Physical activity is one of the known modifiable risk factors for dementia. Plus, regular exercise helps combat other Alzheimer’s disease risk factors, such as depression and obesity.”

Nutrition

While physical exercise might have the greatest effect on reducing your risk of dementia, some foods are also “neuroprotective.” Research suggests that vitamin E, B vitamins, and Omega-3 fatty acids have positive effects. Specific foods that may be neuroprotective include green leafy vegetables, berries, and seafood (excuse me while I go cook a salmon and spinach dinner and eat berries for dessert 😳).

For Lawyers

As lawyers, we understand how important it is to have a sharp mind. Nearly all lawyers frequently complete mentally taxing work. Whether you’re drafting a brief, negotiating with opposing counsel, or issue spotting while reviewing documents—a sharp mind is essential to shipping creative work.

As we age, we should work to protect our minds. If your goal is to be the most productive partner at a firm in your 60s or to read challenging books and play chess with your grandchildren, the action steps are the same. We can all give our future selves their best chance at success by exercising regularly and by incorporating some “neuroprotective” foods into our diets.

Keep working on your LawyerBody.

If you haven’t read pt 1., on the importance of weight, find it here, or pt. 2, managing injury, find it here.