How I maintain my brain health
When Janet was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease just before her 70th birthday, she and her partner Patrick knew it would be important for both of them to look after their brain health.
One focus was to keep socially connected, an important aspect of keeping our brains active.
They established their own dementia-friendly support group for their local area – Western Journeys.
“The big beast is the stigma still associated around dementia and I even lost a couple of friends due to this,” Janet said. “That is why I think it’s important to be prepared to make new friends who you can relate to and get involved with the community.”
As well as caring for Janet and helping out with Western Journeys, Patrick keeps himself busy and socially connected working part-time as an actor.
As for Janet, she likes to keep her brain active not only through social connections but also through reading, sometimes reading two or three books at the same time.
“Occasionally when reading I can forget so I just have to go back and remind myself,” Janet said.
“I worked as a teacher and a writer previously and I write everyday now if I can.
“Before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's I had also started going to the gym twice a week which I still keep up now. I’ve also just started yoga through a friend who also has a connection to dementia.
“My advice for anyone who’s just been diagnosed with dementia is to keep doing what you love but be prepared for changes.”
Slowing cognitive decline
Janet and Patrick’s approach to maintaining brain health is one that Dementia Australia Honorary Medical Advisor Henry Brodaty AO strongly advocates for all people.
Professor Brodaty was the lead researcher in a recent three-year Australian trial, Maintain Your Brain, that has definitively shown that looking after our brain health slows cognitive decline.
The clinical study tested whether effectively addressing some of the modifiable risk factors for dementia resulted in better cognition in older adults over the three-year period of the trial.
“The outcome was a resounding yes – we can improve cognition over three years and, therefore, likely enhance resilience to dementia,” Professor Brodaty said.
Find out more
You can read more about the Maintain Your Brain trial at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA).
If you are looking for ways to remain active why not join Dementia Australia’s Memory Walk & Jog.
Events are held across the country – visit the Memory Walk & Jog site for details on how you can participate.
Find out more about how to maintain your brain health and reduce your risk of dementia on the Dementia Australia website.
