There are a number of different types of risk factors for dementia, some that cannot be reduced or avoided.
For example, ageing is a risk factor for dementia – a person who is aged over 75 is more likely to develop dementia than someone who is under 75.
But there are a lot of risk factors that can be avoided or reduced linked to a person’s lifestyle.
One of these, according to David Raichlen, Professor of Human And Evolutionary Biology at the University of Southern California, is excessive alcohol use.
Appearing on british entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary Of A CEO, Raichlen said excessive alcohol and smoking shrink the brain and are risk factors in cognitive decline and the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
He explained: “We know that excessive consumption over one drink per day, two drinks per day for a man, one drink per day for a woman, that level of alcohol consumption is associated with negative health outcomes including risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Dementia UK offers advice for preventing alcohol related brain damage:
- stick within low risk drinking guidelines of no more than 14 units per week (equates to six pints lager or 1.5 bottles of wine per week)
- spread alcohol intake over three or more days
- have alcohol free days
- increase physical and mental activity
- have a healthy balanced diet
- avoid smoking
- manage stress, depression and anxiety symptoms by finding alternative methods of coping than alcohol use
- keeping weight, cholesterol and blood pressure in check
Raichlen added sleep is another big factor in cognitive decline.
He said: “A lot of things happen during sleep that are really important.
“One of the things that happens during sleep, we think, is that it’s a time where your brain is clearing these plaques that can clear up that are associated with neurodegenerative disease.
“If that’s the case, and there’s been some evidence which suggests sleep is when some of that clearance is happening, then poor sleep quality just doesn’t allow that function to occur, it allows those plaques to build up.
“Sleep is weird in some ways because it’s not always more is better. So it follows a U-shape curve in terms of risk of developing dementia for example, where less sleep and lots of sleep are both associated with a higher risk.”
The NHS says a healthy adult usually needs around seven to nine hours of sleep .
If poor sleep is affecting your daily life or causing you distress, call NHS 111 or talk to your GP.