There are things you can do to reduce your own risk of developing dementia. These include keeping active, eating healthily and exercising your mind.
There is a lot of evidence that lifestyle choices can affect our risk of developing dementia. Dementia risk is lowest in people who have healthy behaviours in mid-life (aged 40–65). No single behaviour is guaranteed to prevent dementia, and some are more easy to change than others.
Doing regular physical activity is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of dementia. It’s good for your heart, circulation, weight and mental wellbeing.
There are two main types of physical activity – aerobic activity and strength-building activity. Each type will keep you fit in different ways. Doing a combination of these activities will help you to reduce your risk of dementia.
Drink less alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of developing dementia.
If you regularly drink alcohol, try to do so in moderation and within recommended limits. Drinking too much alcohol at one time exposes your brain to high levels of harmful chemicals.
Try to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol each week. This is equal to about one pint of beer or a small glass of wine each day. If you regularly drink much more than this, you are increasing your risk of damage to your brain and other organs, and so increasing your risk of dementia.
Don't smoke
If you smoke, you’re putting yourself at a much higher risk of developing dementia later in life.
Smoking does a lot of harm to the circulation of blood around the body, particularly the blood vessels in the brain, as well as the heart and lungs.
It’s never too late to quit smoking. The earlier you stop, the more brain damage you will avoid.
Stay mentally well and socially active
Depression is a mental health condition that affects at least one in five people in the UK. People who have had periods of depression in their life also have a higher risk of developing dementia.
Social isolation can greatly increase a person’s risk of dementia. Engaging in social activities may help to build up your brain’s ability to relieve stress and improve your mood.
Depression
Social isolation
Manage long-term health conditions
Certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, can increase the risk of getting dementia. An important way to manage this is by going for a health check.
Eating an unhealthy diet may also cause health problems, including obesity, which can be linked to an increased risk of dementia.
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Obesity
Protect your hearing
Hearing loss is related to an increased risk of developing dementia and may be an early symptom.
Managing hearing loss works best when you start doing it early on. You can avoid listening to loud noises for long periods and wear ear protection when necessary. The use of hearing aids has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia to the level of a person with normal hearing.
Protect your head
Traumatic brain injuries are caused by a blow or jolt to the head – especially when the person is knocked out unconscious. These can start a process in the brain where the substances that cause Alzheimer’s disease build up around the injured area.
Wear protective headgear in situations where there is a higher-than-normal risk of head injury – for example, riding a bike, working on a building site, horse-riding or playing cricket.
More research is needed to fully understand the amount of long-term dementia risk involved in contact sports like rugby or football. It’s important that coaching staff know how to deal with concussions and other head injuries.
Environmental risk factors
Certain forms of air pollution increase a person’s risk of dementia. It is difficult for an individual to reduce their exposure to polluted air and better environmental policies are needed to reduce air pollution.
How we support you
Get advice and information, whether you are worried about your memory, waiting for a referral or already diagnosed.
- Call our support line to speak to a trained adviser
- Visit our online forum to hear from people in the same situation
Dementia support line 0333 150 3456
Online Support Forum Visit our forum
FAQs
Staying physically and mentally active, eating well and avoiding smoking, excessive alcohol and head injury may all protect you from dementia later in life. Have regular check-ups with your doctor who can advise how to keep your brain, body and heart healthy.
What reduces the risk of dementia? ›
What Can You Do?
- Control high blood pressure. ...
- Manage blood sugar. ...
- Maintain a healthy weight. ...
- Eat a healthy diet. ...
- Keep physically active. ...
- Stay mentally active. ...
- Stay connected with family and friends. ...
- Treat hearing problems.
Pain or Discomfort: General pain, side effects from medications, lack of sleep, and inability to describe their discomfort are all common symptoms that can trigger aggressive behavior or lashing out. Environment: This is the most common trigger for aggressive behavior in dementia patients.
What is the 5 word test? ›
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
Does Fiona Phillips have dementia? ›
British TV presenter Fiona Phillips announced in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Now, in an interview, the 62-year-old former TV host has revealed she believes her 11-year run of presenting breakfast television could have caused her to get the disease at a relatively young age.
What is the number one food that fights dementia? ›
There's no single or “best” food to fight dementia. Eating patterns that include several anti-inflammatory foods may help to prevent or slow dementia. These include leafy greens, nuts, berries, whole grains, beans, and olive oil.
What is the single strongest risk factor for dementia? ›
Age. The biggest risk factor for dementia is ageing. This means as a person gets older, their risk of developing dementia increases a lot. For people aged between 65 and 69, around 2 in every 100 people have dementia.
What is the number one thing to prevent dementia? ›
Doing regular physical activity is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of dementia. It's good for your heart, circulation, weight and mental wellbeing. There are two main types of physical activity – aerobic activity and strength-building activity.
What morning habits increase dementia? ›
One of the habits that can increase your risk of developing dementia by four times is the habit of skipping your breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
What are the three golden rules of dementia? ›
SPECAL sense begins with three Golden Rules: Don't ask direct questions. Listen to the expert – the person with dementia – and learn from them. Don't contradict.
Simplistically, the test involves an examiner putting his or her hands into a specific shape — for example, interlocking the fingers in a particular manner — and then having the patient try to mimic it. Patients are evaluated on how well they can reproduce the specific shape created by the examiner.
How can I test myself for dementia? ›
SAGE is a brief self-administered cognitive screening instrument to identify Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and early dementia. Average time to complete the test is 15 minutes. The maximum score is 22. A score of 17 and above is considered normal.
What are two early symptoms of dementia? ›
Although the early signs vary, common early symptoms of dementia include:
- memory problems, particularly remembering recent events.
- increasing confusion.
- reduced concentration.
- personality or behaviour changes.
- apathy and withdrawal or depression.
- loss of ability to do everyday tasks.
Fiona Phillips, who presented ITV's breakfast programme for over 10 years, admitted that she "refused to recognise the signs" of Alzheimer's before being diagnosed.
What celebrity has dementia recently? ›
Since 2022, Bruce Willis has been grappling with his health, including an aphasia diagnosis and frontotemporal dementia. Bruce Willis is continuing to do well, according to one of the latest updates on his health from his family since he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
What actress was diagnosed with Alzheimer's? ›
Actress's struggle with Alzheimer's put the disease in the spotlight. In front of the camera, famed actress Rita Hayworth dazzled fans with her mesmerizing smile, sensational dancing and Hollywood glamour.
What things can prevent dementia? ›
There are things you can do to reduce your own risk of developing dementia. These include keeping active, eating healthily and exercising your mind. There is a lot of evidence that lifestyle choices can affect our risk of developing dementia.
What are six habits to reduce chance of dementia? ›
Being active, eating a better diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, keeping normal blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and having low blood sugar in middle age may all lower the chances of developing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease later in life, research suggests.
Who is least likely to get dementia? ›
Studies show that dementia risk is lowest in people who have several healthy behaviours in mid-life (aged 40–65). These behaviours include: ∎regular mental, physical and social activity ∎not smoking ∎drinking alcohol only in moderation ∎keeping a healthy diet.
What is the number one cause of dementia? ›
Alzheimer's disease.
This is the most common cause of dementia.
