I don't spend much of my time worrying about whether I will one day develop dementia. Even as close to the disease as I daily find myself, I refuse to spend my life paralyzed by the fear of something that I have little to no control over. Certainly, there are a million studies that point to different risk factors, warning signs, or foods to avoid in order to maintain optimal mental health; I don't put much stock in their validity. First saccharin was the culprit. Recently, the devil has been discovered in everything from buttered popcorn to drinking water from a garden hose. My wife silently judges me every morning as I sweeten my coffee with Splenda.
Nevertheless, there are three things which have been consistently found to be accurate indicators Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
1. Firm Handshake-
The cardiovascular issues that wreak havoc on the brain also weaken muscles in the extremeties. Any region of the body to which blood is not adequately flowing will necessarily weaken over time. This is readily apparent in one of the most common cultural greetings in this country: the handshake. Research by the American Academy of Neurology has shown that people with a firm handshake are 42% less likely to suffer from a stroke which can lead to certain types of dementia. My personal research has additionally shown that people with painfully weak, dead-fish handshakes are socially awkward and generally creepy to encounter.
2. Slow Walkers-
The number of different stimuli your brain must process during a physical activity such as walking is staggering. If you are a person who naturally lags behind while walking in a group it might be because your brain is already struggling to keep up the pace. A Boston University study found that people with a slower walking speed were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than their faster peers. This theory does not apply in New York City where any slower pedestrians are typically run over by taxis and therefore culled from the sample.
3. Sleeplessness-
A study by the Washington University School of Medicine in St.Louis found that lack of sleep can be an accurate indicator for Alzheimer's and dementia. The brain uses sleep as an opportunity to flush the toxins and proteins that can eventually lead to Alzheimer's. It therefore stands to reason that persons who get a healthy amount of sleep are less likely to be at risk for stroke and dementia. But just because you go to bed early doesn't mean that you are necessarily well rested. Many study participants who reported 8 hours of sleep were actually only getting around six actual hours of sleep due to both internal and external interruptions. So when an exhausted mother rolls over to her snoozing husband and says "If that baby doesn't stop crying and go to sleep, I just might lose my mind," she is more right than she probably realizes.
