September 21, is observed as World Alzheimer’s Day. This day is meant to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s, a neurological disorder in which the brain cells die leading to memory loss and cognitive decline. Data suggests that globally, 44 million to 50 million people have one or the other kind of dementia. Even as there is greater awareness around the disease today, globally there is still a lack of understanding as to how it progresses. 

World Alzheimer’s Day, celebrated every year on 21 September, is designed to address this gap in understanding.

The theme for this year is raising awareness and challenging stigma.

What is Alzheimer’s?
In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain shrinks as gaps develop in the temporal lobe and hippocampus, which are responsible for storing and retrieving new information. Due to nerve cell decay, Alzheimer’s affect people’s ability to remember, speak, think and make decisions. Some of the early symptoms include memory loss, difficulty in performing familiar tasks, problems with language, time and place disorientation, problems with keeping track of things, changes in mood and behaviour, loss of initiative among others. Some of the symptoms include memory loss, inability to plan and execute and being unaware of time.

Make these lifestyle changes 
Eating right, exercise, being social and taking up hobbies is all a part and parcel of a healthy lifestyle, which may help alleviate the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Healthy food
Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), low in meat and dairy but rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, nuts and ‘healthy’ fats; diets including foods such as berries; avoiding sugary, fatty and processed foods and eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, poultry, fish, and vegetable oil, could all help slow down cognitive decline.

Exercising may seem like a mammoth task, but it comes in various forms, so one can choose what is best for them. Lifting weights can impact the brain, studies have found. If the minimum threshold of working out twice a week is achieved, lifting weights can have a positive impact on the structure of the brain.

Give yoga a try
Those who prefer an alternative to fast-paced and intense workouts can give yoga a try. It seems that cardio isn’t the only brain-boosting exercise, with a small-scale study from UCLA and Australia’s University of Adelaide finding participants who attended classes of Kundalini yoga and practiced 20 minutes of meditation every day showed bigger improvements in visual-spatial memory skills.

Aerobic exercise 
Whether you choose walking, dancing, or even gardening, two studies published earlier this year found that virtually any type of aerobic exercise can be beneficial for improving brain health, increasing brain volumes and helping reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 50 percent.

Stay positive
Going out, meeting friends or new people can help gain positive support and reliable relationships with partners, children, and family can help reduce the risk of developing dementia in seniors, whereas negative social support can increase it.

Doing something you love can help soothe the mind and be therapeutic. In a study, those who took part in artistic hobbies such as painting, drawing, and sculpting, were 73 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who didn’t, whilst enjoying craft activities such as woodworking, pottery, ceramics, and sewing reduced the risk by 45 percent.

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