"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King, winner of 39 tennis Grand Slam titles.
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." - Michael Jordan, winner of six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.
"Passion first and everything will fall into place." - Holly Holm, UFC competitor.
Those athletes know how important it is to push yourself. It's a surefire way to protect your brainpower as you age, too! A 2017 The Lancet commission on dementia found that 35% of cases were preventable if folks were educated and managed high blood pressure, obesity, hearing loss, depression, diabetes, inactivity and isolation in later life.
But missing from that equation was the influence of emotional health in midlife - a critical period for dementia-related brain changes and psychosocial crises - on the development of cognitive problems later on. So, using decades of data, researchers found that a sense of personal growth and a continuing drive to pursue improved health and happiness at 52 sets you up for better cognition at 69. In other words, look for new experiences and aim for self-improvement.
1. Expand your circle of friends and acquaintances by helping others.
2. Learn new skills and pursue whatever you're curious about.
3. Work to improve your health: Increase daily activity (go for 10,000 steps daily or the equivalent). Eat a plant-based diet, free of ultraprocessed foods.
4. Avoid exposure to toxins from smoking/vaping.
5. Manage your stress response.
6. Get enough sleep (seven to eight hours) nightly.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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