So, returning to a critical question, what makes a person resilient to Alzheimer’s? One factor is referred to as “cognitive reserve,” … The greater the amount of knowledge one has amassed and learned, for example through higher education, the greater the number of synapses in one’s brain. Since the degree of dementia in Alzheimer’s patients correlates most closely with loss of synapses, the more synapses you have, the more you can lose before problems set in. Thus, continuing to learn new things is very important as we age. When planning for your retirement, think just as much about your cognitive reserve as about your financial reserve.

The following recommendations have been shown to have the most useful effects on risk reduction—you’ll recognize them from our general advice for a healing lifestyle, although they are more specific here: 

•     Eat a Mediterranean diet. This is a diet rich in fruits, nuts, vegetables, olive oil, minimal or no red meat, and alternative sources of protein (e.g., fish or, if you’re vegetarian, like me, legumes, tofu, and mycoprotein from mushrooms). 

•     Get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. It is during the deepest stage of sleep (delta or slow-wave) following dreams (REM sleep) that the brain clears itself of debris like amyloid plaques. This is also when short-term memories are consolidated into long-term memories. 

•     Exercise daily. Aim for 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day if you have an electronic measuring device. Or take a brisk walk for an hour every day. During exercise, amyloid plaques are dissolved in the brain, neuroinflammation is turned down, and even new nerve stem cells are born in the area of the brain most affected by Alzheimer’s, the hippocampus, which is responsible for short-term memory. 

•     Reduce stress. Managing stress with meditation and other techniques protects the brain from harmful neurochemicals like cortisol. In a clinical trial of meditation, we also showed changes in gene expression that favor removal of amyloid from the brain and that lower inflammation. It’s also worth noting that as people get older, finding that they can’t recall names and words as well, they often become increasingly stressed out, especially if they worry about the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. Ironically, this stress can lead to cortisol production in the brain that kills nerve cells, perhaps increasing risk for Alzheimer’s. 

•     Learn new things. Learning new things forces you to make new synapses in the brain, enhancing your cognitive reserve. Growing older should include challenges like learning how to play a musical instrument or taking foreign-language lessons, but also small things like brushing your teeth with the opposite hand, taking a new commute route, or simply watching a documentary or attending a lecture. Because all learning is based on associating new information with what you already know, you not only make new synapses but reinforce the ones you already have. Moreover, this leads to new neural pathways for gaining access to information recorded by specific synapses and existing neural pathways. It’s worth mentioning that crossword puzzles and brain games do not serve the same purpose as learning new things. 

•     Stay socially engaged. Loneliness has been confirmed as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Social engagement and participating in positive, supporting social networks have been shown to be protective against a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzini in The Healing Self

(Recommended by Sathyam)