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: