Why did nobody tell me that midlife would be a constant battle to get enough sleep?! I took sleep for granted until I had children, but since then it’s been a scarce commodity. The broken nights of early parenthood have given way to the broken nights of middle age, menopause and beyond. A steady stream…
HOW TO BE HAPPY: GET HEALTHY, GET MARRIED AND GO OUT FOR DINNER
It turns out – as if we didn’t know – that health really is wealth. A report on personal wellbeing published by the ONS (Office of National Statistics) this week reveals we rate good health as the key to happiness. What the research doesn’t answer is what comes first: do we feel good because we…
IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY BY WALKING BACKWARDS, THROWING PARTIES AND OTHER THINGS BESIDES…
One of the questions we’re often asked is: How can I improve my memory? Few of us beyond mid-life can claim to have a perfect in-our-twenties memory. But is this natural ageing or can we do something about it? After I hit my head on a London pavement and cracked my skull, my memory disappeared…
EAT MORE MUSHROOMS: ITALIAN MUSHROOM SALAD
A study in last month’s Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease had me googling frenziedly for several hours. Could I really reduce my chances of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by 50% merely from eating a few more mushrooms? There are moments when I’m quite sure I already have mild cognitive impairment (MCI, defined as the stage between…
When to start reducing dementia risk? Now!
Core to our Age-Well Project is understanding that the more we do to reduce our risk of age-related degenerative disease now, in our 50s, the better. Many diseases of old age take root in mid-life: for a healthy, happy old age we need to tackle our future wellbeing now. So we were fascinated to…
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO REDUCE DEMENTIA RISK?
We all fear dementia, yet half of us can’t identify any of the key risk factors, according to new research. Alzheimer’s Research UK wants us all to be clear on the six risk factors for dementia: Heavy drinking Genetics Smoking High blood pressure Depression Diabetes And we also need to know that physical exercise is…
WHY GUM DISEASE IS LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S, AND HOW TO REDUCE YOUR RISK
When multiple studies link oral hygiene to dementia we need to take notice. Yesterday, researchers revealed they’d found a bacteria associated with chronic gum disease in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. That bacteria secretes a toxic protein, gingipain, which appears to destroy brain neurons. It also increases build up of amyloid beta, which forms…
HOW PLANTING A TREE COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
I spent a day planting trees last week. It was an uplifting experience with a HUGE number of healthy ageing benefits. In fact, I think it could be top of the charts for age-well activities – see below! I volunteered at the Woodland Trust’s First World War Centenary Woods at Langley Grove, Surrey. Each tiny…
SLEEP: THE KEY TO A GOOD MEMORY, TIPS FROM AN EXPERT AND CARROT TOP PESTO
I forgot to go to an appointment yesterday. Embarrassing. I would never have forgotten something like this in my youth. But could it be the poor sleep I’d had the night before? A new study links memory and everyday errors to sleep deprivation. The study (which points out that many human-caused disasters from Chernobyl to…
Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue
I’m not being sexist. Women account for two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases. In the over-65 age group 1 in 6 women will develop Alzheimer’s by 2050, the figure is 1 in 11 for men. Furthermore, a report published this week revealed that half of all middle-aged women will suffer dementia, Parkinson’s or a stroke. The figure…