WHAT WE’VE LEARNT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS: BRAIN HEALTH EDITION

Annabel and I went out for a slap-out lunch last week to celebrate both 10 years since our blog was born, and five years (to the day!) since The Age-Well Project book was published. Both significant milestones for us. We ate lots of sea food, vegetables and chicken livers, reminisced about the early days and talked about the future. Headline: we’re not changing a lot! A more efficient website would be a good thing but we’re not heading to Substack any time soon.

We also talked about some of the key learnings we’ve missed out from our previous anniversary posts – you can read mine here and Annabel’s here. We forgot to mention our now daily cold showers or plunges – we wrote about those here and here –  we know many of you have joined us in our enthusiasm for getting chilly every morning! In addition, I’ve still got a whole lot to say about what I’ve discovered about brain health in the last decade. So here goes.

My age-well journey started with my mum’s diagnosis of dementia, and in the last 10 years I’ve learnt so much about how we can reduce our own risk with lifestyle changes that support cognition.

10 years ago, research in this area was embryonic, but that was changing fast. Coincidentally, in the week we launched the original ‘Kale & Cocoa’ blog, Public Health England acknowledged in a tweet for the first time that, “There is enough evidence lifestyle contributes to risk of developing #dementia to justify including risk reduction in health policies.” Seems obvious now, but 10 years ago this was a very new idea.

Since then, the World Health Organisation have listed a dozen risk factors for dementia:

• age
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• high blood sugar (diabetes)
• being overweight or obese
• smoking
• drinking too much alcohol
• being physically inactive
• being socially isolated
• depression
• exposure to pollution
• uncorrected hearing loss
• traumatic brain injury

Some of these, like age and injury, we can’t do anything about. Others are modifiable, and reduce our risk of dementia by 40%. In the last 10 years I’ve become evangelical about people in midlife having their hearing tested and corrected if necessary. We’re happy to wear glasses – why not hearing aids? Annabel wrote about why hearing loss may be connected to increased dementia risk here.

Most of all, I’ve learnt that optimising brain health is a holistic exercise – it’s more than what we eat or how we move (although those are very important too). I’ve worked on how I sleep and managing stress in the last decade, but the biggest learning for me has been in the realm of what we can broadly call ‘engagement’- cognitive and social:

• Purpose: This means defining what the Japanese call ‘Ikigai’, our ‘reason for being’ – or, more prosaically, what gets us out of bed in the morning. Research from University College London associated higher purpose or meaning in life with a 19% reduction in dementia risk. Purpose helps us recover from stressful events, is associated with lower inflammation, and improves mental health. It’s more than just ‘feeling happy’, it’s about identifying what brings meaning to our lives and doing more of that. Through this blog, I’ve ultimately found my purpose in coaching others to reduce dementia risk.
• Tribe: We’re social animals who evolved to work as a tribe. Positive interaction with others has a measurable impact on our brain health: the amygdala (the area of the brain which processes emotions and memory) is stimulated by the company of others. The strong social networks enjoyed by SuperAgers and Blue Zoners (groups we’ve learnt a lot about in the last decade) help them stave off mental decline. In the last 10 years, I’ve become much more aware of my ‘tribe’, the people around me who bring joy to my life.
• Strangers: One of my favourite learnings from the past decade has been that talking to a stranger is the best workout you can give your brain. I tell people this all the time! Research has shown that when we talk to strangers we come away feeling happier, less lonely, more optimistic and more empathetic. All good things for our brains. I no longer feel like an idiot talking to new people in a coffee shop, in the gym or at an event. I haven’t cracked being chatty on the London tube yet though!
• Novelty: doing something new stretches our brains, making them work harder and build new neural pathways. That novelty can come from taking a new route to work or a year to travel round the world. Our brains lap it all up, increasing plasticity (the ability to create new connections between neurons), which improves memory. I’ve never been afraid to try new things but am increasingly conscious of its importance now, staying curious about the world and stretching my brain with newness. Click here for a deeper dive on novelty and  the brain. 
• Reading: Annabel and I first bonded over a love of reading (and the brilliant book group we’re in has been going twice as long as this blog!). Reading helps us sleep better, reduces stress and promotes empathy. It’s also been shown to protect cognitive function. I read because I love it, not because I should, but I’m glad I’ve learnt about the benefits too!
• Challenge: if there’s one key learning from the past decade, it’s ‘don’t be afraid of hard things’. That can be a crossword, a puzzle, a new language or a musical instrument. Or a blog. I’ve learnt to challenge myself as I grapple with new technology, understand social media, write books (that was a steep learning curve!), change the direction of my career and so much more.

How have you challenged yourself, explored new things and found your tribe, or purpose, in the last decade? Let us know in the comments!

SOME MORE FAVOURITE RECIPES FROM THE ARCHIVE  

These all have a focus on brain healthy ingredients. Scroll down each post to get to the recipe:

Tamarind and lime green vegetables

Chard and pearl barley risotto

Eggy muffins

Kale and salmon frittata

Coconut-crusted salmon

Liver with onions

Citrus fish bake 

Smoked mackerel bruschetta 

Mushrooms with za’atar

Berry cashew chia breakfast bowl

Susan