Itrash gameinx5/20/2023 Getting seven to eight hours of quality shut-eye per night is top of mind for all experts. Buckley, meanwhile, has totally cut out caffeine – but more to combat migraines than for brain health. But he loves his coffee and has four to five cups a day, half of which are decaf. Henderson has just two standard drinks a week. Others, like Henderson, drink less, but indulge in different ways. Prof Ian Hickie – a director at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre and a co-host of the popular Minding Your Mind podcast – drinks a small amount of alcohol with a meal or at social events. Drinking, however, is a different story: by and large, everyone continues to imbibe in moderation, or if they’re teetotal, it’s for reasons unrelated to brain health.Ĭhong, for example, sticks to the recommended 10 standard drinks a week and spreads them evenly across Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. “I don’t want my girls to think I’m dieting.” Now, as a mum of two young girls, she doesn’t eat in daylight hours on Mondays and Thursdays but enjoys a normal dinner. Weight loss has never been the goal – instead, she was drawn in by longevity data coming out of animal studies and data around famines. With fasting, she eats normally for five days of the week and restricts her intake the other two days. “I’ve been on the 5:2 for eight years,” she says.īuckley carries a gene with definite links to Alzheimer’s disease, so warding off dementia is critical. Rachel Buckley, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard, chooses intermittent fasting. Chong tries to avoid too much meat or processed food, while others – like Thurston – follow a Mediterranean diet filled with seafood, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Most experts I talked to watch what they eat, but few are dogmatic about their diets. Chong, a parent of young kids, is proactive in going to the doctor and plans to monitor then aggressively treat any vascular risk factors that may emerge. Most experts see a GP regularly to keep their hearts in good health. “I’ve walked half an hour a day, five days a week, for the past 10 years,” she says. She’s also a passionate gardener: a hobby that keeps her active alongside daily walks. Dr Dimity Pond is a medical professor at the University of Newcastle – and a practising general practitioner. It doesn’t have to be high-impact exercise, either – something as “easy” as gardening can also make for an effective workout. Prof Victor Henderson, a neurologist at Stanford, does a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises between two and four times a week. Her regime is structured and involves a mix of cardio, strength training, yoga and online HIIT exercises. Dr Rebecca Thurston – a professor from the University of Pittsburgh whose research covers brain ageing in women – works out six days a week. And we’re not talking slow strolling once a week. Exercise – and do it properlyĮveryone I spoke to exercises. They share their advice, of course, but they also share something far more revealing: their own practices when it comes to brain health. In my book, Save Your Brain, I try to demystify these tips by speaking to 22 mind experts from around the world. How much sauerkraut, really, should we be eating? Must we cut out drinking completely? Do those brain training games really do anything? That’s not to mention the ocean of information that exists on the subject, so deep that sifting through it all can be its own brainteaser. It’s a stark reminder of our own brains’ vulnerability. By midlife many of us are caring for parents or in-laws affected by dementia.
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