Dementia is one of the greatest health threats to our senior generation, though it hasn’t become relegated to just being older. While 342,000 Australians now live with dementia, the numbers show 5% of this population deal with it under the age of 65. Despite all of us knowing how diffuse dementia has become, we don’t always know what causes it.
Science has shown it’s sometimes due to genetics. The newest studies suggest dementia comes from the relationships we have with our families.
If this sounds unusual, new studies back up this eye-opening data. Based on a 10-year British study, it appears that if you have annoying relationships with your family, you’re more apt to get dementia.
The details behind this make more sense when you see how extensive the studies were.
To give more clarity to these British studies, they note critical, unreliable, and annoying relatives don’t always create physiological changes in your brain. What drives this is those who don’t get along well with their families sometimes turn to drinking or smoking.
It’s these two bad habits ultimately increasing the chances of dementia in most people. With this clearer picture, you can see developing dementia is, in part, a relational mental health crisis.
So much mental illness already goes misunderstood in the world. These studies suggest a new approach needs to occur to help people through similar family situations.
At stake is providing support networks for those experiencing mental anguish due to poor family relationships.
Part of this study involved a point system while testing specific subjects. As many as 10,000 people became involved in this study over the last decade. They had pointed questions about how they got along with their families.
Questions asked covered important areas like how much they experienced criticism from their parents or siblings. How much this criticism affected the subject’s nerves clarified the mental impact.
Using a four-point system, each increased point upped dementia chances by 31%.
All of this is a startling finding considering how many people experience troubled relationships with their families. At the same time, it hasn’t received the attention it deserved.
So if it’s a recurring problem, what can you do to lessen the chances of dementia possibly affecting your life?
One thing you’ve probably realised if you work out regularly is exercising often makes you feel better physically and mentally. Physical activity is known for reducing dementia, so don’t sit around due to the emotional impact of interacting with your family.
A simple walk, cycle, or swim for 30 minutes every day is enough to keep you healthy.
Smoking is going to increase the chances of you getting dementia, plain and simple. Those of you still smoking need to make a strong effort to quit now if you haven’t already.
Other studies show that being around second-hand smoke (or passive smoking) also contributes to dementia.
Consuming fish, fruits, vegetables, and olive oil as just starters can help you maintain a healthy diet that staves off brain deterioration later in life. Too many saturated fats are known for removing amyloid beta proteins out of the brain, so be mindful of your daily dietary intake. Don’t stress eat.
Drinking too much can cause dementia as well, though you’re maybe tempted to drink with your family problems. Turn to exercise instead rather than thinking you can temporarily solve everything with an alcoholic beverage.
Increasing your intellect is going to help stave off dementia, something easy to do with accessible crossword puzzles or word games. Merely learning something new every day can help keep you intellectually engaged to increase brain cells.
As you can see, the mind-body connection runs deep when it comes to preventing dementia risks. Now we know taming our emotional problems can reduce one of the biggest health threats in the world.
