You pop a chicken in the oven to roast, call your sister about a graduation gift for your niece and-yikes!-you did it again. That unmistakable burnt-to-a-crisp smell is yet another sign that you can't remember anything anymore. To say you're worried is a serious understatement. Spacey moments happen to all of us, no matter how old we are. But when they happen at midlife, we panic.
Memory loss is a frightening thing. If you're worried about brain health, you're not alone. Research shows that Americans 50 and older are concerned about losing mental capacity. In fact, AARP found that staying mentally sharp is a top concern among its members.
Relax. "The truth is, 80 percent of people over 70 do not have significant memory loss," says Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
And now many experts believe you can prevent or at least delay that decline-even if you have a genetic predisposition to dementia. Reducing Alzheimer's risk factors like obesity, diabetes, smoking and low physical activity by just 25 percent could prevent up to half a million cases of the disease in the United States, according to a recent analysis from the University of California in San Francisco. There's hope even for those senior moments.
"A lot of people think that if they're having memory problems, their memory is lost and gone for good," says Majid Fotuhi, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist at the Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness near Baltimore, Maryland. "They don't realize the brain is kind of like their biceps. Both can be toned up at any age."
How? The prescription for brain health is rooted in five pillars:
Eating smart
Being fit
Working your mind
Socializing
Stressing less
And studies show that no, it's not too late to begin. Keeping your brain fit for life: It's easier than you think.