The experts' incredible top tips for warding off dementia - from the right ... trends now

Survey after survey shows dementia is the disease we fear more than any other, even cancer – but there are simple steps we can take to protect ourselves, say experts.

This has been confirmed in a major study published today by Oxford University, which found that drinking less alcohol, reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes and avoiding traffic pollution are the most important factors in cutting your risk of dementia.

Dementia is characterised by a build-up in the brain of a protein called amyloid, and while there are new drugs such as lecanemab that can reduce this, it’s not clear what effect these will have on patients’ symptoms and there are potential side-effects, including brain swelling.

But what is clear is that many people could avoid or delay the onset of the disease through healthy lifestyle measures and treating risk factors.

Indeed the Lancet Consortium on Dementia Prevention, published in 2020, concluded that as many as 40 per cent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 modifiable risk factors.

These are: Getting at least seven hours of sleep a night; regularly challenging the brain; looking after mental well-being; staying socially active; looking after your hearing; eating a balanced diet; staying physically active; quitting smoking; drinking responsibly; keeping cholesterol and blood pressure in check; and managing diabetes (if you have it).

We all need to realise that the processes that cause dementia don’t just happen in old age, explains Professor Paul Matthews, 67, a director of the UK Dementia Research Institute and head of the department of brain sciences in the faculty of medicine at Imperial College London.

‘The Finger study, which monitored 1,200 people in Finland at risk of cognitive decline [as a result of lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure] found that interventions to help with diet, exercise and cognitive training significantly improved or maintained cognitive function,’ he says.

‘This was an important finding – the first reasonably large study in dementia to show that you could possibly reverse the progression of early phase cognitive performance loss, with interventions.’

Other international centres are looking at lifestyle changes and adding in the diabetes drug metformin, which helps to lower blood sugar levels.

‘The hypothesis is that metformin can tweak the ageing process of cells, including brain cells,’ says Professor Matthews. ‘It could have a similar effect to the impact statins have had on preventing cardiovascular disease.’

Here, we asked top dementia experts what steps they take themselves to ward off the disease. (And it seems it’s never too young to start thinking about it, as some of our experts are in their 30s...)

Walks briskly for 33 minutes a day

Sir Muir Gray, 79, is a senior figure in UK public health and screening programmes and the founder of the dementia risk reduction programme (livelongerbetter.uk).

‘To reduce my risk of dementia I walk briskly for 33 minutes every day – that’s the recommended 30 minutes, plus an extra minute for every decade past 60 (I’m in my 80th year now).

‘I make or take all my telephone calls while out walking. I’m a little breathless walking at this pace, but I’m still able to hold conversations – that’s what you’re aiming for.

‘This type of exercise reduces the risk of atherosclerosis – thickening or hardening of the arteries – which can cause dementia, strokes and heart attacks. Brisk walking also directly protects the brain tissue.

‘Isolation and lack of engagement have also emerged as key risk factors for dementia – I’d like to ban the word retirement and call it renaissance instead.

‘It is important for brain health to keep challenging yourself intellectually; that could be working to make more money, or even more important, doing something with a social purpose for the greater good. ‘Joining a committee of a voluntary group, charity, or a parish council is a great way to stay intellectually challenged and socially engaged in later life.’

Watch TV for half an hour after work

Dr James Gratwicke, 40, is a consultant neurologist at St George’s Hospital in London and the HCA London Bridge Hospital.

‘A little bit of intermittent stress is not necessarily a bad thing as it increases levels of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline which can improve mental focus, but you don’t want to be continually stressed. ‘Too much stress, leading to persistently elevated levels of these hormones, can increase metabolism in brain cells, causing a build-up of toxic by-products, which damage brain cells.

‘This is why if you have a job or profession where you are under a lot of stress frequently and struggle to disengage, it’s important to find a way of destressing and relaxing.

‘My way of doing this is to watch TV – only for half an hour – but it’s a good way of disengaging from background cognitive stress. It can be a really useful way for people who find it hard to switch off from the rapid-fire of their busy working lives.

‘Visual attention is very strong in animals and humans and half an hour of TV is enough to absorb you and disengage your working memory from turning a lot of competing demands over in the background.’

.... and sleep between 10PM and 6AM

‘I also make sure I get seven to eight hours’ sleep – crucially in a window between 10pm and 6am,’ says Dr Gratwicke.

‘This is the time when the brain clears out waste proteins during sleep, so it’s not just about getting enough sleep, but sleeping during that precise window, as the brain’s clearing up of toxic proteins doesn’t work as well outside that time period.

‘This is because it works in-sync with the body’s 24-hour body clock.’

Join a choir and snacks on nuts

Dr Susan Mitchell, 47, is head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK.

‘I try to follow the Mediterranean diet – it’s generally healthy and thought to be good for anti-ageing, while its high levels of antioxidants may protect against damage to cells including brain cells.

‘It means eating a mainly plant-based diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, nuts, pulses, wholegrains, olive oil and seeds. I love lentils and chickpeas, and I’ll often snack on nuts or add seeds to soup, yoghurt or salad. I only eat meat and fish occasionally and try to eat a variety – the “rainbow” plate – of different coloured fruits and vegetables.

‘I’ve also realised the importance of learning new things. I’ve recently joined a choir – partly because I want to learn a new skill and get better at singing, but also for the social interaction which has been shown to be protective against dementia.’

In bed by 10PM

Dr Ian Harrison, 36, is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging at University College London, who specialises in brain imaging.

‘When it comes to lowering my own dementia risk, I swear by a good night’s sleep. I used to go to bed later, but I’ve now become strict about going to bed at 10pm every day, even at weekends.

‘The time I wake up depends on my children, aged five and four, but I set my bedtime early to give my brain the best chance to rest and have a clear-out during the night.

‘The brain has a cleaning system, called the glymphatic system, which removes a build-up in proteins and waste products.

‘We know from studies that the glymphatic system is 70 per cent more active when we sleep. If there is an impairment in the system due to lack of sleep, then this may lead to a build-up of proteins, including amyloid.

‘Anecdotally, we all know that we have a fuzzy head if we have a bad night’s sleep: this may be due to the glymphatic system not clearing out all the waste products.

‘We know from animal studies that exercise boosts the function of the glymphatic system, so I also go for a run and go to the gym every week, as well as cycling to work.’

Switch off phone at night

For the same reasons about sleep and brain health, Roger

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