If, like us, you’re keen to do all you can to help ward off dreaded dementia then listen up because it might be time for you to adopt a new hobby…
Yep, if you’ve yet to give the wellness trend for mindfulness and meditation a try, then now may be the time after a new study showed that the relaxing practice could help stave off dementia.
The reason? It may help reduce anxiety, which scientists say may increase your risk of developing cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.
After analysing data from 30,000 people, a team from University College London found that people suffering from moderate to severe anxiety in middle age had increased vulnerability to dementia in later life, perhaps because our body’s responses to stress may speed up brain cell ageing.
‘Clinically significant anxiety in midlife was associated with an increased risk of dementia over an interval of at least 10 years,’ said study author Dr Natalie Marchant.
‘These findings indicate that anxiety may be a risk factor for late-life dementia.’
Luckily, the team – whose work has been published in the journal BMJ Open – say that meditative practices such as mindfulness, which have been shown to help control anxiety, could help reduce the risk.
That said, the scientists also acknowledged that further research is needed to establish whether reducing anxiety in middle age really can decrease dementia risk in old age.
‘Non-pharmacological therapies, including talking therapies and mindfulness-based interventions and meditation practices, that are known to reduce anxiety in midlife, could have a risk reducing effect, although this is yet to be thoroughly researched,’ the team added.
