May 13, 2025 • 29 mins
The shadow of dementia looms larger than most of us realize. With a 42% lifetime risk between ages 55-95 and projections showing nearly one million new cases annually by 2060, this condition demands our attention while we still have power to act.Drawing from rigorous research and personal experience, we unpack the surprising connections between everyday choices and future brain health. Tracy shares her raw, emotional journey caring for her mother with Alzheimer's, highlighting both the personal toll and practical challenges families face when dementia strikes. The conversation shifts between scientific findings and lived experience, creating a powerful case for prevention.Beyond genetics, we explore the modifiable risk factors within our control. Cardiovascular health emerges as a critical protector, with diabetes in midlife carrying similar dementia risk as genetic factors. Hearing health proves unexpectedly important—hearing aid use shows a 19% reduction in cognitive decline among at-risk individuals. Even simple interventions like a daily 30-minute walk could decrease dementia risk by 18% by promoting proteins that help brain cells form new connections.Sleep quality deserves special attention, particularly the deep slow-wave stage where your body repairs itself. People with sleep disturbances face 19% higher dementia risk, creating a vicious cycle as brain changes further disrupt sleep patterns. We share practical tips for improving sleep quality, from eye masks to specialized earplugs that conform comfortably to your ears.Mental stimulation through word games, puzzles and learning new languages builds cognitive reserve that protects against decline. The message becomes clear: while genetics play a role, lifestyle factors significantly impact our cognitive trajectory. With today's early detection tools, we have unprecedented opportunities to take charge of our brain health.Take one simple step today toward better brain health—whether that's a short walk, addressing hearing concerns, or prioritizing sleep. Your future self will thank you. Share this episode with someone who needs this information, and connect with us on social media to continue the conversation about protecting your most precious asset—your mind.Source:https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/activity-sleep-dementiahttps://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/preventive-steps-in-midlife-can-help-to-lower-dementia-risk#:~:text=Preventive%20Steps%20in%20Midlife%20Can,currently%20affects%206%20million%20Americans
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Let's Talk midlife Crisis.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Ashley and I'm Tracy, where your go to hosts
for all things midlife, menopause, and Moments of Pure Mayhem.
And today we're going to talk about dementia.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
And things we can do in midlife to slow or
prevent it. So I have two sources in my research
for my research. The first one is Hopkins Bloomberg Public
Health Magazine. The other one is JOHNS Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health. So some of us I'm gonna just
(00:38):
touch on, and some of that I'm gonna read line
by line because I don't want to miss There's been
a lot of research on this and I don't want
to miss anything important. But by twenty fifty, almost one
in four adults will be over sixty five. From age
fifty five to ninety five, the lifetime risk of developing
(01:00):
dementia is forty two percent. That's amounting to about one
million cases annually by twenty sixty, which is almost double
the current cases reported. Well, the cases reported in twenty
twenty that was five hundred and fourteen thousand, so today
it actually affects six million Americans. So this is like
(01:23):
a really serious disease that you know, there's no cure.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, it's crazy cure for this yet, Yeah, those numbers
are crazy, it's terrible.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I know, they're staggering. And many researchers are instead focusing
on like identifying preventative measures or early warning signs. So
I know, now, like even in your midlife, you could
get some like testing done to determine whether or not
you have early signs of it or if eventually you
will have it. You know, a lot of researchers they
(01:58):
did it. They did study. They analyzed data between nineteen
eighty seven and twenty twenty. And I'm going to just
use the abbreviation for or the I guess short abbreviation
for the study because the words I can't really say.
But it's an aric study. And again you can find
(02:20):
this in our resources. It's tracked nearly sixteen thousand people
for three decades in four different communities to investigate the
risk factors for heart disease and more recently the connections
between cardiovascular and cognitive health. So they're finding that there's
(02:40):
a lot of similarities and you know, things that are
causing cognitive health. What if you have you know, cardiovascular
risk or issues. The findings present an opportunity to address
dementia risk factors and take steps in middle age to
prevent or slow the onset of it later in life.
(03:01):
If you live long enough, your risk increases obviously, which
may be higher than we previously thought, and society struggles
to help people who need intensive long term care. So
this is a real issue. And I know that you've
had a little bit of an experience with this. I
think your mom had some issues with this.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Right, Yeah, yeah, my mom had Alzheimer's. And I just
can't tell you the emotional and financial toll that it
takes on individuals and families.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
So yeah, I think it's hard for both the patient
and like you said, the family because and I mean
emotionally because you know, for the patient there's probably a
lot of confusion about why people are confused about what
they're saying or doing, you know, and you're confused because
(03:55):
they don't recognize you, or they're calling you different names
or you know, things like that, and so yeah, like
you know, it is obviously a financial toll if they
need long term care, but emotionally this is very challenging
for families.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yes, So what they have found in this research they've
done there are things that you can do on an
individual level to reduce the burden of dementia, including trying
to optimize your cardiovascular health, and that's you know, things
like avoiding diabetes, hypertension, smoking. So yeah, this also was
(04:30):
another flag for me. I guess it's time to quit.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
I don't think there's anything that's good that comes out
of smoke.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
From smoking now, unfortunately, But the more I do this research,
I'm like, oh, I'm really getting nervous. Okay, Anyway, focusing
on a healthy lifestyle, improving heart health, it will have
important benefits to your brain help and preventing dementia or
slowing it down.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, and prevention matters, right, Prevention matters really.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah. And we've talked a lot about the importance of
a healthy lifestyle, whether you're eating healthy, being active, and
mostly we've talked about the importance of that for your
mental health. You know, physical too, but it's really important
for your brain. Help. We start seeing different regions of
the brain show signs of damage early on, earlier on
(05:22):
when you have diabetes. There's evidence that your brain starts
undergoing neuro degeneration at a much faster rate than if
you don't have this condition. So obviously there's people that
are born with diabetes. You know, take care of yourself,
manage it the best you can. But a lot of
people don't develop it until later in life. And there
(05:44):
are things you can start doing in your thirties and
forties and fifties to prevent getting that which is going
to be very very imperative to your cognitive health. And
part of that is maintaining a healthy weight, which is
a essential to preventing type two diabetes, being active, eating
a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, not
(06:07):
smoking or quitting smoking if you're a current smoker. Obviously
that's going to affect your cardiovascula or health. A lot
of people are worried about genetic risk. One important genetic
risk factor is having This is really hard for me
to say, it's an apoe for a lel. I think
(06:28):
it's a test for the gene. So if you care
carry the gene and you have high risk of being that,
you can be tested for that. But they've shown that
a diagnosis of diabetes and midlife has a similar effect
as having one of those whatever that is. It's just
(06:49):
the same as if you have a genetic risk.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
And I can definitely attest to the genetics of it, because,
as we just talked about, my mom had it, her
mom had it, her brother had it, and I actually
was adopted at birth. So I feel fortunate that I
didn't pick up that genetic gene that and mentally it's
(07:15):
still in the back of my mind though it's funny
how that works. But definitely it is in genetics. It
has been proven.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Right, yeah, right, And I know it's in my family
as well. My grandmother. I think both of them had it,
and they both lived out of state and so I
didn't see them often. So for me, it's easy to
say I don't think it was an extreme case. But
I don't know because I wasn't involved day to day,
(07:46):
you know, So for me it's really easy to say,
oh it was, it wasn't extreme. I haven't heard all
the details of that from the people that were, you know,
caring for them. I do know my grandma, she was
so sweet. She would call me to try to reach
my mom, who lived in another different state, and she
(08:07):
would say, hi, Ashley, is your mom home? And she
never called me Ashley. Growing up, ever, she always called
me princess. So as soon as she started calling me Ashley,
I was like crushed. I was like, I thought, she
honestly didn't even know my real name, right because she
called me princess. And so I would just say, you know,
(08:29):
my mom's in the shower. I'll have her call you
when she gets out. And then I would call my
mom in Utah and say, Grandma's trying to reach you,
and so she would call her. And so I saw
signs like that. But obviously, like I said, I wasn't
involved day to day, so I didn't have to endure
the you know a lot of the emotional and you know,
trials and things like that and physical you know.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, So when my grandmother had it, I was younger,
and even though I lived we both lived in the
same state, I I wasn't in as much communication with her.
Towards the end, I remember being very upset with my
mom and my uncle who my uncle was living in
(09:14):
her house, but they put her in a home and
I didn't understand it at the time about the care
she would need at that stage that she was in,
and I just remember being upset about it and honestly
quite resentful over it. Then my uncle had it, I
was somewhat again. He lived in the same state, so
(09:37):
I did see him, not as regular of course as
I should have, but he also was put into a
memory care facility towards the end. But then with my mom,
whole different story. She ended up moving to California, and
so she lived in another state, was married, and and
(10:00):
she went undiagnosed. So she when it was unfortunate that
it was the time where I had to bring her
to Arizona was because my dad had surgery and she
couldn't be left there alone. I had young children. I
couldn't stay there for that extended period of time. So
(10:21):
I ended up having to bring her to Arizona, and
that's where she ended up staying. I ended up having
to put her into a private home with caregivers to
take care of her because I was a single mom
with young children, and honestly, I don't know how I
(10:41):
made it through. But with her it was I saw
everything and I didn't realize the horror of the degenerative disease.
And again hers was Alzheimer's. I think there's a lot
of parallels between dementia and alzheimers.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I think there's a lot of similarities.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
But she at the end, just like her body was
her organs, things just started giving out. So it was
it was horrific. And I'm the baby, right, so this
had fallen on my shoulders, and I wouldn't wish that
(11:21):
on anyone, to be quite honest.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, that's terrible. Yeah, I mean, like
I said that, it's it's really a struggle to call
people who need intensive long term care, and that's a
really hard decision. I'm sure it was for you with
your mom to take that step and figure out where
(11:46):
you're going to take them and who's going to care
for them. I'm sure that in itself is a daunting task,
and especially because the right facility. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Well, and she was from out of states, so her
insurance I had to transfer her insurance over. I was
actually I honestly don't even remember who suggested it at
the time, but they told me to take her to
an emergency room because she hadn't been diagnosed either. So
I took her to an emergency room when they gave
(12:20):
me this laundry list of care facilities that would help,
and I found an angel her name was Daniella is Daniella,
and by the grace of God, she helped me and
took her in and was able to then get her
to the doctor and then get her on medication. At
this point it was perhaps too late to really slow
(12:44):
it down that much, but she was able to take
care of her, get her on medication, get her to
the doctor, and it was close by. But yeah, I
don't think a lot of people knew. I don't honestly
remember who said, hey, take her to the emergency room.
But if you're in a situation and you don't know
(13:06):
what to do, take them to the emergency room.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I've heard that a lot of times for different situations
because it's kind of like a great way to get
like your referral as far as insurance goes, you know,
and whether it's a diagnosis or a referral or whatever
it is, or all the above. And people, yeah, for
a lot of different things, even people with like addiction issues,
(13:32):
they say, go to the emergency room first, because that's
going to make it easier to get into a facility.
If that's what you're looking to do to get help,
you know, yes, yes, correct, So yeah, if you can't
think of anything else, go to the emergency room. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah, and you know there's a lot of different things.
She became at times combative, but only if she was
you know, became disoriented if you will, right. I remember
one time at the grocery store and she was hanging
on to the shopping cart and they at that time
they were bagging the groceries, so they pulled the shopping
(14:08):
cart back, but they switched out the carts and she
became combative at that time just because of that. Here
soon the confusion.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So I've heard that. I know they can get combative.
So one of the interesting things I also found was
that maintaining hearing is also important for maintaining cognitive cognitive function,
I can't say that word. A study demonstrated that a
(14:39):
hearing aid in intervention in older adults at high risk
for dementia was associated with less cognitive decline over three
years than those without hearing aids. Yeah, that is so
interesting to me.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
And do you know what I learned A while ago,
I did a little hopper job Hopper and I worked
in house for a you need company, as you might recall,
But I did even realize that at the time until
they told me. But when you age and you lose
your hearing, you also, like you were mentioning about cognitive
(15:13):
you also you lose your speech because of that is
why so right and every.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Even like comprehension skills. You know, my son had some
ear issues growing up and wasn't speaking by the time
he was three the way I thought he should be,
and so I took him in and sure enough, he
couldn't hear the dial tone on a telephone, which is
why he was speaking. He was speaking the way he
was because he was reading lips, not because he could hear.
(15:44):
And he had some issues once he got into school
with comprehension because of that loss of hearing. And I
would think that the same could be even when you're older,
that you kind of lose those skills. But it's turned
I mean, these studies are showing it also is imperative
to your cognitive health. Yeah, and I think there are
(16:05):
I mean I can vouch you know personally, my stepdad
for the longest time refused to get a hearing aid,
which also can be very trying on the family because
you get frustrated saying stuff to them over and over
again and they can't hear you and then you're screaming
it and it's just frustrating, you know. And for the
longest time he refuse to do it. It was just I
(16:27):
think a lot of it is vanity, you know, and
which is fair.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Yeah, but I have small nowadays. But yeah, and once he.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Discovered that, yeah, once he discovered how little they were,
and he can lived didn't manage it from his and yeah,
so he finally decided to do it, and it's been
a game changer for both him and my mom, you know,
their relationship. But I think that's very common. I think
(16:58):
it's common for people to avoid doing that as long
as they can.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah, and then my dad once he got the hearing age,
half the time you wouldn't wear them.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
And it was like only oh yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Plus they're very expensive, so.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
They are, they are, but they're worth it, Yes they are.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
They are.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Untangled relationships among sleep, physical activity, and brain health may
suggest ways to reduce dementro risk as well. So again,
these are things that we've talked about sleep, physical activity, diet.
This is kind of a fact that they threw in
as far as Alzheimer's, which your mom had and estimated
(17:38):
one in nine people over the age of sixty five
have Alzheimer's one and nine. That's crazy. You put ten
people in a room if someone has Alzheimer's, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
It has to be something that we're ingesting or you know, exposed,
I do, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Think a lot of it really is lifestyle because you know,
you hit midlife, and I think that a lot of people.
I think it's changing. I think it's changing now. But
I think a lot of people don't work out like
they used to. They're not as physical, and you don't
have to work out like you used to. You just
still need to be active, you know, do something active,
(18:18):
but especially as you can under right right right, and
then really watching your diet, you know, preventing diabetes or
you know, any kind of cardio vascular issues. Yeah, just
being really cognizant of that at an age where you
can make it work, make it happen. You know, when
(18:40):
you're in your thirties and forties, you can really make
an effect on what's going to happen to you in
the future. And I think a lot of people didn't
realize that. And you know, you kind of your lifestyle changes,
you slow down, you become you become less aware of
what you're eating. It's just like whatever. You know, Like
(19:01):
I said, I think it is changing, but I think
that's kind of that that was the norm.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, Yeah, an exercise we've talked about.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
That we've talked about. Yeah. Yeah, so activity and sleep
are quick to change when your cognitive impairments starts. So
even if you have the gene or early signs of it,
if you maintain your physical activity and you know, make
sure you're getting enough sleep, it can actually delay your symptoms.
(19:31):
And obviously, the you know, the longer you live, the
more likely you're going to get those symptoms if it's inevitable.
But more than two decades of research supports the notion
that staying active helps prevent cognitive decline. One analysis found
that higher levels of physical activity may decrease dementia by
as much as eighteen percent. Wow, that's significant.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, that makes me want to get out there and
take a walk, even just a thirty minute walk.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah, makes it differ, Absolutely a difference, We'll say.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, exercise spurs the body to produce important proteins such
as brain derived neurotropic I hope I said that right. Factor.
It helps the brain cells stay healthy and form new connections.
Exercise also causes the heart to pump harder and pump
more blood throughout the body. So again, brain and heart help.
(20:23):
In studies analyzing the energy needed for older adults to walk,
this is interesting a useful measure of physical fitness. There
are these doctors I'm gonna slaughter their names track and
one one Y Gottunga. They found that those who struggled
to walk were also more likely to show signs of
(20:46):
brain deterioration and cognitive decline later in life, and higher
levels of amyloid beta, which is a protein whose accumulation
can signal Alzheimer's. Again, I you know, there was there
tended to be a lot of you know, a lot
(21:06):
less activity in midlife and older. And that's also going
to affect your ability to walk because your muscles have weakened,
your joints have stiffened, and that's also going to affect
your brain. Yeah, and obviously your heart. So there, you know,
it's more than just dementia and Alzheimer's. It's it's overall health.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Like.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Low levels of physical activity. Poor quality of sleep is
also associated with higher dementia risk. People with steep, steep
sleep disservices such as insomnia or sleep apnea are nineteen
percent more likely to develop dementia nineteen percent more. That's crazy.
And I know that sleep apnea is very common in
(21:51):
mid middling life.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
My dad had it, but yeah, and his mind was sharp, so.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Wow, yeah, yeah, but yeah, I mean, if you have it,
it's treatable. You know, they have the bleeding breathing machines
and things like that.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
So he didn't use it.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But now there's there's ways to do. You know, if
you feel like you're having issues with anything, talk to
your doctor. There's going to be symptoms. As long as
you're doing something about it and treating it the way
you should. Your overall your health is going to be better,
your mind is going to be better, and and these
are things we can start doing now, you know, before
we get to be elders and really face a lot
(22:34):
of struggles.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, access to alcohol too is probably risk, right, it's
just kind.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Of a gap in Yeah. Absolutely. So. One of the
forms of sleep, or I guess levels of sleep, it's
called slow wave sleep, and missing out on that, which
is like it's the deepest stage where your body repairs
itself from.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
The day, so it's like it's one of your rems, right.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yes, yeah, yeah, it's associated with so missing out on
that is associated with the buildup of this amuloid beta,
which is you know, like I said, the protein whose
accumulation can trigger Alzheimer's or dementia. In turn, the brain
changes associated with Alzheimer's disease themselves also to Alzheimer's disease
(23:25):
themselves also seem to disturb sleep, so you know, disrupting
and synchronized brain waves that character characterized deep sleep that's
affected if you're not getting that level that that slow
waves sleep, and it just creates a vicious cycle. You know.
Once and I noticed this too. If I if I'm
(23:49):
sleeping well for a while and then I have like
one night of not sleeping well, it's like the next
three or four nights, I'm doomed. I'm not gonna sleep well.
It's like this cycle that my body goes through. It's terrible.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
And I think you're thinking about it at that point too, like,
oh am I gonna be able.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
To sleep because you're dreading. You're like, okay, I don't
want another night like last night, you.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Know, yeah, right, right, where should be so tired that
you would just pass out?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
But yeah, yeah, you would think. Yeah. I mean there
was one night I was up at like three point
thirty and could not go back to sleep, and I
made it all day. I thought, you know what, I
Am going to crash so hard this afternoon. Never did
and then didn't sleep well that night either. So yeah,
it's it's really important. And actually, because that was happening,
(24:37):
I bought an imask so if you're struggling with and
and it was so weird because our room is pretty dark,
you know, and we have, like I said, the sound
machine going, so we do what we can to make
sure to ensure where that we're getting deep sleep, in
this good sleep, but sometimes I just don't. It's just
my body. And I thought, well, what if I get
(24:59):
an mask maybe that you know, because I even though
our room's pretty dark, I would notice the slightest bit
of light, whether it was coming out of the door
or you know, and it really helped. I've used it
several times.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I've been putting a pillow because I'm a side sleeper,
so but I've been putting a pillow over my head
in the morning because like I'll hear teetum up, you know,
getting ready for work and then she's in the kitchen
and but by putting that pillow over my head, it's
perhaps right as well. But for the sound, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, and they do have you know, there's a lot
of things you can do as far as like sound too.
They have some really nice ear plugs. Now, I know
a lot of them can be really uncomfortable, but they
have special ones out there now that I think, for
the most part, you can get in any drug store
and they're very soft and they're very flexible, so they
(25:56):
really kind of form to your ear and those help too,
if you know, if sounds. You know, again, a lot
of people live in households where you know, the kids
are up later, or maybe your partner has a different shift,
or you know, anything like that. But it's really important
to get that good sleep. So anything you have to
do to ensure that you're getting it is going to
(26:17):
help you your overall help and not just currently but
down the road, right, And that was just one, you know,
that was kind of the big takeaway I took from
doing this research is you know, we all have heard
you know, if you spoke, you're going to have issues
when you get older. If you you know, Louis, you
hear all that stuff. But I never really thought about that,
(26:40):
like the dementia and the Alzheimer's. You know, obviously I
knew cardiovascular health, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
The obvious things, right, and cancer, but not the.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Strong wa You don't realize how much the importance of
your diet and your activity and your sleep are going
to affect you down the road too.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
So, And I think it's funny because, you know, it
seems like no matter what we talk about, it kind
of all boils back down to.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
That, right the root, right at the end of the day.
We've talked about, yeah, how it helps with you know,
menopause symptoms.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Everything right, everything, yeah yeah, yeah, literally, yeah. So taking
care of your health and making sure you control your
high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, those types of things, any
kind of hearing losses is crucial as well, on top
of exercise, diet, you know, mind you know, doing we've
(27:37):
talked about doing mental stimulation right with different the game games,
yeah yeah, yeah, and social language sees.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Yeah. Those are all very very good things to do
from now even until you're older. And I used to
always joke how My grandma was constantly doing word searches
and things like that. But it's like, you know what,
good for her. It's great that she did, because she
did end up with dementia, and like I said, I
felt like it was kind of a minor case of it. Again,
(28:09):
I wasn't that involved, so I'm not sure how bad
I got, but I guarantee that the stuff she was
doing was helping, you know, especially things like that. So
if you like word searches and you know, welku is
that how you say it, sudoku, that's a good one. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah, the kids, my kids like to play that. But yeah,
so in the role of genetics versus lifestyle, control what
you can control, right, and with new technology that we
have now and early detection tools, it just makes sense
to be able to use that advantage.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
One other thing that I heard that's really helpful is
learning a new language. Yes, so Rovetta stuff. If you
want to learn Spanish or Italian or whatever it might be.
That is also supposed to really help with your mental health.
It's fun and that is fun. Yeah. Yeah, Well that
wraps it up for today. Thanks for joining us on
(29:10):
Let's talk midlife crisis. We hope you got some laughs,
a little inspiration, and maybe a few new ideas.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
If you've loved today's episode, hit that subscribe button so
you'll never miss an episode, and hey, share the love.
Send this episode to a friend who could use a
good laugh and some midlife wisdom.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Connect with us on social media at Let's Talk Midlife
Crisis and let us know what's on your mind. We
love hearing from you.
Welcome to Let's Talk midlife Crisis.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Ashley and I'm Tracy, where your go to hosts
for all things midlife, menopause, and Moments of Pure Mayhem.
And today we're going to talk about dementia.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
And things we can do in midlife to slow or
prevent it. So I have two sources in my research
for my research. The first one is Hopkins Bloomberg Public
Health Magazine. The other one is JOHNS Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health. So some of us I'm gonna just
(00:38):
touch on, and some of that I'm gonna read line
by line because I don't want to miss There's been
a lot of research on this and I don't want
to miss anything important. But by twenty fifty, almost one
in four adults will be over sixty five. From age
fifty five to ninety five, the lifetime risk of developing
(01:00):
dementia is forty two percent. That's amounting to about one
million cases annually by twenty sixty, which is almost double
the current cases reported. Well, the cases reported in twenty
twenty that was five hundred and fourteen thousand, so today
it actually affects six million Americans. So this is like
(01:23):
a really serious disease that you know, there's no cure.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, it's crazy cure for this yet, Yeah, those numbers
are crazy, it's terrible.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I know, they're staggering. And many researchers are instead focusing
on like identifying preventative measures or early warning signs. So
I know, now, like even in your midlife, you could
get some like testing done to determine whether or not
you have early signs of it or if eventually you
will have it. You know, a lot of researchers they
(01:58):
did it. They did study. They analyzed data between nineteen
eighty seven and twenty twenty. And I'm going to just
use the abbreviation for or the I guess short abbreviation
for the study because the words I can't really say.
But it's an aric study. And again you can find
(02:20):
this in our resources. It's tracked nearly sixteen thousand people
for three decades in four different communities to investigate the
risk factors for heart disease and more recently the connections
between cardiovascular and cognitive health. So they're finding that there's
(02:40):
a lot of similarities and you know, things that are
causing cognitive health. What if you have you know, cardiovascular
risk or issues. The findings present an opportunity to address
dementia risk factors and take steps in middle age to
prevent or slow the onset of it later in life.
(03:01):
If you live long enough, your risk increases obviously, which
may be higher than we previously thought, and society struggles
to help people who need intensive long term care. So
this is a real issue. And I know that you've
had a little bit of an experience with this. I
think your mom had some issues with this.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Right, Yeah, yeah, my mom had Alzheimer's. And I just
can't tell you the emotional and financial toll that it
takes on individuals and families.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
So yeah, I think it's hard for both the patient
and like you said, the family because and I mean
emotionally because you know, for the patient there's probably a
lot of confusion about why people are confused about what
they're saying or doing, you know, and you're confused because
(03:55):
they don't recognize you, or they're calling you different names
or you know, things like that, and so yeah, like
you know, it is obviously a financial toll if they
need long term care, but emotionally this is very challenging
for families.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yes, So what they have found in this research they've
done there are things that you can do on an
individual level to reduce the burden of dementia, including trying
to optimize your cardiovascular health, and that's you know, things
like avoiding diabetes, hypertension, smoking. So yeah, this also was
(04:30):
another flag for me. I guess it's time to quit.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
I don't think there's anything that's good that comes out
of smoke.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
From smoking now, unfortunately, But the more I do this research,
I'm like, oh, I'm really getting nervous. Okay, Anyway, focusing
on a healthy lifestyle, improving heart health, it will have
important benefits to your brain help and preventing dementia or
slowing it down.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, and prevention matters, right, Prevention matters really.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah. And we've talked a lot about the importance of
a healthy lifestyle, whether you're eating healthy, being active, and
mostly we've talked about the importance of that for your
mental health. You know, physical too, but it's really important
for your brain. Help. We start seeing different regions of
the brain show signs of damage early on, earlier on
(05:22):
when you have diabetes. There's evidence that your brain starts
undergoing neuro degeneration at a much faster rate than if
you don't have this condition. So obviously there's people that
are born with diabetes. You know, take care of yourself,
manage it the best you can. But a lot of
people don't develop it until later in life. And there
(05:44):
are things you can start doing in your thirties and
forties and fifties to prevent getting that which is going
to be very very imperative to your cognitive health. And
part of that is maintaining a healthy weight, which is
a essential to preventing type two diabetes, being active, eating
a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, not
(06:07):
smoking or quitting smoking if you're a current smoker. Obviously
that's going to affect your cardiovascula or health. A lot
of people are worried about genetic risk. One important genetic
risk factor is having This is really hard for me
to say, it's an apoe for a lel. I think
(06:28):
it's a test for the gene. So if you care
carry the gene and you have high risk of being that,
you can be tested for that. But they've shown that
a diagnosis of diabetes and midlife has a similar effect
as having one of those whatever that is. It's just
(06:49):
the same as if you have a genetic risk.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
And I can definitely attest to the genetics of it, because,
as we just talked about, my mom had it, her
mom had it, her brother had it, and I actually
was adopted at birth. So I feel fortunate that I
didn't pick up that genetic gene that and mentally it's
(07:15):
still in the back of my mind though it's funny
how that works. But definitely it is in genetics. It
has been proven.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Right, yeah, right, And I know it's in my family
as well. My grandmother. I think both of them had it,
and they both lived out of state and so I
didn't see them often. So for me, it's easy to
say I don't think it was an extreme case. But
I don't know because I wasn't involved day to day,
(07:46):
you know, So for me it's really easy to say,
oh it was, it wasn't extreme. I haven't heard all
the details of that from the people that were, you know,
caring for them. I do know my grandma, she was
so sweet. She would call me to try to reach
my mom, who lived in another different state, and she
(08:07):
would say, hi, Ashley, is your mom home? And she
never called me Ashley. Growing up, ever, she always called
me princess. So as soon as she started calling me Ashley,
I was like crushed. I was like, I thought, she
honestly didn't even know my real name, right because she
called me princess. And so I would just say, you know,
(08:29):
my mom's in the shower. I'll have her call you
when she gets out. And then I would call my
mom in Utah and say, Grandma's trying to reach you,
and so she would call her. And so I saw
signs like that. But obviously, like I said, I wasn't
involved day to day, so I didn't have to endure
the you know a lot of the emotional and you know,
trials and things like that and physical you know.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, So when my grandmother had it, I was younger,
and even though I lived we both lived in the
same state, I I wasn't in as much communication with her.
Towards the end, I remember being very upset with my
mom and my uncle who my uncle was living in
(09:14):
her house, but they put her in a home and
I didn't understand it at the time about the care
she would need at that stage that she was in,
and I just remember being upset about it and honestly
quite resentful over it. Then my uncle had it, I
was somewhat again. He lived in the same state, so
(09:37):
I did see him, not as regular of course as
I should have, but he also was put into a
memory care facility towards the end. But then with my mom,
whole different story. She ended up moving to California, and
so she lived in another state, was married, and and
(10:00):
she went undiagnosed. So she when it was unfortunate that
it was the time where I had to bring her
to Arizona was because my dad had surgery and she
couldn't be left there alone. I had young children. I
couldn't stay there for that extended period of time. So
(10:21):
I ended up having to bring her to Arizona, and
that's where she ended up staying. I ended up having
to put her into a private home with caregivers to
take care of her because I was a single mom
with young children, and honestly, I don't know how I
(10:41):
made it through. But with her it was I saw
everything and I didn't realize the horror of the degenerative disease.
And again hers was Alzheimer's. I think there's a lot
of parallels between dementia and alzheimers.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I think there's a lot of similarities.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
But she at the end, just like her body was
her organs, things just started giving out. So it was
it was horrific. And I'm the baby, right, so this
had fallen on my shoulders, and I wouldn't wish that
(11:21):
on anyone, to be quite honest.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, that's terrible. Yeah, I mean, like
I said that, it's it's really a struggle to call
people who need intensive long term care, and that's a
really hard decision. I'm sure it was for you with
your mom to take that step and figure out where
(11:46):
you're going to take them and who's going to care
for them. I'm sure that in itself is a daunting task,
and especially because the right facility. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Well, and she was from out of states, so her
insurance I had to transfer her insurance over. I was
actually I honestly don't even remember who suggested it at
the time, but they told me to take her to
an emergency room because she hadn't been diagnosed either. So
I took her to an emergency room when they gave
(12:20):
me this laundry list of care facilities that would help,
and I found an angel her name was Daniella is Daniella,
and by the grace of God, she helped me and
took her in and was able to then get her
to the doctor and then get her on medication. At
this point it was perhaps too late to really slow
(12:44):
it down that much, but she was able to take
care of her, get her on medication, get her to
the doctor, and it was close by. But yeah, I
don't think a lot of people knew. I don't honestly
remember who said, hey, take her to the emergency room.
But if you're in a situation and you don't know
(13:06):
what to do, take them to the emergency room.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I've heard that a lot of times for different situations
because it's kind of like a great way to get
like your referral as far as insurance goes, you know,
and whether it's a diagnosis or a referral or whatever
it is, or all the above. And people, yeah, for
a lot of different things, even people with like addiction issues,
(13:32):
they say, go to the emergency room first, because that's
going to make it easier to get into a facility.
If that's what you're looking to do to get help,
you know, yes, yes, correct, So yeah, if you can't
think of anything else, go to the emergency room. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah, and you know there's a lot of different things.
She became at times combative, but only if she was
you know, became disoriented if you will, right. I remember
one time at the grocery store and she was hanging
on to the shopping cart and they at that time
they were bagging the groceries, so they pulled the shopping
(14:08):
cart back, but they switched out the carts and she
became combative at that time just because of that. Here
soon the confusion.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So I've heard that. I know they can get combative.
So one of the interesting things I also found was
that maintaining hearing is also important for maintaining cognitive cognitive function,
I can't say that word. A study demonstrated that a
(14:39):
hearing aid in intervention in older adults at high risk
for dementia was associated with less cognitive decline over three
years than those without hearing aids. Yeah, that is so
interesting to me.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
And do you know what I learned A while ago,
I did a little hopper job Hopper and I worked
in house for a you need company, as you might recall,
But I did even realize that at the time until
they told me. But when you age and you lose
your hearing, you also, like you were mentioning about cognitive
(15:13):
you also you lose your speech because of that is
why so right and every.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Even like comprehension skills. You know, my son had some
ear issues growing up and wasn't speaking by the time
he was three the way I thought he should be,
and so I took him in and sure enough, he
couldn't hear the dial tone on a telephone, which is
why he was speaking. He was speaking the way he
was because he was reading lips, not because he could hear.
(15:44):
And he had some issues once he got into school
with comprehension because of that loss of hearing. And I
would think that the same could be even when you're older,
that you kind of lose those skills. But it's turned
I mean, these studies are showing it also is imperative
to your cognitive health. Yeah, and I think there are
(16:05):
I mean I can vouch you know personally, my stepdad
for the longest time refused to get a hearing aid,
which also can be very trying on the family because
you get frustrated saying stuff to them over and over
again and they can't hear you and then you're screaming
it and it's just frustrating, you know. And for the
longest time he refuse to do it. It was just I
(16:27):
think a lot of it is vanity, you know, and
which is fair.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Yeah, but I have small nowadays. But yeah, and once he.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Discovered that, yeah, once he discovered how little they were,
and he can lived didn't manage it from his and yeah,
so he finally decided to do it, and it's been
a game changer for both him and my mom, you know,
their relationship. But I think that's very common. I think
(16:58):
it's common for people to avoid doing that as long
as they can.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah, and then my dad once he got the hearing age,
half the time you wouldn't wear them.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
And it was like only oh yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Plus they're very expensive, so.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
They are, they are, but they're worth it, Yes they are.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
They are.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Untangled relationships among sleep, physical activity, and brain health may
suggest ways to reduce dementro risk as well. So again,
these are things that we've talked about sleep, physical activity, diet.
This is kind of a fact that they threw in
as far as Alzheimer's, which your mom had and estimated
(17:38):
one in nine people over the age of sixty five
have Alzheimer's one and nine. That's crazy. You put ten
people in a room if someone has Alzheimer's, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
It has to be something that we're ingesting or you know, exposed,
I do, you know, I.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Think a lot of it really is lifestyle because you know,
you hit midlife, and I think that a lot of people.
I think it's changing. I think it's changing now. But
I think a lot of people don't work out like
they used to. They're not as physical, and you don't
have to work out like you used to. You just
still need to be active, you know, do something active,
(18:18):
but especially as you can under right right right, and
then really watching your diet, you know, preventing diabetes or
you know, any kind of cardio vascular issues. Yeah, just
being really cognizant of that at an age where you
can make it work, make it happen. You know, when
(18:40):
you're in your thirties and forties, you can really make
an effect on what's going to happen to you in
the future. And I think a lot of people didn't
realize that. And you know, you kind of your lifestyle changes,
you slow down, you become you become less aware of
what you're eating. It's just like whatever. You know, Like
(19:01):
I said, I think it is changing, but I think
that's kind of that that was the norm.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, Yeah, an exercise we've talked about.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
That we've talked about. Yeah. Yeah, so activity and sleep
are quick to change when your cognitive impairments starts. So
even if you have the gene or early signs of it,
if you maintain your physical activity and you know, make
sure you're getting enough sleep, it can actually delay your symptoms.
(19:31):
And obviously, the you know, the longer you live, the
more likely you're going to get those symptoms if it's inevitable.
But more than two decades of research supports the notion
that staying active helps prevent cognitive decline. One analysis found
that higher levels of physical activity may decrease dementia by
as much as eighteen percent. Wow, that's significant.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, that makes me want to get out there and
take a walk, even just a thirty minute walk.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yeah, makes it differ, Absolutely a difference, We'll say.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, exercise spurs the body to produce important proteins such
as brain derived neurotropic I hope I said that right. Factor.
It helps the brain cells stay healthy and form new connections.
Exercise also causes the heart to pump harder and pump
more blood throughout the body. So again, brain and heart help.
(20:23):
In studies analyzing the energy needed for older adults to walk,
this is interesting a useful measure of physical fitness. There
are these doctors I'm gonna slaughter their names track and
one one Y Gottunga. They found that those who struggled
to walk were also more likely to show signs of
(20:46):
brain deterioration and cognitive decline later in life, and higher
levels of amyloid beta, which is a protein whose accumulation
can signal Alzheimer's. Again, I you know, there was there
tended to be a lot of you know, a lot
(21:06):
less activity in midlife and older. And that's also going
to affect your ability to walk because your muscles have weakened,
your joints have stiffened, and that's also going to affect
your brain. Yeah, and obviously your heart. So there, you know,
it's more than just dementia and Alzheimer's. It's it's overall health.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Like.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Low levels of physical activity. Poor quality of sleep is
also associated with higher dementia risk. People with steep, steep
sleep disservices such as insomnia or sleep apnea are nineteen
percent more likely to develop dementia nineteen percent more. That's crazy.
And I know that sleep apnea is very common in
(21:51):
mid middling life.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
My dad had it, but yeah, and his mind was sharp, so.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Wow, yeah, yeah, but yeah, I mean, if you have it,
it's treatable. You know, they have the bleeding breathing machines
and things like that.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
So he didn't use it.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But now there's there's ways to do. You know, if
you feel like you're having issues with anything, talk to
your doctor. There's going to be symptoms. As long as
you're doing something about it and treating it the way
you should. Your overall your health is going to be better,
your mind is going to be better, and and these
are things we can start doing now, you know, before
we get to be elders and really face a lot
(22:34):
of struggles.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yeah, access to alcohol too is probably risk, right, it's
just kind.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Of a gap in Yeah. Absolutely. So. One of the
forms of sleep, or I guess levels of sleep, it's
called slow wave sleep, and missing out on that, which
is like it's the deepest stage where your body repairs
itself from.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
The day, so it's like it's one of your rems, right.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yes, yeah, yeah, it's associated with so missing out on
that is associated with the buildup of this amuloid beta,
which is you know, like I said, the protein whose
accumulation can trigger Alzheimer's or dementia. In turn, the brain
changes associated with Alzheimer's disease themselves also to Alzheimer's disease
(23:25):
themselves also seem to disturb sleep, so you know, disrupting
and synchronized brain waves that character characterized deep sleep that's
affected if you're not getting that level that that slow
waves sleep, and it just creates a vicious cycle. You know.
Once and I noticed this too. If I if I'm
(23:49):
sleeping well for a while and then I have like
one night of not sleeping well, it's like the next
three or four nights, I'm doomed. I'm not gonna sleep well.
It's like this cycle that my body goes through. It's terrible.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
And I think you're thinking about it at that point too, like,
oh am I gonna be able.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
To sleep because you're dreading. You're like, okay, I don't
want another night like last night, you.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Know, yeah, right, right, where should be so tired that
you would just pass out?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
But yeah, yeah, you would think. Yeah. I mean there
was one night I was up at like three point
thirty and could not go back to sleep, and I
made it all day. I thought, you know what, I
Am going to crash so hard this afternoon. Never did
and then didn't sleep well that night either. So yeah,
it's it's really important. And actually, because that was happening,
(24:37):
I bought an imask so if you're struggling with and
and it was so weird because our room is pretty dark,
you know, and we have, like I said, the sound
machine going, so we do what we can to make
sure to ensure where that we're getting deep sleep, in
this good sleep, but sometimes I just don't. It's just
my body. And I thought, well, what if I get
(24:59):
an mask maybe that you know, because I even though
our room's pretty dark, I would notice the slightest bit
of light, whether it was coming out of the door
or you know, and it really helped. I've used it
several times.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I've been putting a pillow because I'm a side sleeper,
so but I've been putting a pillow over my head
in the morning because like I'll hear teetum up, you know,
getting ready for work and then she's in the kitchen
and but by putting that pillow over my head, it's
perhaps right as well. But for the sound, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, and they do have you know, there's a lot
of things you can do as far as like sound too.
They have some really nice ear plugs. Now, I know
a lot of them can be really uncomfortable, but they
have special ones out there now that I think, for
the most part, you can get in any drug store
and they're very soft and they're very flexible, so they
(25:56):
really kind of form to your ear and those help too,
if you know, if sounds. You know, again, a lot
of people live in households where you know, the kids
are up later, or maybe your partner has a different shift,
or you know, anything like that. But it's really important
to get that good sleep. So anything you have to
do to ensure that you're getting it is going to
(26:17):
help you your overall help and not just currently but
down the road, right, And that was just one, you know,
that was kind of the big takeaway I took from
doing this research is you know, we all have heard
you know, if you spoke, you're going to have issues
when you get older. If you you know, Louis, you
hear all that stuff. But I never really thought about that,
(26:40):
like the dementia and the Alzheimer's. You know, obviously I
knew cardiovascular health, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
The obvious things, right, and cancer, but not the.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Strong wa You don't realize how much the importance of
your diet and your activity and your sleep are going
to affect you down the road too.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
So, And I think it's funny because, you know, it
seems like no matter what we talk about, it kind
of all boils back down to.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
That, right the root, right at the end of the day.
We've talked about, yeah, how it helps with you know,
menopause symptoms.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Everything right, everything, yeah yeah, yeah, literally, yeah. So taking
care of your health and making sure you control your
high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, those types of things, any
kind of hearing losses is crucial as well, on top
of exercise, diet, you know, mind you know, doing we've
(27:37):
talked about doing mental stimulation right with different the game games,
yeah yeah, yeah, and social language sees.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Yeah. Those are all very very good things to do
from now even until you're older. And I used to
always joke how My grandma was constantly doing word searches
and things like that. But it's like, you know what,
good for her. It's great that she did, because she
did end up with dementia, and like I said, I
felt like it was kind of a minor case of it. Again,
(28:09):
I wasn't that involved, so I'm not sure how bad
I got, but I guarantee that the stuff she was
doing was helping, you know, especially things like that. So
if you like word searches and you know, welku is
that how you say it, sudoku, that's a good one. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah, the kids, my kids like to play that. But yeah,
so in the role of genetics versus lifestyle, control what
you can control, right, and with new technology that we
have now and early detection tools, it just makes sense
to be able to use that advantage.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
One other thing that I heard that's really helpful is
learning a new language. Yes, so Rovetta stuff. If you
want to learn Spanish or Italian or whatever it might be.
That is also supposed to really help with your mental health.
It's fun and that is fun. Yeah. Yeah, Well that
wraps it up for today. Thanks for joining us on
(29:10):
Let's talk midlife crisis. We hope you got some laughs,
a little inspiration, and maybe a few new ideas.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
If you've loved today's episode, hit that subscribe button so
you'll never miss an episode, and hey, share the love.
Send this episode to a friend who could use a
good laugh and some midlife wisdom.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Connect with us on social media at Let's Talk Midlife
Crisis and let us know what's on your mind. We
love hearing from you.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!