Dementia experts share one habit they would never do in the evening
There are many habits that we all can easily pick up earlier in our lives that can have a huge impact on our health and well being as we get older. Whether these are good or bad traits, they will all play a part in forming the quality of life you will likely enjoy in the later years of your life.
The choices you make now will set the stage for any health issues you could encounter later, so it is best to try and set up the healthiest habits you can at this point in your life, rather than trying to undo damage later on.
Dementia experts have explained that there is one evening habit that can have a hugely detrimental impact on your brain health - and it is something that they would always avoid themselves: pulling an all-nighter.
The experts, who spoke to the Huffington Post, explained that staying up all night can have a really negative impact on your brain health in a myriad of ways. However, it is important to note that there are a lot of factors that can cause someone to develop dementia or other illnesses, which include environmental factors as well as our genetics - so while positive lifestyle shifts can never hurt, because they help promote better health, it is not the only thing at play here.
Neurologist and medical director of the Brain Wellness Centre at Houston Methodist the Woodlands Hospital - Dr. Randall Wright - explained the neuroscience behind why not getting enough sleep can be so damaging, and why he would avoid it himself. "Twelve years ago we learned about the glymphatic system, basically the brain's garbage can," he noted. "When you're sleeping, it becomes extremely active, moving the trash, all the things we see in people with Alzheimer's and dementia that accumulate are eliminated through this system."
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Another expert - Jessica Caldwell, who is the director of the Women's Alzheimer's Movement Prevention Centre in Cleveland - explained that sleep deprivation can also have short term negative effects on your health. Over time, these can add up, reducing your overall brain health long term and increasing your risk of dementia. Caldwell said, “Being sleep-deprived can make it difficult to engage in healthy behaviors that take energy, like exercise, and can impact our mood and stress levels”.
Exercise and eating well - for instance avoiding a lot of processed food in your diet - can have great impacts on your brain health, and they are much harder to do consistently if you haven't been sleeping well. The experts also explained that things like dealing with stress and socialising are really important when it comes to keeping your dementia risk down, and all of these are difficult to achieve if you're sleep deprived and severely lacking in energy.
It might seem like a good idea to stay up all night for a variety of reasons - finishing that time critical project at work off, studying for an exam, or even partying with your friends - but making a habit of missing sleep can have a real cost in the long term.
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