Being Social is Important to Your Brain

Being Social is Important to Your Brain

Some nuance for you:

The big picture: it’s important for you to know that if you have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) you can reduce the chances of this developing into full blown dementia by developing good social lifestyle habits. Make new friends and continue talking with current friends!

The Doctor’s Main Points: Being social with others is important for your physical & mental health.

To make your brain healthier, do simple things like:

• Volunteering, interacting with others for short periods of time, hosting social gatherings. Going to the grocery store!
• Almost any type of social activity is good for your brain.
• You DO NOT have to become a complete social butterfly!
• Scientists will continue to study the impact of social activity on brain health.
  • But, the data is promising and is starting to robustly show that being socially active can reduce the risks of getting dementia.

Close the Loop:

• Not all poor memory performance is because of Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia.
• It could be something as simple as poor sleep, sleep apnea and/or Adult ADHD.
  • Talk to your healthcare team and see if you need to get the above ruled out.
• Medicare Wellness Visits cover simple memory tests.
  • These tests help your healthcare team assess your level of cognition.
    • Remember: a negative score does not mean that you’re 100% headed towards dementia.
• There’s a lot that can be done to delay or reduce the burden of dementia.
• Some Evidence based ways to improve mental health:
  • Learn how to dance and develop new skills. Play games like tennis, stop smoking, start relaxing, and get good sleep.