HealthThese are the real keys to preserving memory and avoiding dementia, according to an MIT neuroscientist

These are the real keys to preserving memory and avoiding dementia, according to an MIT neuroscientist

It all comes down to discipline.

That’s according to MIT professor Li-Huei Tsai, neuroscientist focused on diseases such as Alzheimer’s who directs the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory (USA). According to what she has told Business Insider the keys to maintaining healthy brain function and memory as you age are no secret.

“I think people really know what they should be doing to stay healthy and preserve their memory,” Tsai says.

He assures that it is important to implement the usual advice from experts in our lives— exercising, being socially and intellectually active, and maintaining a healthy diet—. The hardest part is maintaining those habits.

“I think if you stick to a routine, well, that’s what you get,” says Tsai. “I mean, I think that’s the only way to do it.”

A recent study published in The BMJ which followed nearly 30,000 people in China for 10 years found that those who followed more “healthy lifestyle factors” had slower memory decline than those who did not.

The study researchers looked at many of the same factors that Tsai noted: a healthy diet, regular exercise, regular social contact, cognitive activities, and abstinence from tobacco and alcohol.

Tsai is now working on a medical device for slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It creates a light and sound show for the wearer, and is designed to stimulate their brain.

Tsai says she knows it’s important to stick to your routine even when conditions are less than favorable.

“I just have to discipline myself,” he says. “For example, exercising in winter: it’s really painful when you see the temperature outside below freezing and there is ice and snow on the ground. I’m just trying to discipline myself.”

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