✎ Written by: Emma Loker
✓ Fact-checked by: Kaija Sander, Ph.D.
Anxiety can show up in different ways—sometimes, it’s a mild inconvenience; other times, it’s completely overwhelming, keeping us up at night or weighing on us all day.
Yet regardless of how it appears, we often think of anxiety in a vacuum, forgetting its potential impact on our long-term brain health. Could this restless feeling actually play a role in conditions like dementia?
In this article, we’ll explore:
What Puts Someone at Risk of Developing Dementia?
Dementia isn’t a single condition but rather a broad term that encompasses various symptoms associated with a decline in brain function.
While Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form, other types include vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia.
The widespread impact of these conditions is striking, with around 5.8 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s or another related form of the condition—accounting for over 1.6% of the US population.
Understanding the risk factors for dementia is crucial for managing and potentially reducing its impact. Some of these include:
Being a part of certain minority races or ethnicities: Research shows that African Americans and Hispanic populations are more likely to develop dementia than non-Hispanic white individuals, partly due to disparities in access to healthcare and education.
Living in poverty: Living in poverty can limit access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, and social resources, all of which are important for brain health and can contribute to an increased risk of dementia.
Having health conditions like diabetes or heart disease: Chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease have been linked to an increased risk of dementia, as they can affect blood vessels in the brain, leading to cognitive decline.
Age: The risk of developing dementia drastically increases after the age of 65, with most cases occurring in individuals over 70.
Family history: A family history of dementia, especially in a first-degree relative, increases an individual’s dementia risk. However, the impact of this link may decrease with age. More research is needed to fully understand this relationship.
Heredity: Certain genes, such as APOE-e4, have been identified to increase the likelihood of developing sudden and late-onset forms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Consuming processed foods: Research suggests that people who eat a lot of processed foods, which are often high in sugar and fat but lack fiber and protein, have a 25% higher risk of dementia.
Sedentary lifestyle: Spending too much time inactive, such as sitting down at a desk for hours on end, can also raise your risk of dementia.
Anxiety: Chronic anxiety has been shown to increase the risk of dementia, as it may contribute to brain inflammation and other changes that affect memory and cognitive function.
Early Signs of Dementia
If you’re worried you or a loved one may be developing dementia, it’s helpful to understand the early signs:
Increased confusion when making plans or handling complex tasks, such as managing finances.
Struggling to follow conversations or to find the correct word when speaking.
Problems with memory, which may manifest as forgetting recent events or misplacing important items like keys or a wallet.
Becoming lost or disorientated, even in familiar places.
Problems with visual perception, which could cause difficulties with tasks like navigating your environment or walking up the stairs.
Sudden mood changes, which could involve irritability, anxiety, or depression.
Some individuals will notice these signs in the early stages of dementia. However, for others, the signs may not be so apparent.
What’s the Link Between Anxiety and Dementia?
A recent study found that both chronic and newly developed anxiety could triple the risk of developing any type of dementia.
Another study showed that clinically significant anxiety might increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease a decade later. What’s more, the evidence may not end there.
It’s possible that anxiety is one of the early warning signs for Alzheimer’s. While more research is needed to paint a more detailed picture of the relationship, limited research suggests that anxiety could act as a red flag for what may be to follow.
However, while the link between anxiety and accelerated cognitive decline is intriguing, science hasn’t yet definitively answered whether easing anxiety directly reduces the risk of dementia.
Nonetheless, focusing on anxiety relief can significantly improve your overall wellbeing in the present. By managing anxiety now, you can improve your quality of life, which could potentially offer some protection against memory issues in the future, even if it doesn’t completely prevent dementia.
Practical Anxiety and Dementia Management Techniques
Here are some strategies you can use to maintain cognitive function and keep anxiety at bay:
1. Prioritize Creative Activities
Engaging in creative activities can enhance your life, both cognitively and in a social context. Activities like drawing, painting, and crafting offer opportunities to be socially interactive and cognitively stimulated.
Creative activities can also boost your sense of self-worth and confidence. Not only is creating something new satisfying, but we also often feel happy when we master a skill.
2. Learn a New Language
Learning a new language can be helpful in reducing the risk of dementia, but also in keeping you cognitively active in older age. Research suggests that bilingualism can delay dementia onset by four to five years when compared to monolingualism (speaking just one language).
3. Go Dancing
Experts also recommend dancing as a tool to slow cognitive decline in dementia. Dancing can boost our thinking skills, which can be beneficial for inhibiting cognitive decline, especially in the early stages of dementia.
A regular dancing routine can improve cognition and offer an opportunity for physical exercise, which also has a protective role against dementia.
If you don’t enjoy dancing, don’t worry. Any type of regular physical activity can help to reduce the risk of dementia. Staying active through jogging, lifting weights, and cycling can all be beneficial. So, you don’t need to miss out if you don’t enjoy dancing.
4. Follow an Unfamiliar Path
Small changes in routine can have a big impact on brain health. Try taking a different route on your walk or try doing tasks like eating with your non-dominant hand.
These simple changes to your routine can encourage your brain to continue to learn, increasing your brain activity.
5. Try Neurofeedback Training
Neurofeedback is a neurotherapy technique that helps improve brain function by teaching it to regulate itself more effectively. Regular neurofeedback sessions can improve your cognitive performance and slow dementia-related decline, especially if practiced consistently over time.
6. Don’t Wait to Get Support, Act Now
Since we control our lifestyle choices, we can significantly impact our physical and mental health over time. Making healthy changes now can lead to a better future, especially as we age.
Early intervention for anxiety, for instance, might help reduce dementia risk later on.
It’s never too soon to start living a healthier life. Worrying won’t help, but being proactive can make all the difference!
Myndlift provides a personalized expert-guided brain training program that can help you increase calm, as well as alleviate anxiety symptoms and create a generally relaxed state of well-being. Take this 10-second quiz to check if you’re eligible to kick-start your journey for better brain health.
About the author:
Emma is a practicing trainee Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist studying at the University of Cambridge and a psychology writer with years of experience. She achieved a 1st Class Honors Degree in Psychology from Aston University in Birmingham.
About the reviewer:
Kaija Sander is a cognitive neuroscientist and scientific consultant for Myndlift. She holds a BSc in Biomedical Science with a specialization in Neuroscience and Mental Health from Imperial College London and a PhD in Neuroscience from McGill University. Her doctoral research focused on brain connectivity relating to second language learning success. She is passionate about the broader applications of science to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
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