Maintaining Memory and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease

Sleep: 7-8 hours per night

  • Avoid alcohol before bedtime
  • Establish a bedtime routine
  • Exercise regularly
  • Get plenty of sunlight during the day
  • Maintain a fixed sleep schedule
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Nutrition - "Let food by thy medicine" (Hippocrates)

Exercise - helps maintain memory

  • Aerobic exercise: 30 min per day/three times a week
  • Resistance exercise (lifting weights) two times a week
  • Mental enrichment: crossword puzzles, learn to dance, etc
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Optimal Hormone Levels

  • Pregnanolone
    1. (The mother hormone)—Memory Hormone
  • Estrogen
    1. helps maintain memory and preserves bone in Women
    2. Helps preserve bone in Men
  • Testosterone
    1. maintains memory in Men
    2. Women—sense of wellbeing
  • DHEA
    1. balances the stress hormone cortisol
  • Cortisol
    1. Primary stress hormone
    2. Without cortisol we cannot live past 7 days
    3. In normal amounts helps maintain memory
    4. Only hormone in the body which increases with age.
    5. Excess: Increased blood glucose/insulin
       -Insomnia
       -Increased susceptibility to infections
  • Insulin
    1. Regulates blood glucose in your blood
    2. Insulin receptors found throughout the brain
    3. Abnormal elevated levels result in memory loss and cognitive decline.
  • Thyroid Hormones
    1. Hypothyroid can lead to memory deficit and cognitive deficits.
  • Melatonin
    1. Main function is to regulate your 24 hr sleep-wake cycle
    2. Low melatonin can lead to Insomnia and compromised immune system.