{"id":11617,"date":"2024-07-22T14:25:52","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T14:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/roanoke\/?p=11617"},"modified":"2024-07-29T18:11:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T18:11:42","slug":"aging-and-brain-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/roanoke\/2024\/07\/22\/aging-and-brain-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Aging and Brain Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RCAHD Community Health Update
\n<\/span>A Roanoke City & Alleghany Health Districts publication<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

From the moment we are born, our brains are constantly changing. In infancy and adolescence, the neural networks in our brains experience periods of enormous growth. These brain networks are essential- they help us learn, think, remember, and organize our memories. As we age and learn, we develop larger vocabularies and greater knowledge from our accumulated experiences.\u202fYet, by the time we are 30-40 years old, our brains typically start to shrink in different places, and we may experience more challenges finding words, recalling names, multi-tasking or paying attention.<\/p>\n

We have learned that the brain maintains its ability to change and adapt so that as we age, we can manage new challenges and tasks. Just as we take care of our heart to live a long life to our best potential, we need to take care of our brain for our cognitive health. While brain health can be affected by age-related changes, other causes of change can include injuries such as stroke or traumatic brain injury; mood disorders such as depression or substance use disorder; and diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s and related dementias, some of which have genetic predispositions.<\/p>\n

Dementia<\/h4>\n

Dementia is a general term referring to a loss of cognitive function\u2014remembering, thinking, and reasoning\u2014severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Dementia is not a specific disease, but an overall term describing a wide range of symptoms. It is not part of the typical aging process, rather it is caused by damage to the brain from disease or trauma. Alzheimer\u2019s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Other causes include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia.<\/p>\n

Ways to Protect Your Brain<\/h4>\n

While we cannot control our genes, there are many environmental and lifestyle factors that we can control to reduce our risk of cognitive decline.<\/p>\n