The Balancing Act for Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: What to Do to Find Balance in Your Routine and Keep Your Mind Sharp

Life is a balancing act and it's no different when it comes to the fight against Alzheimer's disease. We balance our time between work and home. We try to balance our intake of foods from different food groups and the amount we take in against the amount we burn off. When taking a pro-active role in preventing Alzheimer's disease the balance lies between the physical and the mental.

We know from extensive research that good nutrition is essential to good physical health. What we've also come to know is that it is just as important to the physical health of our brains. More and more recent research into the cure and prevention of Alzheimer's disease points to the fact that nutrition and how well that helps control other diseases such as high cholesterol, also helps push back the clock to the onset of age-related dementia.

The other side of the scale is the mental aspect of keeping your brain healthy. Without taking steps in both areas the scales will be tipped to one side and your balancing act will falter. There needs to be equal emphasis - balance - in developing both good physical nutrition and exercise with mental activities to help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Here is what you can do to keep your plan well balanced:

1. Take time each day for meditation, personal reflection or mental recharging.

2. Get 30 minutes of physical exercise, preferably a cardiovascular workout such as walking, jogging, biking, or swimming each day.

3. Take time in the morning or the night before to plan out a well-balanced menu for you and your family so hectic schedules and last minute meals don't turn into unhealthy choices.

4. Study, memorize, or learn something that requires you to stretch your mind beyond the daily routine of your job.

5. Get enough sleep so that the mental exertion and physical exercise is not such an effort. Adults still need 8-9 hours of sleep each night, even though most get between 6 and 7.

If you are highly educated and have a mentally demanding job, the odds are in your favor to push back Alzheimer's. This doesn't mean that the stay-at-home mom who lives life through the eyes of her toddler has to be a high risk. Nor does it mean that the physical demands of the laborer make it impossible for mental exercise to have a place in their routine. It just means that those who have a life swayed toward more mental or physical demands need to make some room for the other side of the spectrum.

When priorities are set and a little time is taken for planning it is easier to find a balance between the mental and physical aspects of daily life that make for a healthy brain.