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Australian-first: New campaign calls on people to reduce their dementia risk

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Alzheimer’s Australia is launching a new national campaign – the first of its kind in Australia – to encourage Australians to reduce their risk of developing dementia.

The groundbreaking new Mind your Mind advertising campaign with the message "Brain exercise may help reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s" will appear as Community Service Announcements in television, radio and print media across the country throughout August.

Brain exercise reflects Mind your Brain – one of Alzheimer’s Australia’s seven Mind your Mind signposts developed to help people reduce their dementia risk. It is based on research that shows that taking part in mentally challenging activities is linked with a lower risk of developing dementia.

"Whether you’re young or old there is no cure for dementia. With over 1,100 new cases each week there’s a desperate need for all Australians to increase their understanding about dementia," Alzheimer’s Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Rees, says.

"The campaign offers some hope for what is a devastating illness. Whatever your age, you can do a lot to keep your brain active and help reduce your risk of developing dementia.

"We know from consumer research that around 48% of Australian adults aren’t aware that it’s possible to reduce dementia risk.  This new campaign will help to raise awareness about this and about the importance of keeping the brain active."

The new advertising campaign features a song titled Think ahead to go ahead by Melbourne singer and songwriter Jay P, whose father has Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. 


"While studies show that a range of health and lifestyle factors may reduce dementia risk, there are no guarantees. However there is sufficient evidence that following the Mind your Mind signposts may reduce your risk and may even delay the onset of dementia," Mr Rees says.


Alzheimer’s Australia’s seven Mind your Mind signposts:

  • Mind your Brain: Keep your brain active
  • Mind your Diet: Eat healthily
  • Mind your Body: Be physically active
  • Mind your Health Checks: Manage blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar and weight
  • Mind your Social Life: Participate in social activities
  • Mind your Habits: Avoid tobacco smoke and only drink alcohol in moderation
  • Mind your Head: Protect your head from serious injury

So what is the evidence that brain exercise reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease?

Studies have looked at the level of mental activity people do through their work, education or leisure activities. Those with higher levels of mental activity are consistently found to be less likely on average to develop Alzheimer’s disease on average. So we have good evidence from research that exercising the brain can reduce the risk.

But brain exercise is not a guarantee against dementia. The two biggest risk factors for dementia are genetics and age – two things you can’t do anything about. People who have followed a ‘brain-healthy’ lifestyle all of their lives can still get dementia. Learn more about brain exercise.


Is brain exercise helpful for reducing all forms of dementia or just Alzheimer’s disease?

Much of the research to date has focused on Alzheimer’s disease, however, the evidence shows that keeping the brain active can help reduce cognitive decline and the risk of dementia in general. 



What brain exercise should I do?

There is no evidence to suggest that any particular mental exercise is better than another. Alzheimer’s Australia recommends all sorts of brain exercise such as doing jigsaws, crosswords, sudoku, reading, learning a language, learning a musical instrument, visiting a museum, listening to the radio or enrolling in a new course. The evidence shows that mentally stimulating activities can help to keep your brain healthy and that people who do more of them have a reduced risk of developing dementia. Our advice is that any type of mental activity may be beneficial, but it should be reasonably complex, frequent, varied and interesting.

However, it is also wise not to take on anything which is so difficult that it makes you stressed and anxious.

How long do I have to do brain exercise for – is it a certain amount of time every day or can I just do something once a week for an hour?

It’s likely that the more you do the better, but we don’t have any evidence to recommend specific amounts. We do recommend that the brain activities you choose should be reasonably complex, interesting and varied – so don’t just do one thing like crosswords for example – and that you exercise your brain frequently.

 


At what age should I start?

Alzheimer’s Australia encourages Australians of all ages to keep their brains active. It’s ideal to start when you’re young and continue throughout life.  If you haven’t started to look after your brain health before, now is a good time to make a commitment to doing brain activities every day. But it’s never too late to start either. The key is to challenge your brain every day throughout life.


(Source: Alzheimer’s Australia: Mind your Mind program: August 2009)


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Dates

Posted On: 12 August, 2009
Modified On: 28 August, 2014

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