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Boomers and the Alzheimer's Crisis Part Two: Preventing Alzheimer's Disease

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Apr 29, 2024
  • 3 min read

Brain aging and brain health were gaining attention in the mid-2000s.  I was starting to experience some brain glitches during that time, and it scared me!  At a conference on aging in 2006, I visited a booth by Posit Science.  They had research to support that you could stop brain aging losses by living a brain-healthy lifestyle.  The conference started me on a multiyear quest to learn everything I could about brain aging and brain health.  Throughout those years we never said that a brain-healthy lifestyle could prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia.  But I thought I had found the fountain of youth.  There was something I could do to create an ageless brain!  What I was learning convinced me that we could maintain a high-functioning brain until the day we died.  Even though we couldn’t say that this lifestyle could prevent Alzheimer’s, we could say that it could delay the onset.   

I believed boomers would be as excited about this discovery as I was.  To my surprise, no one took me seriously.  At the time it seemed like the people I talked to didn’t believe they would ever get dementia!   So, I started the My Boomer Brain blog and created my education platform about what was happening to our boomer brains and what we could do to reverse these changes.  Besides the blogs, I developed programs to teach anyone who would listen what brain aging losses did to older brains and delivered presentations on the brain-healthy lifestyle.  The problem at that time was that the research hadn’t captured definitive results that lifestyle was largely responsible for developing dementia.  The connection wasn’t there yet. 

I presented brain aging and brain health to a lot of groups over the years.  The urgency to adopt the information just wasn’t there.  However, over the past few years, brain aging, and brain health have become very hot topics.  There is good research to support the value of living a brain-healthy lifestyle and hopefully prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.  On 04/08/2024 an article ran in the Wall Street Journal: “What Middle-Aged People Can Do Now to Help Prevent Dementia Later.”  This article is streaming on several different news services.  I am very excited that the information is being directed toward 40 and 50-year-olds because that is the best time to recover brain losses and incorporate continual practices to increase brain volume. 

Boomers have been left out of this scenario.  If you remember in Part One – the boomers will be the primary reason that the incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s will double by 2050 because of the sheer size of the group.  The brain-healthy lifestyle is a viable solution for delaying or preventing Alzheimer’s disease.  Our brain doesn’t know how old we are, it ages by the lifestyle that we live.  We can change our brains no matter what our chronological age is.  There are greater losses to recover when we are older, but living this lifestyle will improve our physical health, mental health and build cognitive reserve.  It is never too late to change your brain.  Instead of writing off the boomers as the reason for a healthcare crisis, more attention must be directed toward educating and helping them to create a brain for the ages. 

In recognition of this, I have written a book. ‘The Boomer Brain’ starts with the science of how we can change our brain; examples of real boomers recovering from brain events; the PLAN to live a brain-healthy lifestyle; and ways to get you started without upending your life.  We don’t need to become a statistic for Alzheimer’s.

 

 

The release of The Boomer Brain on Amazon is very close. Feel free to message me or send me your email if you want the first notification of the release date.

 

 
 
 

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March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

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