Prioritize Safety
Wear your seat belt.
“There’s a lot of literature to suggest
that severe brain injuries raise the risk
of dementia,” says Wellington, who
has focused much of her work on this
link. There’s still more to be learned,
and researchers aren’t yet sure how
much it depends on the degree of the
injury. But, on average, studies point
to a threefold increase in risk. Car
accidents are among the most com-
mon causes of brain injury in adults,
according to the Canadian Institute for
Health Information.Remove falling hazards
in your home.
Falls are the leading cause of brain
injury in seniors. If you spill some-
thing on the floor, clean it up right
away, before you can slip on it. Be on
the lookout for other tripping hazards,
such as electrical cords and boxes rest-
ing on the floor. “It’s also recommended
that small area rugs be removed alto-
gether,” says Wellington.Turn on the lights.
Instead of fumbling around in the dark,
get in the habit of flipping on a light
when you get up in the morning to use
the bathroom, or before going down
the stairs. For middle-of-the-night
wake-ups, you can use a low-wattage
light that will minimize the impact on
your electricity bill.Use a helmet for activities
like skiing and biking.
Safety equipment isn’t just for kids.
“Everybody, at any age, participating
in active sports should be using pro-
tective devices,” says Wellington. Make
sure the equipment fits properly, and
don’t use a secondhand helmet that
could be damaged or worn.Just Say No
Cut back on cocktails.
There are many ways heavy alcohol
use has a negative effect on the brain
and cardiovascular system. It inflicts
direct damage on tissues, but it also
increases the risk of falls. Don’t have
more than 10 drinks per week (or two
a day) if you’re female or 15 per week
(or three a day) if you’re male. Don’t
drink at all if you’re on prescription
medications that shouldn’t be com-
bined with alcohol, or you have health
conditions like liver or heart disease.Reconsider your prescriptions.
“I was concerned about the effects of
the pills I was taking,” says Gregorio,
who at one point was on several differ-
ent drugs for high blood pressure. “I
now regularly meet with a gerontolo-
gist. I call him my referee because he
makes sure the dose is correct and that
I’m not taking medication I don’t need.”
Sinha has seen patients who should
be reducing their blood-pressure
medications after reaching a healthyreader’s digest
34 september 2019