The Alzheimer’s Association has unveiled new survey results and tips that may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in recognition of Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month for June.

The evidence is mounting: People can reduce their risk of cognitive decline by making key lifestyle changes. That is the conclusion of a new research summary published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Based on this evidence, the Alzheimer’s Association is releasing 10 Ways to Love Your Brain in an effort to help Americans think about their brain health and adopt healthy habits for their brains and bodies.

For Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month this June, the Alzheimer’s Association has partnered with Reader’s Digest, one of the most-read media brands in the world that simplifies and enriches consumers’ lives, to survey more than 1,600 people about their perspectives on brain health, assessing how much they know about lifestyle factors that can impact their risk of disease.

In addition to reducing the risk of cognitive decline, some of these “10 Ways to Love Your Brain” may also reduce a person’s risk of dementia.

10 Ways To Love Your Brain

The Alzheimer’s Association’s 10 Ways to Love Your Brain include:

• Break a sweat. Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise that elevates your heart rate and increases blood flow to the brain and body. Several studies have found an association between physical activity and reduced risk of cognitive decline.

• Hit the books. Formal education in any stage of life will help reduce your risk of cognitive decline and dementia. For example, take a class at a local college, community center or online.

• Butt out. Evidence shows that smoking increases risk of cognitive decline. Quitting smoking can reduce that risk to levels comparable to those who have not smoked.

• Follow your heart. Evidence shows that risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke – obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes – negatively impact your cognitive health. Take care of your heart, and your brain just might follow.

10 Ways To Love Your Brain

Researchers are still investigating the relationship between cognitive decline and dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is one of the nation’s largest public health crises. Alzheimer’s is an irreversible neurological disease that impairs cognition, orientation and functional capacity, and it is the only cause of death among the top 10 life-threatening conditions in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

I recently talked with Reader’s Digest Digital Content and Health Director Lauren Gelman along with Angela Geiger, Chief Strategy Officer, Alzheimer’s Association to discuss the new survey results and more information on the 10 Ways to Love Your Brain. They will also discuss ways your community can come together to help fight Alzheimer’s disease during June.

10 Ways To Love Your Brain #EndAlzheimers

Take a look at the interview below.

.

.

To learn more about Alzheimer’s affects brain health and more tips to #EndAlzheimers, visit: www.alz.org.

10 Ways To Love Your Brain

.

Meet Our Guests:

Angela Geiger 

Angela Geiger is the chief strategy officer for the Alzheimer’s Association based in Chicago. 

As a member of the senior management team, Geiger leads strategic planning and implementation organization-wide. She has accountability for $225 million in annual fundraising; programs and services reaching over 1 million people per year; branding and marketing; and corporate and diversity initiatives. 

Geiger has successfully led Association efforts to further its mission and strategic plan. Her accomplishments include developing and launching the organization’s first-ever integrated consumer education campaign to raise concern about Alzheimer’s disease as a critical public health issue and awareness of the growing Alzheimer’s movement. This included the Association’s first nationwide paid advertisements, a new Web site, public relations outreach and grassroots outreach by local Association chapters resulting in a doubling of unaided awareness in three years. She expanded reach into historic caregiver programs and beyond to new level of engagement for people with Alzheimer’s and their families beginning with the launch of a series of Early-Stage Town Halls across the nation and continuing to develop a platform for people living in the early stages of Alzheimer’s to discuss the issues they face, advocate for policy change, share resources and participate in programs and services. Under her leadership, the organization significantly expanded the reach and impact of the rebranded Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s^®, the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research, through a rebrand and fundraising strategies, resulting in growth to $58 million in 2013. 

Geiger has significant experience in strategic marketing and program development for nonprofits.  Prior to joining the Alzheimer’s Association, she spent eight years at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in a variety of leadership roles and has also worked for the American Lung Association and for higher education institutions. 

She has her BA and MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and has contributed to a variety of conferences and publications, including The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes on Alzheimer’s and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias. 

The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s.

10 Ways To Love Your Brain 

.

Lauren Gelman 

Lauren Gelman is Digital Content and Health Director of Reader’s Digest, the fifth largest magazine in America, with more than 25 million readers. She is responsible for writing, editing, and curating content across the Reader’s Digest brand, including the magazine, RD.com, digital products, books, and special-interest publications. Prior to this, she served as executive news editor at Everyday Health and senior health editor at Prevention magazine, America’s #1 healthy lifestyle magazine brand.  

Gelman has regularly appeared on national and local news programs such as Today, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, CNN, WNBC, PIX11, and more. She has also held editorial posts at Parents, Shape, iVillage.com, and Family Circle, where she worked with prominent health, nutrition, fitness and lifestyle experts and launched popular and successful health columns and tools. 

She graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University, where she also received a master’s in journalism and continues to serve as a frequent guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate journalism students. 

Gelman lives in Long Island, New York, with her husband Justin and their two sons. 

10 Ways To Love Your Brain #EndAlzheimers