What is cognitive reserve?

Your doctor is responsible for having EXACT PROTOCOLS to rebuild your cognitive reserve to prepare you to successfully survive your upcoming dementia.  I probably used up all my cognitive reserve surviving my stroke as well as I did. 

What is cognitive reserve?

You can think of cognitive reserve as your brain's ability to improvise and find alternate ways of getting a job done. It reflects how agile your brain is in pulling in skills and capacities to solve problems and cope with challenges. Cognitive reserve is developed by a lifetime of education and curiosity.  

Get your copy of A Guide to Cognitive Fitness   In this Special Health Report, Harvard Medical School doctors share a six-step program that can yield important and lasting results. Together these “super 6” can strengthen your intellectual prowess, promote your powers of recall, and protect the brain-based skills that are essential for full, rewarding, and independent living. From simple and specific changes in eating to ways to challenge your brain, this is guidance that will pay dividends for you and your future.

The concept of cognitive reserve originated in the late 1980s, when researchers described individuals with no apparent symptoms of dementia who were nonetheless found at autopsy to have brain changes consistent with advanced Alzheimer's disease. These individuals did not show symptoms of the disease while they were alive because they had a large enough cognitive reserve to offset the damage and continue to function as usual. 

Since then, research has shown that people with greater cognitive reserve are better able to stave off symptoms of degenerative brain changes associated with dementia or other brain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, or a stroke. A more robust cognitive reserve can also help you function better for longer if you're exposed to unexpected life events, such as stress, surgery, or toxins in the environment. Such circumstances demand extra effort from your brain—similar to requiring a car to engage another gear.

The heart of our brain health and cognitive fitness program, however, involves lifestyle changes. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified six cornerstones to any effective brain health and cognitive fitness program.

Step 1: Eat a plant-based diet Not too good on this, but working on the fermented grapes part quite well. Beef, pork and fish eat plants; I'm a second generation vegetarian.

Step 2: Exercise regularly Usually 1-2 hour daily walk in the woods for forest bathing.

Step 3: Get enough sleep Now that I'm retired am pretty good at this

Step 4: Manage your stress Retired, there is no stress.

Step 5: Nurture social contacts Lots of them, jazz several nights a week, bar trivia, travel

Step 6: Continue to challenge your brain Hey solving stroke when everyone else has given up on it is quite challenging.

These factors are equal parts of a cohesive plan—they don't work in isolation. Simply eating more fiber or adding a morning walk to your routine isn't enough to forestall mental decline. Instead, exercise, diet, sleep, stress management, social interaction, and mental stimulation work in concert to yield results.