The Mississippi State Department of Health is urging Mississippians to take some time this month to think about their brain and if they’re actually taking care of it.
June is acknowledged nationally as “Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month.” To help residents do what they can to avoid memory-loss disease, MSDH officials are continuing to spotlight cognitive health through public campaigns.
The department’s Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure – or simply BOLD – program has partnered with The MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to create the “Be Brain Mighty” campaign.
“Keeping your brain healthy is essential for living a long and full life,” Healthy Aging Bureau Director Paulita Edwards-Childs said.
The “Be Brain Mighty” campaign provides eight simple ways to protect your brain before it’s too late:
- Protect your head by wearing a helmet when on a motorcycle, bicycle, or other similar modes of transportation. Always wear a seatbelt in the car and use safety features like handrails when walking out and about.
- Get good sleep. Aim for seven hours or more of uninterrupted sleep every night.
- Eat healthy with a daily diet that includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
- Get moving. Find ways to walk more and sit less.
- Stay healthy. What’s good for your heart is good for your brain.
- Control your blood sugar. High blood sugar can damage the nerves in your brain.
- Stay connected. Spending time with others is good for your brain.
- Keep your brain active by trying to learn new skills, reading, or doing puzzles.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than seven million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease – a number projected to double by 2050. Mississippi ranks third in the nation for prevalence of the disease among people 65 years or older. More specifically, Hinds County ranks fifth nationally among other counties.
Nationally, Alzheimer’s disease is the fifth-leading cause of death for people 65 years or older.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urgers people with one or more of these symptoms to see a physician as soon as possible: memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relations, new problems with speaking or writing, misplacing things and not being able to retrace steps, decreased or poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in mood or personality.
