It’s something a lot of us think about as we get older: what can we actually do to reduce our risk of dementia?
A new study suggests your mindset might play a role, with more optimistic people less likely to develop dementia by at least 15 per cent later in life.
Why this matters
Dementia is now the leading cause of death for Australians. Around 446,500 people are currently living with the condition, and that number is expected to more than double by 2065.
With no cure yet available, many of us are looking for ways to support our brain health.
What the research found
The large, long-term study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, followed more than 9,000 adults in the United States over 14 years. At the start, all participants were cognitively healthy and in their early 70s on average.
Led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, researchers tracked changes in their memory, thinking and reasoning skills through regular cognitive tests. By the end of the study, around one in three participants had developed dementia.
People with higher optimism scores had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia. In fact, for every increase in optimism score, the risk dropped by around 15 per cent.
As the authors wrote, “Identifying optimism as a protective psychosocial factor highlights the potential value of optimism in supporting healthy ageing.”
How do you measure optimism?
To assess this, participants completed a questionnaire known as the “life orientation test”, which looks at how people tend to think about the future.
It asks people to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with statements like:
- “In uncertain times, I usually expect the best”
- “I’m always optimistic about my future”
- “Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad”
As well as more negative statements, such as:
- “If something can go wrong for me, it will”
- “I hardly ever expect things to go my way”
People were reassessed every four years.
Even after accounting for factors like age, education, chronic illness, depression and lifestyle, the link between optimism and lower dementia risk remained.
So, does being optimistic actually protect your brain?
It’s not quite that simple.
The study doesn’t prove that optimism directly prevents dementia, but it does point to some likely connections.
People who are more optimistic tend to have lower levels of stress, stronger social connections, be more physically active and have healthier habits overall.
The researchers note that “several processes may help to explain how optimism could influence dementia risk”, including the way it affects stress and the body’s immune response.
Over time, those factors can add up to better overall health, including brain health.
What to take from this
This isn’t about forcing yourself to be positive or pretending everything’s fine.
But it does add to what we’re seeing more and more: mental wellbeing and physical health are closely connected.
So what can you do? It might be as simple as focusing on what you can control, or making more room for things (and people) that lift you up.
There’s no single fix when it comes to brain health but your mindset could be one part of the picture.
