Researchers have long known that dementia risk goes up with age, family history, poor diet, lack of exercise and even the loss of hearing, sight, smell and taste.

But a new paper says chronic stress is also a silent saboteur — one that can set the stage for long-term cognitive decline if left unchecked.

“It is hard to overstate the impact of stress on your cognitive health as you age,” Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland and Martin J. Sliwinski, healthy aging professors at Pennsylvania State University, wrote in The Conversation.

“This is in part because your psychological, behavioral and biological responses to everyday stressful events are closely intertwined and each can amplify and interact with the other.”

For example, chronic stress can keep you up at night, which can make you too tired to exercise, which can make it harder to eat healthy — and so on.

Here are the four ways these experts suggesting fighting back against stress-related cognitive decline:

Rethink your routine

A few lifestyle tweaks could go a long way. Regular exercise, balanced meals, quality sleep, and a little mindfulness each day can reduce stress levels and strengthen your brain.

It’s not about running marathons or eating kale by the pound — even small shifts in your day-to-day habits can help calm your nervous system and reduce long-term risk.

Mind your mind

Just like you’d treat a sore throat, mental health needs care too.

Therapy, meditation apps, breathing exercises — whatever helps you decompress is worth taking seriously.

Chronic anxiety and depression often go hand-in-hand with stress and can amplify cognitive strain.

Call the doctor

Think stress is a problem for a therapist, rather than a PCP? Think again.

Primary care doctors can help spot physical signs of chronic stress, recommend next steps or refer you to a specialist.

Don’t wait until symptoms pile up — early intervention can make all the difference.

Socialize more

Strong social ties can reduce stress, improve mood and even slow cognitive decline.

Whether it’s dinner with friends, volunteering or just chatting with neighbors, regular interaction helps keep the brain sharp.

And it doesn’t have to take long.

“Research suggests that adding just one extra interaction a day — even if it’s a text message or a brief phone call — can be helpful and that even interactions with people you don’t know well, such as at a coffee shop or doctor’s office, can have meaningful benefits,” they wrote.

Bottom line: stress isn’t just a state of mind — it’s a health hazard.

But with a few mindful changes, you can help your brain stay cool, calm and collected for years to come.

By Diana Bruk  for The New York Post

Image by ♡♡ Julita ♡♡ from Pixabay

If you missed it, search for her Sept. 16 article, “Wisdom from Tough Times: Talking Story with Kupuna.” Feedback from that article was positive so she is back this month to share stress management strategies for family caregivers, particularly during the busy holiday season.

Thank you to Dr. Yancura for sharing more of your expertise! Before beginning her section of this month’s column, find a notebook and pen or pencil as she will ask you to think about and write your thoughts.

The 4 As of Stress Management

My grandma used to say, “bad events come in threes,” and I was so glad when the third one happened. It meant our bad luck was over! As a young adult, I often wondered about that rule. Does it mean that caregivers and their family have to wait for three, six, or more bad events in order to get a break?

Fortunately, I have also learned more about stress since then. It is more complicated than the rule of three. Stressors take different forms. Traumatic events come at you from seemingly nowhere and may change your life. They usually create a trail of ripple effect stressors. Some of these are daily hassles, small events that become stressful as they add up. Others are chronic stressors, continue for years, and deplete emotional, physical and even financial resources.

Each step of the 4 As of Stress Management can guide you in dealing with different types of stressors. Managing stress in positive ways can combat feelings of helplessness and calm our minds so we can develop strategies to manage stress in healthy ways.

The first step is AVOID. It works well for daily hassles and means taking steps ahead of time to eliminate them. For example, if your loved one becomes nervous or agitated when you walk or drive on a certain street, avoid that street. What is one hassle you could avoid this week? When you decide on the hassle, write it down along with how you will avoid it.

The second step is ALTER. It works well for chronic stressors and means changing the situation to be less stressful. For example, if a physician rushes through instructions, ask them to slow down, giving you a chance to take notes and ask questions. Think about something that has caused you stress this week. What is one action you could take in this next week to alter the situation to decrease feelings of stress? Write it in your notebook.

The third step is ACCEPT. It works well for past events and means coming to terms with the situation so you can focus on thoughts or actions within your power. For example, if your family member has graduated to full-time use of a walker or wheelchair, you can help them to master its use or ask for a referral to a physical therapist who can help them build their strength and maneuvering skills. Acceptance can be difficult, especially if the changing situation means your family member is becoming less independent. In times like this a counselor, spiritual leader, or mental health professional can help you identify and take steps toward acceptance. Write down an action you can make this week to move closer to acceptance in one aspect of caregiving.

The fourth step is ADAPT. This is a long-term approach that works well for traumatic or chronic stressors and means making internal changes. As a caregiver you have probably adapted to caregiving situations by learning new skills, connecting with organizations in the community, asking for help, or learning to appreciate the small things in life. Think about and write down ways you have adapted to changes then give yourself credit for all you have done to keep your family member safe and supported.

It may take time to remember to slow down and use the four As, but they can help get through tough times and eventually lead to positive growth in many aspects of your life. Celebrate this holiday season by practicing the four A’s of stress management!

To learn more about stress go to stress.org

Photo by Nam Phong Bùi

This weekend’s “Aging Matters” column was written by guest author Dr. Lori Yancura, professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. The “Aging Matters”articles cover topics of interest to older adults and their families in Maui County and appears on the third Sunday of each month.

Maybe you’re running late for an appointment and missing every light. Or need to pick up a prescription on the fly but find six people already in line when you get to the pharmacy. How can you keep your blood pressure from soaring and get yourself back on track?

Behavioral care manager Charissa Reynolds, MSW, at Health First Medical Group, says there are proven ways to deflate stress that you can do anywhere. “I love these because they’re completely portable,” she says, “and you don’t need any equipment except yourself.”

It’s important to learn how to manage stress before it becomes chronic, which can harm your health, taking a toll on your body both physically and mentally. Chronic stress can lead to symptoms such as low energy and headaches, or eventually contribute to more serious conditions such as autoimmune diseases, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity.

Reynolds says that some of these techniques may feel like little things, but little things help make big things that can contribute to better overall wellbeing. She shares five quick stress-busting techniques that can help you in the moment and allow you to calm down, refocus, and go about your day.

1. Take a few deep breaths

The reduction of stress and anxiety is one of the major benefits of deep breathing exercises, according to University Hospitals, a nonprofit academic medical center and community hospital network in Ohio.

Reynolds says you don’t have to breathe deeply for long, but the rhythm is important. “I usually suggest a 4-4-6 rhythm (inhale for four seconds, hold the breath for four seconds, exhale for six seconds). Your time segments can be different than mine, but they need to be consistent. Even if you’re not in a specific stressful situation, you should try to do these twice daily, each time for at least one minute each.”

At first, it may feel unnatural to breathe deeply, but practice comes with numerous benefits. Deep breaths are more efficient, allowing your body to fully exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide. Deep breathing is fully proven to beneficially affect your mind, emotions and mood by changing your brain chemistry.

2. Play

“Think outside the box,” suggests Reynolds. “Get creative. Explore new ideas. Get outside of yourself.

“Allow yourself to escape in time and then come back to today’s life gradually.”

You can do something as simple as play with a stress ball, suggests The American Institute of Stress. Picking up a stress ball and giving it a few hard squeezes can break a stressful train of thought.

While play may seem frivolous or even silly when we’re adults, especially if we are feeling stressed, it is actually vital to our well-being. University of Wisconsin Health psychologist Shilagh Mirgain, Ph.D., explains that play helps relieve stress, boosts creativity, improves our mood and outlook, and keeps our minds sharp. It also improves our relationships with others.

“In play we find the freedom to color outside the lines of our life. There is a learning that comes from this unstructured time. It allows us to tap into our imagination, try different things and not be afraid to fail along the way,” she said.

3. Cue up a meditation app

“There’s a wide range of apps and YouTube videos that can help you relax, and they range in length from five to 30 minutes,” says Reynolds, “and they’re so easy to watch.

“Calm and Headspace are great apps, and I also like guided meditation apps. My family practices guided meditation together.”

The Mindfulness App provides more than 300 options for learning and practicing meditation, from beginning to advanced. You can choose a meditation from 3 to 99 minutes in duration, meditations of many diverse types, mindfulness notices, meditation soundtracks, and more.

The scientifically proven benefits of meditation are extensive at this point and most major spiritual traditions extoll the practice as a means to greater happiness and mental clarity.

Mayo Clinic says that meditation can help you relax deeply and calm your mind. During meditation, you focus on one thing. You gradually let go of the distracting stream of thoughts crowding your mind and causing stress. This process can lead to better physical and emotional well-being.

4. Make a list

Having a lot to do can, in and of itself, cause stress. For some people, keeping a to-do list can be a big help. “But you have to give yourself permission to NOT finish the list,” says Reynolds. “You need to learn to give yourself grace on those days when you just don’t get it all done.”

An article in Harvard Business Review says that when we write down information, we feel relieved from the need to hold onto it mentally. With the number of tasks we have to do each day, we can’t solely rely on our ability to remember them. To-do lists serve as a reminder for what you need to accomplish. When we check things off, it’s proof that we were able to get stuff done and that makes us feel good.

5. Step outside

Spending time in nature is a powerful way to relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood and boost feelings of happiness and well-being, says Reynolds.

Just 20 minutes connecting with nature can help lower stress hormone levels, according to Frontiers in Psychology. An article on the UC Davis website noted that nature can help improve thinking, reasoning, and other mental abilities, physical wellness and mental health.

If you are stressed while commuting home in rush hour traffic, try getting off the road and stopping in a park or other greenspace to meditate for a few minutes or take a short walk while traffic dies down. Any of these stressbusters will help you relax, says Reynolds, which will, in turn, benefit your overall well-being and mental health.

Charissa Reynolds is a Health First Medical Group (HFMG) behavioral care manager. facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Written by: Jackie Holfelder  for VeroNews.com

To learn more about stress-related issues visit The American Institute of Stress

Gen Xers have been the most stressed generation for over a decade. In their 40s and 50s, Gen Xers have consistently reported higher stress levels than other generations since at least 2012.

A Penn State study in 2012 found that Gen X had significantly higher stress levels than other age groups, reporting an average stress level of 5.8 out of 10. This was notably higher than Millennials (3.4) and Baby Boomers (4.4). The American Psychological Association’s (APA) annual Stress in America survey from the same year corroborated these findings, showing that both Gen Xers and Millennials reported an average stress level of 5.4 on a 10-point scale, higher than Boomers (4.7) and Matures (3.7).

LinkedIn research in 2019 found that Gen Xers were still extremely stressed compared to the generations around them, with work-life balance, job security, and a sense of purpose being among the top stressors. More recent information from 2021 shows this trend is still in progress, as 22% of Gen Xers confess to struggling with stress daily, compared to 17% for Millennials, 14% for Gen Zs, and 8% for Baby Boomers.

There are several causes of elevated stress levels among Generation X. They are often caught up in the “sandwich generation” who have to take care of old parents and their kids simultaneously. There is also a considerable financial aspect involved since many individuals from this cohort are lagging in retirement savings despite nearing retirement age. During their peak earning years

GenX encountered numerous economic challenges, including the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. They were forced into an abrupt adaptation from analog childhood to digital adulthood, where they had to cope with technological changes on both personal and professional fronts. This created another level of anxiety because they were constantly required to be knowledgeable about emerging technologies.

The picture regarding Generation X’s retirement savings is worrisome based on various research findings, which indicate huge deficits. Natixis Investment Managers found that the majority (48%) fear they will have enough saved to enjoy retirement and another 31% fear they’ll never save enough.

The average retirement savings for Gen X households is approximately $150,000, far below the estimated $1.5 million experts say is required for a comfortable retirement. Even more alarming, the National Institute on Retirement Security reports that the typical Gen X household with a private retirement plan has only $40,000 in savings, and about 40% of the group has not saved anything for retirement. The Schroders 2023 U.S. Retirement Survey paints a slightly more optimistic but still troubling picture, showing that Gen X workers, on average, believe they will need around $1.1 million in savings to retire comfortably but expect to have only $660,000 saved, indicating a substantial shortfall of about $440,000.

Despite all this stress, Gen X has developed a unique resilience. They’re the generation that grew up figuring things out independently, and that adaptability serves them well now. While they may be the most stressed, they’re often the best equipped to handle it. As the American Psychological Association points out, “Stress at any age is still stress,” but Gen X seems to have a knack for weathering the storm, even if they feel more pressure than most.

By Ivy Grace

This article Gen X Is The Most Stressed Generation Alive And Studies Reveal Why – Hint: They’re $440,000 Short On Retirement, And It’s Only Getting Worse originally appeared on Benzinga.com

For more information about stress-related issues, go to STRESS.ORG.

Photo by T Leish