Frequent negative thinking can increase the risk of dementia

Genetics, high blood pressure, and smoking are some of the risk factors for dementia. However, recent studies have shown that negative thinking (negative thinking) on an ongoing basis can also increase the risk of dementia.

How do negative thoughts increase the risk of dementia?

Dementia is a group of symptoms that affect the cognitive function of the brain in remembering, thinking, acting and speaking. The condition of dementia is often characterized by forgetfulness (senility) because the brain's ability to remember is impaired.

There is no cure for dementia. However, medical reports suggest that about one-third of dementia cases are preventable. Therefore, researchers are now starting to focus on identifying risk factors for dementia and its prevention.

A recent study found that repeated negative thinking was associated with cognitive decline and increased stores of protein content that causes Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia.

"Repetitive negative thinking can be a new risk factor for dementia," said Natalie Marchant, a psychologist and senior researcher in the department of mental health at University College London. This includes a tendency to think negatively (worry) about the future or ruminate negatively about the past.

In this study, researchers conducted behavioral monitoring and brain scans on 350 people over the age of 55. The study was conducted over a full two year period.

About a third of the participants underwent scan brain with the PET method (positron emission tomography). This is done to measure the sediment know and beta-amyloid namely two harmful proteins that cause Alzheimer's disease.

Result scan shows those who spend more time thinking negatively have more protein build-up know and beta-amyloid . They also had poorer memory and had a marked decrease in cognitive abilities.

The study also tested levels of anxiety and depression in a group of people who already had anxiety disorders and depression before. As a result, they experienced a large decline in cognitive abilities. However, there is no increase in protein buildup know and beta-amyloid in this group.

Thus, researchers suspect that repeated negative thinking may be the main reason why depression and anxiety are both risk factors for dementia.

The connection of a person's thoughts with disease in the brain

Natalie Marchant explains that naturally negative thinking is associated with increased stress. Persistent negative thinking for a long time is seen as a marker of chronic stress behavior.

These conditions can affect physical health, such as increasing high blood pressure and increasing levels of cortisol or the stress hormone. In addition, there is a growing body of research that provides evidence that chronic stress is harmful to the body (including the brain).

The researchers emphasized that negative thinking in a short period of time was not included in the scope of their research. They still have to do further research to understand the risk factors for dementia.

“The findings from this study provide further support regarding the importance of mental health to be considered in screening dementia, ”says Marchant.

To avoid this risk factor for dementia, researchers suggest that training yourself to think positively can help reduce the tendency to think negatively.

Although there is no evidence that avoiding negative thinking slows down the onset of dementia, there is nothing wrong with taking good steps to prevent future risks.

People who view life from a positive perspective have a better chance of avoiding all kinds of heart health risks than people who are pessimistic.

According to a 2019 study, the more positive a person is, the lower the risk of diseases such as heart attacks and strokes that cause death. Other studies also show that being optimistic, thinking and living a positive lifestyle also makes the immune system stronger and lung function improves.

Practice positive thinking and being optimistic

It is not yet known whether avoiding negative thinking can directly delay the onset of dementia. However, there have been many studies that prove that positive thinking can have a good impact on mental and physical health.

One of the most effective ways to increase your optimistic attitude and positive thinking is to do "Best possible self" . This is a method of psychological treatment in which a person is asked to write about himself in the future as best as possible.

Another technique is to practice gratitude. Take a few minutes each day to write down what makes you grateful. In addition, writing down the positive experiences you go through each day can also increase your optimism.