1. Cataract surgery
Strange as it might seem, our eyes are essentially an extension of the brain. So maintaining the health of our eyes may have an added effect in keeping the brain healthy, too. And that maintenance might include the treatment of cataracts, a condition where the lens of our eyes start to cloud up, obscuring our vision.
A study out this month found that people over 65 who had their cataracts surgically removed were nearly 30% less likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t. This lowered risk was seen even after other risk factors for dementia were controlled for, and the effect seemed to last at least a decade later.
This reduction in risk might happen because people’s improved vision post-treatment helps keep the brain active, the researchers theorize. It could also be the result of the treatment specifically improving people’s ability to process blue light, which could reawaken cells in the retina associated with healthy sleep and cognition. As further evidence for that theory, it’s suspected that people with other eye disorders involving the retina are at higher risk for dementia as well.
