You can slow cognitive decline as you age, large study finds. Here’s how

KSBW ^ | Jul 28, 2025 | Sandee LaMotte

[nickcarraway]

At 62, Phyllis Jones felt trapped in darkness. She was traumatized by her mother’s recent death, ongoing pandemic stress and an increasingly toxic work environment. A sudden panic attack led to a medical leave.

Her depression worsened until the day her 33-year-old son sadly told her, “Mom, I didn’t think I would have to be your caregiver at this stage in your life.” “For me, that was the wake-up call,” Jones, now 66, told CNN. “That’s when I found the POINTER study and my life changed. What I accomplished during the study was phenomenal — I’m a new person.” The Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk, or U.S. POINTER study, is the largest randomized clinical trial in the United States designed to examine whether lifestyle interventions can protect cognitive function in older adults.

“These are cognitively healthy people between the ages of 60 and 79 who, to be in the study, had to be completely sedentary and at risk for dementia due to health issues such as prediabetes and borderline high blood pressure,” said principal investigator Laura Baker, a professor of gerontology, geriatrics and internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

[RoosterRedux]

Thx. I might give it a try.

[wintertime]

Yes! Negative Energy

I call them DemoN-Rats. They are like the Death Eaters from the Potter series. They suck brains.

[Chickensoup]

Try calcium and ltheronate magnesium

[TheThirdRuffian]

Niacin is an interesting substance.

The “full flush” niacin, not slow release, seems to be the ticket to good health effects.

[RoosterRedux]

Thx. I’ll check ‘em out.

[jacknhoo]

I know, I read that and was just baffled how that acronym was related to the words, as they are wholly unrelated.

[maddog55]

Phyllis Jones.. typical liberal.

At t 62, Phyllis Jones felt trapped in darkness...
I saw the light and retired.

She was traumatized by her mother’s recent death...
My father died 40 years ago when I was 30, he was young it’s called life. We all die.

Ongoing pandemic stress...
Probably a mask wearing jab nut.

An increasingly toxic work environment...
I retired in 2012 before a lot of the DEI WOKE crap but saw it coming

A sudden panic attack led to a medical leave...
Panic attacks are liberal speak for “I can’t handle life”

[Bob434]

Thbaks I will look that up

[SMARTY]

‘socializing’...?

TDS makes that harder all the time

[LouAvul]

C++ is still a thing? I took that in college circa 2002-ish. I figured it was obsolete by now. I've also had fortran, Basic and Visual Basic.

BTW, learning to play an instrument is also reputed to keep your mind active. As are crossword puzzles, Bible study (w/memorization), etc.

[bert]

My experience is that a very large daily dose of vitamin B12 does wonders to produce a return to mental “normalcy”

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[BobL]

“The POINTER study reflects mainstream, conservative clinical practice—it endorses plant-heavy diets like MIND and DASH while ignoring emerging research on ketogenic, low-carb, and carnivore diets.”

Thanks for the summary, so more Leftist garbage. Pretty much everyone who is willing to question Big Food and Big Pharma knows that staying clear of carbs is the way to avoid virtually all of the miseries of aging. The BIG PROBLEM that the Left has with that approach is that it means eating meat...something they’re in the process of outlawing in Europe and will do the same here, once they get the political power to do so.

[Mashood]

What “very large daily dose” are/were you taking?

[Vermont Lt]

Here a summary of the findings:

The structured group in U.S. POINTER followed a program with greater structure, intensity and accountability than the self-guided group. This is the “recipe” they followed:

Physical exercise: 30-35 minutes of moderate-to-intense aerobic activity four times a week, plus strength and flexibility exercises twice a week.

Cognitive exercise: Computer-based brain training program three times a week for 30 minutes, plus regular engagement in other intellectually challenging and social activities.

Nutrition: Adherence to the MIND diet, which emphasizes dark leafy greens, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil and fish, and limits sugar and unhealthy fats.

Health monitoring: Regular check-ins on blood pressure, weight and lab results.

————————————————

It’s interesting, none of these things seem to be a heavy lift. I imagine as people’s mobility declines they become socially isolated and they start to eat worse. Combine that with the disability or death of a spouse and you can find yourself in real “trouble.”

[Vermont Lt]

Here is a link to the JAMA article:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2837046

It’s always good to read the source. And, if you can get through a JAMA paper, you probably don’t have dementia.

[Col Frank Slade]

Physical and mental exercise.

[Vermont Lt]

You are absolutely right.

My mother in law played golf weekly until she was 93. She did search-a-word puzzles right up until the day she died at 99. She was a first gen Italian. She made great food from the old country. Lots of veggies and olive oil.

She lived with us, so her “social” game was great—she was Nonni to all of my kids friends.

She was a great example for us, and for our kids.

[fuzzylogic]

- Stop watching CNN, MSNBC, TikTok
- Drink coffee, red wine, and IPA beer
- Eat bacon, lots of bacon
- Stay at a Holiday Inn Express
- Study football offenses and defenses
- Get dogs, go for walks
- Play chess
- Have a track day, drive fast
- Read the Bible

Half-kidding, the mind is a muscle ;p

[Lizavetta]

Panic attacks are liberal speak for “I can’t handle life”

Not always.

I started having panic attacks years ago during divorce. At first I didn't know what was wrong ... I felt incredibly unsettled, anxious, like I was going to fly apart into a million pieces. I was afraid but couldn't identify of what.