Mind & Mood Archive

A 2025 study found that the shingles vaccine reduced the risk of developing dementia by 20%. The study supports (but doesn’t absolutely prove) the theory that infections may be one cause of Alzheimer’s disease and possibly other forms of dementia.

Doctors are optimistic that artificial intelligence (A.I.) will one day play a role in curing and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. One example of A.I.’s application is its use in helping scientists learn how certain molecules might cause Alzheimer’s.

Mindfulness might help improve attention and memory. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment, including thoughts, feelings, and all information coming in from the senses, such as sights, sounds, and smells. Many studies have shown that mindfulness helps people improve well-being, concentrate, engage more effectively in daily activities, and pay more attention. Attention is the most crucial factor when it comes to memory; whatever someone pays attention to is what he or she remembers.

A 2024 study indicated that adults 65 and older with major depression are more likely to exhibit risky driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking, and hard cornering.

People trapped in catastrophic thought patterns are convinced everything is awful and won’t improve, which creates a constant sense of helplessness, anxiety, and stress. One way to stop this doomsday thinking is learning how to mentally pivot. Mental pivoting is the action of consciously deciding to deflect thoughts when they arise, so they don’t fester and grow. By doing this, people can feel more in control of invasive thoughts when they arise.

Researchers have found that the risk of death due to Alzheimer's disease is markedly lower in taxi and ambulance drivers compared with hundreds of other occupations. And the reason could be that these drivers develop certain structural changes in their brains as they work.

A 2025 study suggested that people who eat higher amounts of processed red meat may be more likely to develop dementia than people who eat very little of it.

In a 2025 Harvard study of more than 133,000 people followed for four decades, those who ate the most red meat each day (a quarter-serving or more) had a 13% higher risk of developing dementia later in life, compared with people who ate the least.