Women’s Brain Health Initiative launches app aimed at lowering dementia risk

December 2 is annually observed as a national day to raise awareness about women’s brain health and the need for more research in the field.

This year, the Women’s Brain Health Initiative is marking the occasion by launching a new app aimed at helping lower the risk of dementia called Brain Fit.

“What we talk about in all of our education initiatives are the six pillars of brain health — and they’re what the science has been saying are the best things you can do from a lifestyle point of view to keep your brain healthy,” explains Lynn Posluns, President and CEO of Women’s Brain Health Initiative.

“Cumulatively, if you do a lot of things against these six pillars, you’ve got the best chance of delaying and/or preventing diseases like Alzheimer’s, which is the biggest cause of dementia.”

The app is a habit tracker that gives users information to foster brain-healthy habits based on those six pillars — stress management, mental stimulation, social activity, nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

“It gives you little micro-habits that you can do that are manageable, and you can track your performance,” says Posluns.

For example, when it comes to social activity, Posluns says something as simple as a daily walk with a friend fosters brain health and can be tracked in the app.

“[When it comes to] stress reduction — deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation, going for a walk in nature — those are all little habits that can help in terms of keeping your stress in check [and are] mentioned in Brain Fit,” says Posluns.

For exercise, the suggestions can be as simple as deep knee bends while brushing your teeth.

“You’re brushing your teeth anyways; maybe you can get some extra squats in there,” she says. “So those are the little type of habits that we’re hoping to encourage people to do more of to protect their brain health.”

Posluns says while there are apps that track individual habits like sleep or nutrition, that’s not enough when it comes to brain health

“It’s really the combination of all these things that are going to give you the best protective effect. So while adding blueberries to your breakfast every morning is good, it’s not good enough alone to make a difference, so you want to do habits against all of these six pillars,” she reiterates.

The app is free and developed with the support of Public Health Canada.

Speaking at a Women’s Brain Health Initiative fundraiser, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Carolyn Bennett, emphasized the need for more such resources dedicated to women’s brain health.

“When I was in medical school, we were trained as though everybody was a seventy-kilogram white male,” she says. “The idea that not only should there be research in women’s health but a gender lens put on everything [is important] – [women’s] physiology, the pathology changes differently, and we need to know those differences.”

‘Stand Ahead’ challenge

Every year, the Women’s Brain Health Initiative issues a social media challenge that people are encouraged to participate in to raise awareness for the cause called the ‘Stand Ahead’ challenge.

“We wanted to create a fun viral campaign that would challenge people but be something that if they put their mind to it, they could, in fact, do it,” says Posluns. “This year’s challenge is called the conductor challenge, and it was actually a musician who came up with it.”

The challenge involves drawing an imaginary vertical line with one hand while you draw an imaginary triangle with the other hand at the same time.

Watch how to do the challenge below:

Participants are encouraged to record themselves doing the challenge and then share the video on social media using #StandAhead and ask two friends to do the same and donate to the cause.

“We’re very fortunate that our partner Brain Canada is going to match and double up the first $250,000 that we raise through this challenge,” says Posluns. “This year, the money that we’re raising is going to go specifically to mental health research that better suits women’s needs.”

Destigmatizing dementia

Phyllis Fehr has lived with dementia for 15 years. She says along with raising awareness and funds, it is important to dispel myths and stereotypes about the condition.

“A lot of people think that dementia is such a horrid disease. You know what? It’s not that bad. It’s what we make of it, and you can live well with Alzheimer’s and dementia,” she says. “Don’t count us out; if we get the help, we get the treatment, we get everything we need early on, we can still engage, and we can still make a change.”

Fehr has worked with the Hamilton Council on Aging to develop a campaign called ‘Faces of Dementia’ in an effort to dispel the stigma surrounding the condition.

The campaign highlights stories of people living with dementia through videos and images, with a message that they are more than their diagnosis.

“It’s people just like myself living with dementia, showing how they can still live well with dementia and how important staying engaged and staying active is,” she says.

However, Fehr doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of coping with the degenerative condition.

“You’re seeing a snapshot of me right now. You’re seeing me at my very best. I’ve rested for days to be here so I could be able to talk properly,” she says. “But there are some days I totally derail. There are some days I won’t even leave the house.”

She says those with dementia should be treated with patience, but not pity or condescension.

“When you speak to somebody living with dementia, give them time because what you say goes in, then I have to compute this in a brain that’s not working a hundred percent and come out with an answer,” she says.

“It’s those types of things that I want people to understand — we still have all our education, we still have all our knowledge. We’re still us. We’re just a little different.”