The prevalence of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia among Americans has been increasing quickly lately. More than 6 million Americans, across all age groups, are currently living with the disease, according to Alzheimer's Association; that number is projected to more than double by 2050.
And while one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, the risk of the disease is one in five for women at age 45 and one in 10 for men at the same age.
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But there is hope, both in certain trial-stage drugs that are currently in development, as well as in the emerging knowledge base surrounding brain health.
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Bill Gates broke down the issue with Seth and Lauren Miller Rogen on the pilot episode of his new podcast, "Unconfuse Me."
"The way your immune system reacts and creates inflammation is bad for your whole body. Aging and inflammation are very related," Gates said. "They see now that the part of the immune system that's in the brain, for the people that get Alzheimer's, they're more hair-trigger."
Understanding that has led to the early development of several drugs, which likely won't be available for at least five years, that are designed to interfere with the brain's inflammatory immune response.
But in lieu of drugs that might not be available for a while is the growing field of brain health. Studies have found that around 40% of Alzheimer's cases may be preventable by ensuring the healthiness of your brain. And one of the most important ways to keep your brain healthy involves good sleep.
Where Gates used to be of the mind that getting some shut-eye indicated laziness on his part, he's now intent on ensuring he's getting good sleep.
"Now what we know is that to maintain brain health, getting good sleep, even back to your teen years, is super important," he said. "It's one of the most predictive factors of any dementia including Alzheimer's, is whether you're getting good sleep."
Some other ways to keep your brain healthy include nutrition, emotional well-being, exercise and cognitive fitness (which can involve learning new skills).
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