For the elderly, having a purpose in life, feeling useful, staying in touch with loved ones and feeling loved can reduce the risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease.
This is the result of a study on 950 people in good mental health.
Study participants were asked questions about their family, romantic and professional lives. Researchers found that the more positive responses there were, the less likely the person was to suffer from a neurological disease.
In other words, people who are happy and lead the life that they want are better protected against the disease. Happiness therefore plays a primary role against the disease.
An estimated 290,000 in Canada alone suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, 26 million people worldwide.
This degenerative disease is caused amyloid plaques that kill neurons in the brain which leads to dementia and memory loss.