Grandfather, 75, Reveals the 'Tests' He Takes for Fun to Delay Signs of Dementia (Exclusive)

Determined to protect his cognitive health, 1 75-year-old man is taking preventative measures against dementia by keeping his encephalon active. 

Ernesto Suárez doesn’t person dementia, nor does he person a family history of representation loss. However, he is adamant that nan encephalon is nan astir powerful organ successful nan body. 

“I person been conscious astir of my life astir it,” Suárez tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I for illustration to support my encephalon busy. It keeps maine sharp.”

In a viral TikTok, Suárez’s granddaughter, Alexia Torres, posted a video of him sitting astatine nan eating room table, reference retired of a booklet. 

In an effort to renew his driver's license, nan Salvadorian was studying for nan DMV test. “I studied each time to situation myself to walk it moreover though I astir apt won't ever usage it,” he says. 

Apart from taking believe tests, mostly for fun, Suárez besides plays crossword puzzles and sounds passim nan day. He tends to bask newspapers, biographies, aliases humanities novels for illustration One Hundred Years of Solitude and Don Quijote de La Mancha. 

Suárez's strategies person worked frankincense far, and it's not conscionable for himself, but for his family.

“Ever since I was a child, [my grandpa] ever said ‘your mind is truthful powerful, you tin do thing you group it too,’” his granddaughter recalls. “He really intends it truthful overmuch to nan constituent he exercises his encephalon for nosy truthful he tin proceed to beryllium alert and coming pinch america for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.”

Although Suárez likes to judge it was his thought to enactment mentally active, Torres admits that her grandma plays a large domiciled successful his efforts.

“My grandma follows nan aforesaid habits,” she says. “Even though they are some retired, they support engaged ever helping nan family business.”

Before retiring, Suárez founded La Usuluteca pinch his wife, a Salvadoran bakery and pupusería that has been a staple successful Los Angeles for complete a decade.

To support himself engaged and mentally stimulated, Suárez still assists pinch nan bakery's accounting from clip to time. “We want him to beryllium arsenic patient arsenic possible,” his granddaughter says. “So immoderate helps that we support.”

According to Dr. Dylan Wint, an Alzheimer's master astatine nan Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health successful Las Vegas, “research supports nan contention that maintaining precocious levels of cognitive activity delays nan onset of dementia.”

While it is unclear if definite encephalon activities are amended than others for preventing dementia, what matters astir is regularly keeping nan encephalon active. Dr. Wint believes location whitethorn beryllium other benefits to activities that actually situation nan brain, compared to those that are mentally stimulating but not afloat engaging.

“For example, if personification tin quickly complete easy-level Sudoku puzzles, they should beforehand to a higher difficulty. Keep pushing nan encephalon to activity harder,” he tells PEOPLE.

“There whitethorn besides beryllium immoderate use to varying games/tasks successful bid to prosecute aggregate cognitive processes, specified arsenic alternating among crossword puzzles (mostly verbal), Sudoku (mostly logical reasoning/planning), and mathematics quizzes (calculation) alternatively of conscionable 1 favourite crippled each nan time."

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Suárez seems to person nan correct thought and, according to Dr. Wint, location are a fewer much ways to support sharp, specified arsenic “eating a brain-healthy diet; engaging socially; obtaining nan due amount, quality, and timing of sleep; and ensuring that immoderate chronic aesculapian problems (particularly glucosuria and hypertension) are nether fantabulous control.”

Brain changes that yet lead to Alzheimer’s illness aliases dementia usually statesman betwixt nan ages of 50 to 60, pinch symptoms unfolding successful nan early to mid-70s. However, Dr. Wint stresses that this is conscionable an average, and Alzheimer’s has been diagnosed successful group arsenic young arsenic 19.

Like Dr. Wint, Suárez believes nan encephalon should beryllium exercised arsenic as overmuch arsenic one’s body, which is precisely what he intends to do. 

“His proposal for dementia and wellness successful wide is to enactment mentally active, do puzzles, read, do mathematics and locomotion everyday,” his granddaughter says.

“This whitethorn sound basic, but done regularly will person a large effect connected really you age.”