NEW DELHI New Delhi: Increasing stress, anxiety, fear of failure and high expectations, especially at the workplace – commonly called the fast-paced culture – lack of exercise and poor diet can cause Alzheimer's disease, experts said on Saturday. World Alzheimer's Day is observed every year on September 21 to increase people's understanding about the neurological disorder. This year's theme is “Time to act on dementia, time to act on Alzheimer's”.

Dr Ishu Goel, deputy consultant neurologist at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, told IANS, “Constant stress, anxiety, fear of not meeting goals and expectations have forced people to increase the number of working hours, lead a lifestyle with reduced sleep and low physical activity, and adopt unhealthy eating habits. All these factors contribute to the deposition of abnormal proteins and brain degradation.” The expert said that these abnormal proteins are flushed out from the brain during sleep, facilitated by antioxidants obtained from a balanced diet, but the fast-paced culture rarely allows for proper sleep and nutrition.

“People who have a tendency to develop dementia due to genetic mutations may face cognitive problems at an early age in their lives if they live in line with this fast-paced culture that places less emphasis on their physical and mental health,” Goyal said. The doctor also advised regular breaks between work, relaxation therapy, proper diet and sleep along with frequent rejuvenation therapy to help maintain proper biochemical balance in the brain and avoid the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's, which affects millions of people worldwide, is a neurodegenerative disorder that begins with cognitive problems like short-term memory loss and gradually leads to severe cognitive decline and loss of independence.