The importance of good brain health
Brain health and wellbeing is a key strategic aim within Dementia United’s 2023-2025 delivery plan but why is it so important? Quite simply, improving brain health can reduce dementia risk and research studies suggest it could also help people with dementia support wellbeing and remain independent for longer.
We already know that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed, yet there is still limited understanding within the UK of the potential to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
In 2020, the Lancet Commission into Dementia prevention, intervention, and care added three new avoidable risk factors (head injury, air pollution & excessive alcohol consumption), to the nine already known, namely: less education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, and infrequent social contact.
As the Lancet paper reports: “We need to be ambitious about prevention”.
Good brain health doesn’t just help with prevention, however. Creative arts and healthy living all help people to live well with a dementia diagnosis. For example, music can raise serotonin levels, creating a feeling of wellbeing that can last days. It’s also very well known that what’s good for the heart is good for the brain, which is why some form of physical activity is so important.
Music is so good at bringing back memories…it’s just such a joy. Not only for the people that are living with dementia but their carers as well, knowing that their loved ones are getting so much from the session. Caroline Ratcliffe, Vocal Animateur, Tameside Music Services.
About the Big Brain Health Fund
In 2023, our Big Brain Health Fund was launched to kick start creative arts and healthy living projects across Greater Manchester. Applications were received from VCSE groups working with people affected by mild cognitive impairment and dementia including registered charities, Community Interest Companies and Community Interest Organisations. We particularly looked for projects that were able to:
- Improve the experience of being diagnosed and living with dementia
- Promote brain health and help prevent avoidable cases of dementia
- Helping to maximise wellbeing and time spent living independently
We awarded twenty-four one-off grants of up to £5,000, with priority being given to those projects which were able to evidence sustainability at the end of their projects. In 2023, the Big Brain Health Fund supported:
- Interactive puppetry theatre
- Dementia Discos in Tameside & Stockport
- Dementia awareness events for south Asian groups by Khush Amdid
- Holistic Music Sessions for people living with dementia
- Creative Mindfulness
- Clay Club ceramics classes
- Song writing & dance sessions
- Interactive dementia activity tables
- Arts, Calligraphy & Crafting sessions and much, much more
To celebrate the success of the Big Brain Health Fund, we commissioned Yellow Jigsaw to make a series of short films for us, showcasing five of the most innovative, creative, and exciting projects.
During Dementia Action Week, we’ll be releasing a different film every day across the DU website and @DementiaUnited on Twitter/X. Look out for our films featuring people living with dementia enjoying interactive puppetry, music, disco, clay and mindfulness, starting on Monday 13 May with this green hued beauty and her friends.
I just thought it was wonderful. The puppets, the music, everything. Audience member, “Carried by the Wind”, Goofus Theatre, Wigan.
