How your outlook may affect your brain

We've all met them, that certain someone you just can't trust. Maybe you wonder about the car dealer's motives, or if your coworker’s telling the truth when she calls in sick—again. That kind of skepticism is natural and even healthy. But according to some research, people with high levels of cynical distrust—when they believe people are insincere and care only about themselves, and want to take advantage of others—may be more likely to develop dementia.

What is dementia?

In general, dementia affects older adults with hallmark symptoms of memory loss and problems with language and reasoning that significantly impact daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is a common type of dementia.

Some risk factors for dementia can’t be helped because they have to do with genetics and family history. But many other known risk factors may be modified with lifestyle changes. In fact, almost 40 percent of all cases of age-related dementia can be prevented or delayed, according to a 2020 update to The Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care.

Your brain on cynicism

Studies have linked cynical distrust—the belief that others are driven by selfish motives—to heart disease, said Anna-Maija Tolppanen, PhD, professor at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, Finland. That’s why back in 2014 she and other researchers from the University of Eastern Finland were interested to see if this personality trait would also be a risk factor for dementia.

In their study, 622 people took dementia tests and a personality questionnaire two times about eight years apart. The average age of participants at the beginning of the study was 71. The questionnaire asked people how much they agreed with such statements as: "I think most people would lie to get ahead" and "Most people will use somewhat unfair reasons to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it." At that time, the researchers found that people with high levels of cynical distrust were three times more likely to develop dementia than those with low levels.

Now, as more people are living into their 70s, 80s and 90s, there's an increased need to better understand, prevent, and treat this progressive brain disease. “Our results suggest that we might also want to account for personality factors when planning prevention strategies,” said Dr. Tolppanen.

In recent years, more research has been done around the feelings of cynicism and distrust and their link to dementia risk. One 2022 study published in Frontiers in Public Health looked at nearly two million participants and compared their level of community-level social trust and dementia risk. They found that the higher a person’s social trust, the lower their risk was of dementia.

Another 2022 study, published in Psychological Medicine, took a slightly different approach. They studied the link between people who had what they called “cynical hostility,” which they define as a mistrust of others, and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. They also looked at participants’ brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

They found that older adults with high levels of cynical hostility were at a much higher risk of having changes in the white matter of their brains. They were also at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s important to make it clear that since researchers were studying cynicism in people who had not yet developed dementia, their cynicism wasn’t caused by dementia itself. (Personality changes can come from the progression of dementia, and people with dementia may display paranoia and suspicion.)

Why does cynicism affect dementia risk?

So far, researchers have drawn an association between dementia and cynicism, but the fact that they’re linked doesn’t prove that one causes the other. More research is needed to uncover the nature of the relationship between the mindset and the disease.

However, if cynical distrust does turn out to directly or indirectly raise the risk of developing dementia, there are a few theories as to why that might be. Researchers who’ve studied the relationship between cynicism and cardiovascular health issues found that if they controlled for physical activity levels and whether participants smoked, the risk was no longer so strongly correlated with cynicism.

That suggests that perhaps people who are cynical are more likely to both smoke and be less physically active, and it’s those secondary behaviors that are raising the health risks. This is partly backed up by past research that linked smoking to psychological hostility.

Those researchers also speculated that it could be higher stress levels from the cynicism that contributes to heart health problems. If that’s the case, it might contribute to dementia, too, since early life stress and chronic stress have been linked to a higher risk of dementia.

What can you do?

It's never too early to start making some changes than could help you age in a healthy way. Here are some simple tips:

Try to reign in your cynicism

Even dyed-in-the-wool pessimists can learn to be more realistically positive. That doesn’t mean you need to always find a so-called silver lining. It could just mean that you stay more neutral and accepting rather than slipping into cynicism or trying to be positive. Here are three ways to try to lean a bit more toward optimism in your everyday life.

• In moments of frustration or disappointment, watch for and seize opportunities. If you’re stuck waiting in a long line, see it as an opportunity to text a friend or listen to a fascinating podcast.
• Surround yourself with people who are more optimistic than you—it may just rub off on you.
• Focus on your strength and on what you do have. Try keeping a simple list of what you’re grateful for, and add to it or rewrite it when you need to refocus your mind on what’s good, rather than what’s bad.
• Consider the fact that failures can be a steppingstones to success. You can grow following mistakes if you’re open to learning from them. Shifting to this type of growth mindset can help you be more resilient.

Exercise your brain

Brain exercises haven’t been proven to lower your risk of dementia, but they can help you stay feeling sharp. Keep learning new things and use all your senses when you venture into activities, including your sense of smell and taste. Try new foods and new experiences.

Exercise your body

Exercise helps improve the memory center in your brain and helps lift your mood. Plus, physical activity can help fight obesity, heart disease, and diabetes—other risk factors for dementia. U.S. health officials recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, or 75 minutes of rigorous weekly activity. You can try fun activities like dancing, hiking, swimming, running, weight training, or yoga, but you can also make small choices each day to incorporate more movement. For example, you can park a little farther from a shop’s entrance to incorporate a walk, or you can take a walk while taking a phone call.

Eat right to think right

There is some evidence that certain foods might be better for preventing dementia than others. While more research is needed, according to the National Institute on Aging, so far there’s evidence in favor of two specific diets being linked to a lowered risk for dementia:

• The Mediterranean diet: To get the benefits of this diet, choose fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, and unsaturated fats, particularly nuts olive oil. Keep red meat, sweets, and full-fat dairy to a minimum.
• The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet: This diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet, but it also focuses on leafy green vegetables, berries (rather than other fruit), and nuts. The MIND diet limits consumption of sweets, dairy products, fast food, fried food, and red meat.

Manage other health issues

Maintaining a healthy weight; managing your blood sugar, blood pressure, and hearing care; and managing your mental health support are each key to the long-term reduction of the risk of dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).