← The Peter Attia Drive
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today's episode of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is from podcast</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/richardisaacson/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">#18 – Richard Isaacson, M.D.: Alzheimer's prevention</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a subscriber-exclusive podcast, released Tuesday through Friday, and published exclusively on our private, subscriber-only podcast feed.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is short-hand for "qualifying round," which are typically the fastest laps driven in a race car</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">done before the race to determine starting position on the grid for race day.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">T</span></em><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">he Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">are short (i.e., "fast"), typically less than ten minutes, and highlight the best questions, topics, and tactics discussed on</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Drive</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Occasionally, we will also release an episode on the main podcast feed for non-subscribers, which is what you are listening to now.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn more:</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/qualys/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/qualys/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Subscribe to receive access to all episodes of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Qualys</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(and other exclusive subscriber-only content):</span> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Connect with Peter on</span> <a href="http://facebook.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dFacebook"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">|</span> <a href="http://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dTwitter"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">|</span> <a href="http://instagram.com/PeterAttiaMD%5dInstagram"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram.com/PeterAttiaMD</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Pursue Higher Education
Attain secondary and tertiary education, particularly in early life, as this is supported by the best evidence for mitigating early life risk factors for Alzheimer’s and building cognitive reserve.
2. Stay Cognitively Engaged
Maintain high levels of mental activity and engagement throughout life, especially after retirement, to build cognitive backup pathways that can slow the rate of decline if Alzheimer’s disease takes hold.
3. Engage in Musical Activities
Learn and play a musical instrument, both in early and mid-life, as this is a multimodal activity that recruits different parts of the brain to work together, strengthening pathways and building cognitive reserves.
4. Cultivate Social Support
Sustain loving, social, and supportive relationships, as these provide a crucial sense of purpose and can act as a collaborative support system, which is vital for mitigating cognitive decline.
5. Maintain Life’s Purpose
Actively cultivate and maintain a strong sense of purpose in life, as the anecdotal evidence suggests that a vanishing sense of purpose is overwhelmingly linked to accelerated cognitive regression.