Your brain works better at different times of the year – peaking in autumn
EVER thought your brain works better at different times of the year? Well, you weren't wrong.
Our brains do work better at different times of the year and autumn is when it's in its prime, according to new research.
Experts from the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto looked at data from 3,353 volunteers from Canada, France and the US.
They found that in the summer and autumn brain functioning was higher.
But in the winter and spring brain functioning was, on average, 4.8 years below other seasons.
On top of that, the chances of meeting criteria for mild dementia were more likely in the winter and spring than summer and autumn.
Previous research has also found a link between the seasons and brain function.
Even when scientists looked at other reasons for cognitive decline in these months, including depression, sleep problems and physical activity, the association between seasons and dementia remained.
Alzheimer's related proteins in the brain were also higher in the winter and spring months, tests showed.
"There may be value in increasing dementia-related clinical resources in the winter and early spring when symptoms are likely to be most pronounced," the authors say.
"By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the seasonal improvement in cognition in the summer and early fall, these findings also open the door to new avenues of treatment for Alzheimer's disease."
But the study didn't follow the volunteers for more than a year, so season changes year-on-year have not been measured.
Around 850,000 Brits living with dementia currently, with the figure set to hit 1 million by 2025.
Dementia is known for the problems it causes with thinking, reasoning and memory - as these are the areas in the brain that become damaged with the disease.
There are two main groups dementia can be split into: Cortical, which causes severe memory loss like that seen in Alzheimer's, and Sub-cortical, which affects thinking speed and activity as seen with Parkinson's disease.
Vascular dementia and Alzheimer's are two of the most common forms of the disease, and they both cause problems with memory - both are rare in those under 65 years old.
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