No protein diet, supplements or exercise: Top neurologist says ’emotional wellbeing’ is key to brain health
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No protein diet, supplements or exercise: Top neurologist says ’emotional wellbeing’ is key to brain health
While diet and exercise remain central to protecting long-term brain health, Dr Jinsy Andrews points to emotional wellbeing as a factor that gets far less attention than it deserves. That concern is backed by research: a 2024 study linked both social isolation and depression to a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Curated by :Shubhi Mishra
July 14, 2026 / 15:18 IST
While diet and exercise remain central to protecting long-term brain health, Dr Jinsy Andrews points to emotional wellbeing as a factor that gets far less attention than it deserves.
As more people live well into their nineties and beyond, brain health is becoming an increasingly urgent concern — and one leading neurologist says the answer isn’t just diet and exercise
Longer lifespans bring a corresponding rise in dementia risk: a 2022 study published in The Lancet projected that global cases could more than double by 2050. Dr Jinsy A. Andrews, a neurologist at NYU Langone specialising in neuromuscular medicine, told Business Insider that lifestyle patterns common in the United States, including limited physical activity and diets heavy in ultra-processed food, may leave people more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions
While dietand exercise remain central to protecting long-term brain health, Andrews points to emotional wellbeing as a factor that gets far less attention than it deserves. That concern is backed by research: a 2024 study linked both social isolation and depression to a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s
Unlike step counts or protein intake, though, emotional health is much harder to measure, and Andrews has said many of her patients struggle even to identify what makes them happy when asked directly, often needing to go away and reflect before coming back with an answer
Her advice centres on two areas: socialising and mental stimulation, both approached with more nuance than the usual “stay social, stay sharp” advice suggests. On socialising, Andrews cautions that not all interaction is equally beneficial, pointing to evidence that leaning on social media for connection can actually worsen emotional wellbeing, particularly when online exchanges turn negative
In-person contact carries its own caveats too: a 2022 study covering more than 160,000 participants found that while modest amounts of social interaction improved wellbeing, piling on ever more social engagements brought diminishing returns, even when those interactions were positive. As Andrews put it, “social interactions really rely on the quality of that interaction rather than the quantity.”
On mental stimulation, Andrews said dementia prevention doesn’t have to mean forcing yourself through daily puzzles. Everyday activities such as listening to music, reading or taking up a craft each engage different regions of the brain, supporting neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to reshape and adapt itself — simply by introducing variety and novelty into daily life
Relaxing pursuits carry a secondary benefit too, since chronic stress has been linked to raised inflammatory markers that can damage the nervous system, with a 2024 study finding reduced brain volume among people under sustained high stress. Ultimately, Andrews suggests, it’s the breadth of stimulation across different parts of the brain, more than any single habit, that does the most to guard against dementia and Alzheimer’s
first published: Jul 14, 2026 03:15 pm
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Shubhi Mishra
