The study also tested levels of anxiety and depression and found greater cognitive decline in depressed and anxious people, which echoes previous research.

But tau and amyloid deposits do not increase in people who are already depressed and anxious, leading researchers who suspect negative thoughts repeatedly may be the main reason why depression and anxiety contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

“Taken together with other studies, which link depression and anxiety with the risk of dementia, we hope that long-term chronic negative thinking can increase the risk of dementia,” Marchant said.

“This is the first study to show a biological link between repetitive negative thinking and the pathology of Alzheimer’s, and give doctors more appropriate ways to assess risk and offer more personal interventions,” said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, founder of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at NYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center, were not involved in this study.

“Many people at risk are unaware of the specific negative effects of anxiety and direct reflection on the brain,” said Isaacson, who is also a trustee of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, which funds research to better understand and reduce age-related cognitive decline. .

“This study is important and will change the way I treat my patients who are at risk.”

More study is needed

“It is important to point out that this does not say a short-term negative thinking period will cause Alzheimer’s disease,” said Fiona Carragher, who is chief of policy and research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society in London. “We need further investigation to understand this better.”

“Most people in this study have been identified as having a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, so we need to see whether these results resonate in the general population,” he said, “and if repeated negative thinking increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease itself.”

The researchers suggest that mental training practices such as meditation can help promote positive thinking while reducing negative thoughts, and they plan future studies to be tested their hypothesis.

“Our thoughts can have a biological impact on our physical health, which may be positive or negative,” said co-author Dr. Gael Chételat from Inserm / Université de Caen-Normandie.

“Maintaining your mental health is important, and it must be a major public health priority, because it is not only important for public health and well-being in the short term, but can also have an impact on your risk of dementia,” Chételat said. .

Look on the bright side

“Optimists also tend to have better coping skills and are better problem solvers,” Rozanski told CNN in an earlier interview. “They are better at what we call proactive handling, or anticipating problems and then proactively taking steps to fix them.”

Practice to be an optimist

You can find out where you stand on a half-full or blank concept glass by answering a series of statementss called “life orientation test.”

This test includes statements such as, “I believe in the idea that ‘every cloud has a silver line,'” and, “If something is wrong for me, it will happen.” You judge statements on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree, and the results can be added to determine your level of optimism or pessimism.

Another technique is to practice gratitude. Just taking a few minutes each day to write down what makes you grateful can improve your outlook on life. And while you’re in it, make a list of the positive experiences you had that day, which can also increase your optimism.

“And finally, we know that cognitive behavioral therapy is a very effective treatment for depression; pessimism is heading toward depression,” Rozanski said.

“You can apply the same principles as we do for depression, like reframe. You teach there are alternative ways to think or reframe negative thoughts, and you can make great progress with such pessimism.”