WELCOME TO A YEAR OF MINI RESOLUTIONS!

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ARE YOU READY TO BUILD BETTER HABITS FOR A BRAWNIER BRAIN?
 
Welcome to Concierge Choice Physician’s sixth year of Motivated Mondays! Whether you’re joining us for another year or you’re new here, we’re glad to have you!
 
We’re providing a ton of information today to help set you up for a successful year of crushing new wellness goals. Your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge is always available should you have questions or need additional guidance. You can feel free to reach Michele directly at [email protected]

INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION:
 
Today, we’re discussing a brief history of Motivated Mondays, some of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease and what we can do to prevent it, and the six cognitive domains.
 
We also address whether those without concerns about cognitive decline should participate (the short answer is yes!) and provide a glossary of terms related to brain health, which we’ll revisit over the course of the year.

The History of Motivated Mondays


In its inaugural year of 2020, Motivated Mondays addressed mini lifestyle resolutions that benefited general health and wellness. In 2023, we concentrated our focus on brain health, lifestyle factors influencing cognitive decline and neurodegeneration—and we’ve maintained that focus in the years since.

You might be wondering, why are we locked in on brain health?
 
And the answer is simple but profound: studies show that we can add quality years to our lives and stave off cognitive decline by adjusting our lifestyle habits that directly impact brain health.

Longer Lives = Increased Risk for AD

With improvements in cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, people are living longer. But advanced age is a nonmodifiable risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The American Alzheimer’s Association estimates cases will rise to 13 million in 2026, from 5 million in 2014. In a 5-year multinational study of adults 60 years and older, 32% of Americans report a fear of developing AD. Another survey of Americans aged 55 and older express being more fearful of developing AD than cancer. Both the symptoms and burden of care proved major concerns for Americans.

The good news is that growing older does not mean cognitive decline is inevitable, and many evidence-based steps can help support brain health at any age. And that’s our main focus for Motivated Mondays!

Changing Destiny
 
In 2025, we saw advances in testing for AD, but effective and easy-to-administer treatments remain elusive. However, addressing modifiable lifestyle factors impacting cognitive decline/neurodegeneration continues to demonstrate effectiveness for prevention and even slowing disease progression once established.
 
Recent studies have demonstrated that this holds true even in the presence of the APOE allele gene, one of the genes that influences Alzheimer’s disease risk. Our genetics don’t have to be our destiny! As stated in a recent JAMA opinion piece, “Preventive neurology isn’t a pill; it’s a plan.”
 
We think that’s empowering! And Motivated Mondays can be part of your plan! Our program focuses on modifiable lifestyle factors, i.e., personal behaviors and choices we make that impact the outcome of our health.

Importantly, while this content is meant to inform and empower, it is not a substitute for medical advice. Please work closely with your concierge physician and consult them before beginning any new wellness routine.

How does Motivated Mondays work?

Every few weeks, we will tee up a new mini resolution addressing a lifestyle factor that directly impacts cognitive decline. We’ll provide you with “the what” to do, “the how” to implement it, and also “the why” each resolution is impactful for the health of your brain. Specifically, in Week One of each mini resolution, we’ll introduce the science, i.e., how does addressing this lifestyle behavior prevent cognitive decline? In the subsequent weeks, we’ll provide you with tips and tools to help you stay focused, as well as provide a monthly tracking calendar to help you monitor your progress.
 
But what if cognitive decline is not a concern of yours—should you still participate?
 
All of the behaviors we’ll discuss this year are beneficial for general health and wellness! Whether you have chronic health conditions, an interest in longevity or would just like to live your life well, our program is designed to help you.
 
And if you previously participated, you won’t be bored! We always refresh the science and seek new tools for your toolbox.

…So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

 
 
The 6 Cognitive Domains
 
The Alzheimer’s Association defines cognitive decline as a gradual decrease in cognitive abilities. The most succinct explanation is that, at their synapse (where they meet), neurons stop communicating with one another. Neurons, or brain cells, are responsible for sending messages to your body to do everything, including cognitive function. Anything (genetics, environment of lifestyle behavior/factors) that interferes with neuron communication can impact cognitive function. It may originate with a pathology, such as a neurodegenerative disease, or can be a part of normal aging. Cognitive impairment can also be temporal, as with exposure to certain medications, surgical anesthesia, traumatic brain injury or stroke.
 
There are six cognitive domains representing different mental processes, and each is tied to a specific area of the brain. The clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment is determined by the area of the brain affected. See the image below.  



Learning and memory are the most well-known aspects of cognitive function. They are characterized by the ability to record information and retrieve them when needed. There are several types of memory, including sensory, short-term, long-term, explicit, implicit, prospective and autobiographical.

Language is our ability to communicate, either through writing, reading, or speaking. Language skills include tasks such as naming objects, finding the right words, the fluidity and flow of our speech patterns, grammar and syntax.
Perceptual motor control is our ability to coordinate our body’s movements in response to what is happening around us.

Social cognition is how we process, recall and use information in social contexts. This includes our ability to control our desires to act on impulses, express empathy, recognize social cues, read facial expressions, and motivate ourselves.

Complex attention is our ability to focus on multiple things at once and our ability to choose what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

 
Executive functions refer to high-level cognitive abilities. It involves (1) organization—to collect information and modify it to be evaluated; and (2) regulation—which conducts the evaluation of information and adjusts one’s response to it. In other words, these are the functions we need to plan, prioritize, make decisions, respond to our environments, and toggle between tasks. This includes sequencing, planning, and organization tasks.

We will begin our first mini resolution next week when we tackle sleep! In the meantime, below is a list of terms we will revisit throughout 2026.

GLOSSARY
 
Brain Plasticity – the ability of the brain to rewire itself or change in response to external or internal stimuli—a measure of neurological resilience.
 
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) – a signaling protein (myokine) secreted in the nervous system that promotes survival of neurons, a mediator of plasticity. Facetiously known as Miracle Grow for the brain!
 
Subjective Cognitive Decline – patient reported experience of memory loss or confusion but not apparent yet on neurophysiological testing.
 
Mild Cognitive Impairment – a clinical diagnosis by a healthcare provider in which the patient experiences the early stages of cognitive ability loss or memory loss, but activities of daily living (ADLs) are not impacted. Some patients progress to neurodegenerative disease, and others do not.
 
Dementia – a clinical diagnosis in which the patient experiences loss of cognitive function in one or more of the cognitive domains, severe enough to impact ADLs. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia.
 
Mitochondria – the structure found in all cells in the body—except in red blood cells—responsible for creating energy for the cell. You might recall your science teacher saying, "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell."
 
Neurotransmitter – chemical messengers released by neurons to communicate with other cells.