(Radio Iowa) – A-A-R-P Iowa and the Alzheimer’s Association are holding a joint statewide tour to present educational workshops focused on the importance of cognitive health. A-A-R-P State Director Brad Anderson says they want to be sure that older Iowans are doing all they can to stay healthy. “Our main overarching point that we would like to make to Iowans is it’s never too early, and it’s never too late to prioritize your brain health. And that’s the message we intend to get across,” Anderson says. They have identified six pillars of brain health, that are healthy habits people can implement every day, to boost brain health.

“Some of the things that we talked about are is the importance of being social, and the danger of social isolation,” he says. “We also talked about the importance of engaging your brain, managing stress, exercise, getting enough sleep is incredibly important. And we see more and more research about that.” He says those all go along with good nutrition. Anderson says the concepts may seem familiar. “If you think about it, it’s the same stuff that we would be talking about for heart health, yet, people don’t associate it with brain health. And so we’re talking about it in the context of brain health,” he explains. “And then Alzheimer’s Association is there to talk about support for people with dementia and people who have died been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”

There are several workshops available. “Some of the stops are full, but there are still spaces available throughout the throughout the state. So we encourage you to check if you’re interested in the topic of brain health, go to AARP.org/IA and register for a stop near you,” he says.

Anderson says the registration is free and and you don’t need to be an A-A-R-P member to register.