Whether or not you had COVID during the 2020 pandemic, the impact of the virus can still be felt even today. Maybe we are more cautious of germs and illness. Maybe family dynamics or job changes have altered our everyday routine. However you have felt the impact of the pandemic on your life, according to Maya Pinjala, PhD, a neuropsychologist at Henry Ford Health, one thing is for certain: studies show that everyone – even those who never contracted the COVID virus – have experienced brain aging as a result of the pandemic.
“So much research is being done on this because COVID is still so new, but we do know that while the infection may cause brain fog or cognitive issues, the stress of living through the pandemic is enough to cause brain changes and cognitive challenges in many individuals as well,” says Dr. Pinjala.
Here, Dr. Pinjala explains how these different factors contribute to brain changes and what can be done to compensate for possible brain aging as the result of the global pandemic.
How COVID Impacts The Brain
“Any infection can have a greater impact on the body than you might realize,” says Dr. Pinjala. “Infections like COVID cause inflammation that can increase your risk for serious health conditions.”
For those who have had COVID, the severity of your infection may dictate what sorts of brain changes you have experienced. For example, even those who only had minor infections of the virus have still reported persistent long-COVID symptoms including brain fog.
Additionally, individuals who had moderate to severe infections that required hospitalization or intubation have reported larger, more concerning cognitive changes including brain inflammation, small strokes and confusion related to changes in your blood oxygen levels.
How Stress Impacts The Brain
For those who never had COVID, that doesn’t mean you got through the pandemic without any changes to your brain, though. Times of uncertainty and external stressors can increase the likelihood for symptoms of anxiety, depressive disorders and brain fog.
“Our brains are rapidly developing in young age” says Dr. Pinjala. “As you get older, we do tend to see a natural cognitive decline, but every age group experiences changes in brain health that can influence how we are impacted by what is going on around us.”
According to a study looking at the brain scans of older adults before and after the pandemic, it was found that even in individuals who never had COVID, their brains aged an average of five months faster than expected. Older adults and male brains felt the greatest impact of stress during this time, but changes in work, education and healthcare access resulted in increased levels of brain aging also.”
Tips For Improving Brain Health
Henry Ford Neuropsychology
Even though the pandemic has impacted our brains, there are still plenty of opportunities to prioritize your brain health after the fact. In addition to the “6 Pillars Of Brain Health” to keep your brain healthy as you age, Dr. Pinjala recommends these interventions for brain health improvement:
- Work to manage treatable health conditions like depression and anxiety
- Prioritize healthy eating (like the MIND diet) to delay cognitive decline
- Support your brain’s hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for memory) by exercising regularly
- Look for stress management techniques that work for you – self-care, therapy, medication, hobbies, meeting with friends, etc.
- Keep blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels in check as high levels of these can contribute to bodily inflammation and decreased blood flow to the brain
Most important of all, Dr. Pinjala recommends you reevaluate your lifestyle choices frequently.
“Many people let good healthy habits slip during the pandemic, and have not returned to previous activity,” she says. “Make sure you are staying on top of your health to avoid unnecessarily brain (or general health) changes.”
Reviewed by Dr. Maya Pinjala, a neuropsychologist who sees patients at Henry Ford One Ford Place, Henry Ford Medical Center - Ford Road and Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Clinics.
