Dr. Gary Small, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist based in Los Angeles, says age is the biggest risk factor in developing Alzheimer's, but lifestyle still matters.
Small, who has a psychiatry practice focused on memory loss and is a professor of psychiatry at UCLA, said the habits he follows are simple: move regularly, eat mostly whole foods, sleep well, and keep a positive mindset.
He said frequent movement helps overall health and mood, and may raise levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, a protein involved in the survival and growth of nerve cells. His routine includes cycling, resistance bands, dumbbells, and more walking during the day. He also works on balance with lunges and standing on one foot with his eyes closed.
On nutrition, Small said he tries to have a healthy protein and a healthy carbohydrate with every meal, and snacks on whole foods instead of ultraprocessed ones. He said higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods is associated with quicker cognitive decline. A typical day for him includes eggs and toast at breakfast, a turkey sandwich or chicken salad at lunch, and salmon or steak with salad at dinner.
Sleep is another priority. Small said a good night's sleep is critically important for the aging brain, including clearing amyloid, natural proteins in the brain that can build up over time and are associated with memory loss and cognitive decline. When he wakes in the middle of the night, he uses box-breathing exercises or listens to an audiobook.
He also said a positive mindset can help older people adapt to setbacks and stay mobile. At the same time, he said not to get too rigid about sleep or step counts. He noted that dementia and Alzheimer's are still influenced by genetics and age, and that people should do as much as they can without acting as if everything is in their control.
Here's the playbook for founders and operators who want to age well without turning health into another dashboard metric: focus on the basics that compound. Movement, protein, sleep, and a calmer mind are not flashy, but they are habits you can actually sustain.
The bigger lesson is discipline without obsession. Small's view is a useful one for any high-performing person: take the levers you can control, ignore the perfection trap, and keep building a routine that will still work when your calendar gets messy.
