Having healthy habits really counts — especially for your brain. If you're middle-aged and dealing with risk factors that include high blood pressure, cholesterol and/or high blood sugar and your lifestyle habits aren't that healthy, a new Yale University study finds that you'll have a higher risk of developing neurological conditions such a stroke, dementia, and depression later in your life.

A healthy brain is what enables us to cope with stress, learn, work, contribute to our community and socialize.

People with low or poor lifestyle factors scores were more than twice as likely to develop neurological conditions compared to folks with optimal scores.

“Brain health is paramount for the well-being of every person, enabling us to function at our highest level and constantly adapt in the world,” the study's author, Santiago Clocchiatti-Tuozzo, MD, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research in the Department of Neurology at Yale, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said in a press release.

What are the healthy habits that can help protect you and your brain from aging poorly? The American Heart Association (AHA) has identified eight essential factors for a healthy life. They include:

  • Being active
  • Eating a diet that includes whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and cooking in non-tropical oils such as olive and canola.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight, with a BMI under 25 and over 18.5
  • Not smoking
  • Maintaining a healthy blood pressure — levels less than 120/80 mm Hg are optimal
  • Getting enough shut-eye
  • Controlling your cholesterol — high levels of non-HDL, or “bad,” cholesterol can lead to heart disease.
  • Keeping blood sugar levels in check by watching your intake of carbohydrates and sugars in what you eat and drink

Clocchiatti-Tuozzo and his team analyzed data from over 316,000 people with an average age of 56 years and followed the group for more than five years, They recorded how well the volunteers' scores reflected the AHA's eight essential cardiovascular health factors, dividing the sample into three categories: optimal, intermediate and poor, depending on how frequently they followed these habits.

Over 64,400 participants had optimal scores; nearly three times as many, 192,000, fell within the intermediate range and over 60,700 scored poorly.

If you're middle-aged and dealing with certain risk factors, you'll have a higher risk of developing neurological conditions such a stroke, dementia and depression later in your life.

Then the researchers reviewed the participants' health records to identify who developed the following neurological conditions: stroke, dementia or late-life depression.

It was clear that healthy lifestyle habits influence neurological health as people get older.

The researchers found — after adjusting for factors that affect the risk of getting these three neurological conditions such as age, sex, race and ethnicity — that people with poor scores on the healthy lifestyle factors were more than twice as likely to develop any of these three neurological conditions. People who had an intermediate score had a 37 percent higher risk of having at least one of the three conditions.

“Our study found that making these healthy lifestyle choices in middle age can have meaningful impacts on brain health later in life,” Clocchiatti-Tuozzo said. More research is needed to understand the link between lifestyle habits and brain health, as well as to show how social factors such as race and ethnicity influence the connection, he added.

If you're thinking about making healthy changes in your life, it's important to be realistic. Lasting lifestyle and behavioral changes won't happen overnight. That's why the American Psychological Association recommends talking about your health goals with friends, family or a professional, such as a psychologist, who can help you navigate feelings and master the skills to successfully change unhealthy behaviors. With help, you can develop the willpower to stay on track with your health-centered goals.

The study is published in Neurology.