Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates #453 Dr Tommy Wood - How to Reduce the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia
Mar 19, 2026
Dr Tommy Wood, a medical doctor and PhD in physiology and neuroscience focused on neurodegenerative disease, offers practical advice for preserving cognitive health. He explores video games, dancing, and different exercise types as brain-protective activities. He explains cognitive headroom, the 3S model (stimulus, supply, support), retirement risks, metabolic health, and key nutrients to help reduce dementia risk.
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Complex Video Games Build Cognitive Headroom
- Video games can build cognitive capacity by training attention, processing speed, and decision making.
- Randomized trials (e.g., Starcraft 2, Super Mario 3D World) show complex first-person or action games improve cognition in younger and older adults.
Cognitive Headroom Explains Dementia Risk
- Cognitive headroom is the gap between daily functional needs and peak brain capacity, analogous to physical reserve for muscle or bone.
- Building peak capacity early and maintaining it delays loss of independence as you age.
The 3S Model For Brain Health
- Use the 3S model: Stimulus, Supply, Support to organize brain-health interventions.
- Stimulus = learning, social connection, complex skills; Supply = vascular/metabolic/nutrients; Support = sleep, recovery, avoid alcohol/smoking.
