Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
For Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hosted a media briefing on June 10, 2026, about dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and ways to help protect brain health.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 7.4 million older adults—about 1 in 9 members of the U.S. population age 65 and older—are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to double by 2060.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, an umbrella term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other cognitive abilities that interfere with daily life. There are ways to preserve brain health as people age, even once cognition has begun to decline. This includes targeted interventions such as healthy lifestyle habits and prescription drugs that can slow dementia’s progression and ease symptoms.
Topics discussed:
- How Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias unfold over time
- How biomarkers can show up decades before cognitive decline
- Everyday factors that impact brain health, such as sleep, hearing loss, physical activity, stress, social interaction, and more
- Specific interventions, vaccines, and medications that may help slow dementia’s decline
- The latest research on dementia prevention
Insights from:
Jennifer Deal, PhD, MHS, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and co-director of the Epidemiology Doctoral Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Adam Spira, PhD, MA, a professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and core faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health.
Resources:
Jennifer Deal
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/2864/jennifer-anne-deal
Adam Spira
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/2102/adam-p-spira
In Older Adults, Fragmented Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythms Linked to Faster Brain Shrinkage Over Time
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/in-older-adults-fragmented-circadian-rest-activity-rhythms-linked-to-faster-brain-shrinkage-over-time
Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study
academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/72/5/703/2629988?guestAccessKey=
Wrist Device That Monitors Activity Could Help Provide Early Warning of Alzheimer’s
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/wrist-device-that-monitors-activity-could-help-provide-early-warning-of-alzheimers
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:42 Hearing loss and dementia
05:22 Sleep and dementia
08:16 Primary care physicians
10:30 Prevention measures
11:16 Sleep and wearable devices
13:00 Alzheimer’s vs dementia
14:55 Vaccines’ effect
18:14 Protecting brain health
19:27 Lupus, MS, and dementia
20:10 Regular memory loss vs dementia
22:16 Maryland’s rate of dementia
23:26 Sleep and good health
25:34 Family history
27:36 Vision and brain health
30:10 Sleep interventions
https://publichealth.jhu.edu
instagram.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
twitter.com/johnshopkinssph
For Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hosted a media briefing on June 10, 2026, about dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and ways to help protect brain health.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 7.4 million older adults—about 1 in 9 members of the U.S. population age 65 and older—are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to double by 2060.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, an umbrella term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other cognitive abilities that interfere with daily life. There are ways to preserve brain health as people age, even once cognition has begun to decline. This includes targeted interventions such as healthy lifestyle habits and prescription drugs that can slow dementia’s progression and ease symptoms.
Topics discussed:
- How Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias unfold over time
- How biomarkers can show up decades before cognitive decline
- Everyday factors that impact brain health, such as sleep, hearing loss, physical activity, stress, social interaction, and more
- Specific interventions, vaccines, and medications that may help slow dementia’s decline
- The latest research on dementia prevention
Insights from:
Jennifer Deal, PhD, MHS, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and co-director of the Epidemiology Doctoral Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Adam Spira, PhD, MA, a professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and core faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health.
Resources:
Jennifer Deal
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/2864/jennifer-anne-deal
Adam Spira
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/2102/adam-p-spira
In Older Adults, Fragmented Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythms Linked to Faster Brain Shrinkage Over Time
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2026/in-older-adults-fragmented-circadian-rest-activity-rhythms-linked-to-faster-brain-shrinkage-over-time
Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study
academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/72/5/703/2629988?guestAccessKey=
Wrist Device That Monitors Activity Could Help Provide Early Warning of Alzheimer’s
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/wrist-device-that-monitors-activity-could-help-provide-early-warning-of-alzheimers
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:42 Hearing loss and dementia
05:22 Sleep and dementia
08:16 Primary care physicians
10:30 Prevention measures
11:16 Sleep and wearable devices
13:00 Alzheimer’s vs dementia
14:55 Vaccines’ effect
18:14 Protecting brain health
19:27 Lupus, MS, and dementia
20:10 Regular memory loss vs dementia
22:16 Maryland’s rate of dementia
23:26 Sleep and good health
25:34 Family history
27:36 Vision and brain health
30:10 Sleep interventions
https://publichealth.jhu.edu
instagram.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH
twitter.com/johnshopkinssph
