He notes that this information comes at a "critical time" for two reasons.
First, "age related cognitive decline cost the U.S. a whopping $305 billion dollars in 2020. Researchers tell us that if something isn’t done to solve this problem, these numbers could triple by the year 2050."
Secondly, "the new study, from researchers at the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation, comes at a time when masses of people are leaving their churches, synagogues, and temples and becoming nones, or those that don’t affiliate with any religion. A 2016 National Geographic News article reported that nones in the U.S. have overtaken Catholics, mainline Protestants, and all followers of non-Christian faiths. According to Pew Research Center, 23% of Americans have no religious affiliation and 35% of adult millennials are religiously unaffiliated."
The study from the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation reported that those who engaged in a meditation practice which involved breath work combined with chanting for a mere 12 minutes a day had better sleep, improved cognition, better mood, slowed memory loss, increased well being and increased blood flow to areas of the brain related to cognitive function and emotional regulation, as well as increasing the volume of grey matter or cortex of the brain.
Here are two conclusions which can be made based on that study (and others). First, someone who has been diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer's may be able to significantly slow down the progression of the disease by engaging in serious spiritual practice.
Secondly, and ideally, the time to do meditation is right now, long before any issues of memory decline appear.
source: https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-lifestyle/dinacharya-ritual/spiritual-bootcamp/