Tired of having a gray matter meltdown? If you're in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease or struggling with mild cognitive impairment, you might be able to tweak your synapses back into gear just by shaking up how you live your life. A fresh piece of research is claiming that a change of habits could be a gamechanger.

51 guinea pigs, all flirting with the onset of Alzheimer's, were shoved into two different paddocks for 20 weeks. Group one was told to continue lounging in their couch-potato lifestyles (translation: control group). The second group was given a four-step routine to reboot their lifestyle: chew on real food (preferably of the plant-based variety), get those muscles hustling for at least half an hour a day, spend an hour breathing 'Zen', and attend three group therapy cryfests every week.

So what happened? Let's check the scorecard. Those in the lifestyle bootcamp saw a boost in cognitive function in three out of four tests, and minor triumphs in the fourth. On top of that, their progress in the cruel game of Alzheimer's was much slower. As much as we hate to say 'I told you so' to the junk-food junkies of the other group, they fumbled in all four cognitive function tests.

Dean Ornish, MD, the study’s overlord, is pretty chuffed by the results. He’s not claiming to have the golden ticket to curing Alzheimer’s but he's eager about offering better life to those plagued with this nightmare.

While a few party poopers in the lifestyle bootcamp ultimately chickened out of the diet, a promising 71% experienced improvements or stagnant progression in their Alzheimer's symptoms. Compare that with two-thirds of the control group who went downhill.

Keep in mind, though, no brains were scanned in the making of this study, and some nuances might be due to the intervention group knowing they were part of the experiment. But the techniques tested do have stellar reputations for boosting an ailing heart and might just be serving a side of brain health as a bonus.

Now if you're reaching for a block of tofu in response to this, take a breath. Yu Chen, PhD, MPH, a professor who sat on the sidelines of this study, points out that subtle changes might be just as useful. The key is consistency.

Hoping to keep Alzheimer's at bay as you age? Even if the intensive makeover proposed in this study seems as attainable as the moon, attaching yourself to some healthy lifestyle habits might help. Dr. Chen’s isolation-surviving prescriptions: stay on the move, eat well, chill out, keep your social life buzzing, stir the gray cells frequently and show up at your doctor's with clockwork punctuality. Consume healthy habits, not empty promises.