To prevent neurological diseases, it is positive to promote cognitive reserve with activities such as reading, studying and socializing Healthy life expectancy (considering the absence of disability as good health) only reaches 70.4 years in women and 69.4 in men in SpainNine of the fifteen most frequent diseases among people who have a recognized disability in Spain are neurologicalThe neurological disease can be prevented with brain-healthy lifestyle habits, according to the vice president of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), Jesús Porta, who stresses that mortality due to brain diseases has increased by 18.5% in Spain in the last 10 years. On the occasion of Brain Week, which is celebrated from this Monday until November 4, the vice president of the SEN points out that one of The keys to preventing the onset of neurological diseases is to promote cognitive reserve, that is, “stimulate the brain with activities that increase in the connectivity between neurons, and that is done with any intellectual activity, such as reading, studying and also socializing”. According to the latest data from the INE, the average life expectancy in Spain is 83 years but healthy life expectancy (considering good absence of disability) only reaches 70.4 years in women and 69.4 in men. Nine of the fifteen most frequent diseases among people who have a recognized disability in Spain are neurological, such as stroke, Alzheimer, Parkinson or ALS, which lead the classification. According to data provided by the SEN, in Spain there are 20 million people over 50 years of age and, from that age on, more than 50% suffer from a chronic disease, being neurological pathologies responsible for 44% of disabilities. For this reason, and although age is not a factor that can be modified, the vice president of the SEN recalls that healthy lifestyle habits and intellectual activity can prevent the s 120,000 new cases each year in Spain of disability and mortality due to brain disease. Porta proposes avoiding physical inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure, alcohol consumption, depression, diabetes and pollution and considers that “following a Mediterranean diet, trying to have a good mood and seeking socialization, will reduce the prevalence and progression of many of the current neurological diseases”.