DO NOT Fail This Brain Test (For Early Dementia)

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Memory loss is not the only early sign of dementia! Other common cognitive decline symptoms involve the speed at which you process information and your attention and focus.

To perform the clock drawing test for dementia, set a timer for 30 seconds and draw a clock with the time set at 10 minutes after 11.

To evaluate your results for any dementia risk factors, examine the following:

•Were any numbers jumbled or missing?

•Did you write all 12 numbers?

•Were the numbers spaced correctly?

•Were the hands of the clock facing the right direction?

•Did you reverse the hour and the minute hands?

•Were you unable to complete this in 30 seconds?

The clock drawing test is one of the most sensitive indicators of early cognitive deficits and is considered more accurate than memory tests.

If you didn’t pass this test or you made a mistake, don’t worry! You can do many things to support brain health and prevent or reverse dementia.

Sugar shrinks your brain, especially the hippocampus, which controls memory. Chronic stress and poor sleep can also contribute to the problem.

If you notice any signs of early dementia, increasing BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is vital. BDNF helps grow brain tissue and prevents cognitive problems, as well as other issues like depression.

Here are the best ways to increase BDNF:

•Intermittent fasting

•Cold therapy

•Deep sleep

•Learning difficult tasks or skills

•High-intensity interval training

Ketones can also help reverse dementia and protect your brain against cognitive decline. A low-carb diet can increase ketones and has even been shown to reverse diabetes in 10 weeks!

MCT oil, coconut oil, and ketone supplements can also provide the brain with ketones. To remain in ketosis, only consume a moderate amount of protein!

Transcript

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0:00.0	You do not want to fail this brain test for early dementia. It's only a 30 second test. I want you to get a
0:06.0	piece of paper and a pen out right now. And I'm going to do the test with you. Early dimension is not
0:10.9	just about memory loss. It could also be about the speed at which you process information to slow down
0:17.2	to your attention, your focus. We're going to take the 30 second test together to see if
0:22.1	there's any issues with early dementia. This is actually called the clock drawing test. When I press
0:28.4	start, you're going to draw a clock with the time set at 10 minutes after 11 o'clock. And then after
0:35.7	the test, I'm going to show you what to do if you have a
0:38.2	problem with dementia. Okay, are you ready is what I have right here. You could see this thing right there.
1:17.6	First question is, were there any numbers that were jumbled up or missing? Did you write in all 12 numbers, all spaced out correctly?
1:23.6	Were the hands of the clock facing in the right directions? Did you reverse the
1:27.6	hour and the minute hands? Or did you have that correct? Or did you not complete this project in 30 seconds?
1:33.1	Now, what's interesting about this test is that it's one of the most sensitive indicators for
1:37.7	early cognitive deficits. And it's even more accurate than memory test, which is pretty wild.
1:43.6	Certain neurologists use this
1:45.2	in early indicators of Alzheimer's dementia. So if you didn't pass that test, that's fine. Don't worry
1:50.8	about it. I'm going to show you what to do to reverse early dementia. And by the time you get 50,
1:55.6	it starts to accelerate. And so the big question is, what causes dementia? One of the biggest things
2:00.4	that starts to break down the brain is sugar. Sugar shrinks the brain, especially a part of the brain called hippocampus, which is all about memory. In fact, look at type 2 diabetes with a diabetic. They have a lot of brain issues. This is what Alzheimer's is called type 3 diabetes. But there's other
2:19.3	things that also can cause this problem. Chronic stress. And they're more at risk for cognitive
2:24.5	problems. What's really wild is one night, a bad sleep, causes the brain to be just a little
2:30.4	bit smaller and even can create a little placking that begins. Why is that? Because one of the
2:35.7	purposes of sleep is to detoxify the brain. The question is how do we reverse the shrinkage?
	...

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