Preventive Education for Cognitive Decline from Ibn Sina’s Perspective: Integrating Intellect, Memory, Lifestyle, Mental Health, and Spirituality

Abstract

This article aims to reconstruct Ibn Sina’s thought on the preservation of physical health, intellect, memory, mental health, and spirituality, and to analyze its relevance to preventive education for cognitive decline before the onset of dementia. This study employs qualitative library research using a hermeneutic-reconstructive conceptual analysis. Primary sources consist of Ibn Sina’s works on medicine, the soul, intellect, and religious thought, while secondary sources include scholarly articles, WHO guidelines, and reports by the Lancet Standing Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care. Ibn Sina did not develop a concept of dementia in the modern neurological sense. Nevertheless, his ideas on health preservation (ḥifẓ al-ṣiḥḥah), physical activity, nutrition, sleep, psychological conditions, intellect, memory, and spirituality provide a relevant framework for preventive education. The spiritual dimension encompasses the immaterial nature of the soul, spiritual well-being as the perfection of the theoretical and practical intellect, and the practices of worship and self-knowledge. Physical activity, healthy dietary patterns, cognitive stimulation, and social engagement correspond to WHO recommendations, although the levels of supporting evidence vary. Meanwhile, the role of spirituality is indirect, and direct empirical evidence remains limited. Preventive education can be developed around five pillars: maintaining physical health through physical activity and healthy lifestyle practices; preserving intellectual capacity through lifelong learning; strengthening memory through meaningful learning; promoting psychological and social well-being through stress management and community engagement; and cultivating spirituality as a complementary dimension that supports meaning in life and inner peace. This study extends the interpretation of Ibn Sina’s thought beyond the history of medicine into the field of preventive education by explicitly incorporating the spiritual dimension and critically examining it in light of contemporary evidence. Ibn Sina’s thought can be reconstructed as a philosophical foundation for lifelong health education, while modern medical evidence remains the primary basis for determining the effectiveness of preventive interventions.