A Young Brain
One of the biggest fears people have about aging is losing their cognitive function, but the reality is you can keep your brain young by incorporating daily activities and good habits early on. Some of these tips and tricks only take a few minutes to complete, while others may take some planning and care.
1. Do Crossword Puzzles
Like most muscles, the brain works best when it's used. This means doing the daily crossword puzzle or finding a fun word search online is a great way to quickly flex that muscle and keep your senses sharp.
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2. Eat Brain-Healthy Foods
Plenty of foods are great for aging and brain wellness. For instance, the blue zone diets and the Mediterranean diet in particular are known to help cognitive function and fight ailments like dementia.
3. Sleep Enough
Being sleep-deprived or denying your body ample sleep to grow and conduct necessary processes not only leads to worsened cognitive function, but will impact you in many other ways too. That’s why it’s always important to get your allotted 7 to 9 hours.
4. Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is another thing that can impact your brain as you grow. That means checking your blood pressure regularly and making lifestyle modifications as needed to keep it as low as possible.
5. Emotional Strength
It turns out people who get anxious or depressed correlate with poorer brain function. While it’s impossible to be in good mental health all the time, it's important to prioritize self-care and mindfulness time.
6. Drink Less
It’s recommended to limit your drinking to two drinks a day, although there are also great benefits of being sober as well. Either way, less alcoholic drinking results in a lower blood pressure, which is a win-win for cognitive function.
7. Protect Your Head
This may seem obvious, but physically hitting your head or getting injured can severely increase cognitive impairment risks. So if you play sports known for head injuries, be sure to wear a helmet and be as safe as you can.
8. Have Friends
It turns out stronger social ties correlate with lower dementia risk. For older people, it’s important to maintain a circle of family and friends you trust, and to also spend ample quality time with them.
9. Blood Sugar
Similar to blood pressure, you also want to stay on top of blood sugar. It turns out diabetes leads to increased risk of cognitive impairment, so it’s important to stay lean by eating right and exercising regularly.
National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
10. Keep To-do Lists
You might think to-do lists have nothing to do with brain function, but it turns out staying organized is helpful for training memory and honing your focusing skills. There’s nothing wrong with needing to write things down or make lists, and it’s actually better for you if you do.
11. Control the Cholesterol
Cholesterol is another factor that increases dementia risk. To that end, you want to avoid high levels of LDL cholesterol in particular, which can be improved by avoiding certain substances and focusing on diet and exercise.
12. Organize Your Home
Organization in all its variations is important for brain wellness, and another way to implement that is in your home. Clean up the clutter. Organize your drawers. Maybe even have a master calendar to track appointments or kitchen goods.
13. Try Aspirin
Strangely, some studies have been done to indicate low doses of aspirin can help keep your brain sharp and reduce dementia risk. Of course, it’s important to consult with your doctor before introducing anything like this.
14. Sleep Well
While making sure you get enough sleep is one thing, ensuring the quality of your sleep is another. You should make sure your sleeping space is free of distractions and is comfortable too. After all, lack of quality sleep has been linked to memory loss.
15. Avoid Smoking
Not only is smoking bad, but substances in particular are dangerous in all of their various forms from chewing variants to inhaling ones. This is known to worsen brain function over time, so you’re better letting it go.
16. Learn a New Skill
The assumption that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks is dangerous, as learning a new skill is a great way to improve memory and promote cognitive function. It’s even better if you’re learning skills that require some thinking, like knitting or baking.
17. Avoid Stress
It may seem silly, but you actually should try to avoid stress as this impacts cognitive function too. In fact, stressed people tend to score poorly on cognitive tests, and good mental health is known to instead bolster outcomes.
18. Have Hobbies
Hobbies are an integral part of organizing oneself, practicing decision-making, and bolstering short-term memory. They help us stay sharp, and also create a sense of routine.
19. A Daily Routine
Speaking of routine, it’s shown that engaging in familiar activities and having a semi-similar routine gives brains a sense of comfort and stability. This stability is needed to keep your mind going strong all life long.
20. Physical Exercise
You’ve probably heard about how physical exercise is the cure-all to everything from feeling sad to coping with loss. Turns out it’s great for cognitive function too, as it helps bring oxygen-rich blood into the various regions of your brain. This means in turn your brain stays adaptive and efficient.
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