Many older Americans are being proactive in sharpening their brains. Computer games, word puzzles and yoga are just a few of the popular activities. There’s even more you can do.
Try these 10 easy ways to keep your mind fit forever from AARP:
- Get moving: …Higher exercise levels can reduce dementia risk by 30 to 40 percent compared with low activity levels, and physically active people tend to maintain better cognition and memory than inactive people.
- Pump some iron: Older women who participated in a yearlong weight-training program at the University of British Columbia at Vancouver did 13 percent better on tests of cognitive function than a group of women who did balance and toning exercises.
- Seek out new skills: Learning spurs the growth of new brain cells.
- Say ‘Omm’: …This form of meditation – which involves focusing one’s attention on sensations, feelings and state of mind – has been shown to reduce harmful stress hormones.
- Eat like a Greek: A heart-friendly Mediterranean diet – fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans – reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 34 to 48 percent in studies conducted by Columbia University.
- Spice it up: Herbs and spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, basil, parsley, ginger and vanilla are high in antioxidants, which may help build brainpower.
- Find your purpose: Discovering your mission in life can help you stay sharp, according to a Rush University Medical Center study of more than 950 older adults.
- Get a (social) life: Having multiple social networks helps lower dementia risk, a 15-year study of older people from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute shows.
- Reduce your risks: Chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity and hypertension are often associated with dementia…Controlling these risk factors can slow the tide.
- Check vitamin deficiencies: …Older adults at risk of vitamin B12 deficiencies had smaller brains and scored lowest on tests measuring thinking, reasoning and memory, researchers found.
*From: Age-Proof Your Brain: 10 easy ways to keep your mind fit forever. By Beth Howard, AARP The Magazine, February/March 2012 issue.
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