Neurosciences

Keep your brain healthy

Keeping your brain healthy

Thanks to ongoing research, we keep learning about the brain. You have more power over your brain than you might have thought.

Follow these tips to keep your brain as young as possible:

1. Exercise your body

Research shows that exercise:

Helps the brain grow new brain cells (neurons). Exercise appears to slow age-related brain shrinkage and maintain the cognitive abilities that diminish with age. Studies suggest that this is because regular exercise helps spur the growth of new neurons.
Helps prevent stroke and some forms of dementia. Exercise helps lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure damages the arteries that supply blood to the brain, which in turn can cause stroke, trouble with understanding and memory, and dementia as you get older.

You don’t need to take up marathon running –– simply taking a walk every day can help you build a better brain.

2. Exercise your brain

If you want to stay sharp, use your brain now, and don’t stop. The latest research shows that exercising your brain throughout your life slows mental decline in old age. Keeping your brain active appears to protect the connections among brain cells, and may even help you grow new cells.

Here are some ways to use your brain every day, from the Alzheimer’s Foundation:

Stay curious and involved
Read, write, solve crossword or other puzzles
Attend lectures and plays
Enroll in courses at your local adult education center, community college or other community group
Play games
Garden
Try memory exercises

3. Eat a healthy diet

A healthy diet will help keep your brain healthy, and help your heart, too. Eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and cold-water fish like wild salmon.

Choose healthy fats that come from plants –– polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil –– instead of saturated fats that come such foods as cheese.

Consider adding these brain-healthy foods to your menu:

Blueberries
Wild salmon
Nuts and seeds
Avocados
Beans
Citrus fruits
Colorful vegetables
Dark chocolate

4. Socialize

Humans are wired to be social –– even those of us who are naturally introverts. We’re learning that new experiences and new friends –– and old friends –– do more than enrich your life.

Research shows that an active social life helps reduce your risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The theory is that social connections help keep the connections between your brain cells (neurons) strong.

If you’ve been neglecting your social life, here are some ideas to jump-start it: