What's good for your body is good for your brain. That means
eating a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies and not much sugar,
saturated fat, or alcohol, as well as getting enough exercise and sleeping
about eight hours a night. But evidence is accumulating that a whole host of
other activities can help keep our brains young even as we advance in
chronological age. There is no one magic activity that you need to take on, but
trying a handful of the following will help.
Take dance lessons
Seniors who danced three to four times a week—especially
those who ballroom danced—had a 75% lower risk of dementia compared with people
who did not dance at all, found a 2003 landmark study in the New England
Journal of Medicine. Why? "Dancing is a complex activity," says
study lead author Joe Verghese,
MD, chief of geriatrics at Montefiore Medical
Center in New York City. "It's aerobic so it improves blood flow to the
brain which has been shown to improve brain connections. It also provides mental
challenges." While it can be hard to prove cause and effect (people with
dementia may cut back on activities), the study enrolled people without
dementia and followed them over time.
Play an instrument
Whether it's the saxophone, the piano, or a ukulele,
researchers found that playing an instrument for 10 or more years was
correlated with better memory in advanced age compared to those who played
music for less than 10 years (or not at all). Other research shows that even
listening to music can help boost your brainpower. A study from
the Stanford University School of Medicine found that listening to baroque
music (Vivaldi, Bach) leads to changes in the brain that help with attention
and storing events into memory.
Learn a foreign language
Being bilingual may help delay the onset of dementia.
Individuals who spoke two languages developed dementia an average of four and a
half years later than people who only spoke one language in a 2013 study
published in the journal Neurology. Other research shows that people who
speak more than one language are better at multitasking and paying attention.
Experts say the earlier you learn, the better—growing up speaking two languages
is optimal—but that it's never too late and every little of language learning
helps.
Play chess
Playing chess, bingo, checkers, and card games may help keep
your brain fit. A 2013 French study found a 15% lower risk of dementia among
people who played board games versus those who did not. And the effects seemed
to last over the study's 20-year follow-up. "The idea is that this helps
build cognitive reserve," says Dr. Verghese, whose study also found
benefits to playing board games like Monopoly. "The more these activities
buffer against the disease, you may be able to mask the effects of the disease
for longer periods of time. It buys you extra time."
Read more of less
Reading, in general, is good for the brain. But reading
fewer books and articles so you can give them each of them more focused
attention may be even better. "Our brain doesn't do very well with too
much information. The more you download, the more it shuts the brain
down," says Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, director of the Center for Brain
Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. "It's better to read one or
two good articles and think about them in a deeper sense rather than read
20."
Change your font
Next time you have to read through some documents for work,
consider changing the typeface before you print them out. Chances are, the docs
came to you in an easy-to-read font like Arial or Times New Roman, but
switching it to something a little less legible like Comic Sans or Bodoni may
improve your comprehension and recall of the information, according to a small
study out of Harvard University. Likewise, a study at a Ohio high school
revealed that students who received handouts with less-legible type performed
better on tests than the students who were given more readable materials. It's
a version of the no-pain-no-gain phenomenon: When you exert more effort, your
brain rewards you by becoming stronger. But make sure you keep things new by
changing fonts regularly.
Single-task
If you think your ability to multitask proves you've got a
strong brain, think again. "Multitasking hijacks your frontal lobe,"
says Chapman, who is also the author of Make Your Brain Smarter. The
frontal lobe regulates decision-making, problem-solving, and other aspects of
learning that are critical to maintaining brain health. Research has shown that
doing one thing at a time—not everything at once—strengthens higher-order
reasoning, or the ability to learn, understand, and apply new information.
Write about your stress
In one study, college students who wrote about stressful
experiences for 20 minutes three days in a row improved their working memories
and their grade point averages. Students who wrote about neutral events saw no
such improvements. "We hypothesized that stress causes unwanted, intrusive
thoughts," says study co-author Adriel Boals, PhD, associate professor of
psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. "Writing gets rid
of intrusive thoughts then working memory increases." If something's
bothering you, don't bottle it up.
Take up knitting
Activities that put your hands to work, like knitting,
crocheting, and gardening, are proven stress relievers, and they may also keep
your brain young. In a 2013 survey of about 3,500 knitters around the world,
there was a correlation between knitting frequency and cognitive function; the
more people knitted, the better function they had.
Find your purpose
People who feel they've found their purpose in life have
lower rates of depression and tend to live longer. Studies also show that this positive
outlook also benefits the brain. In one study, those who reported having a
strong purpose in life were more than twice as likely to stay Alzheimer's-free
than people who did not profess a purpose. To develop a sense of purpose, focus
on the positive impact you have at home or at work. You could also try
volunteering for a cause that's meaningful to you.
Be social
Spending lots of time with friends and family, especially as
you get older, may be one of the best buffers against mental decline. In one
study, people who participated in social activities more often and who felt
that they had ample social support did better on several measures of memory, as
well as mental processing speed. "Social engagement is linked with mental
agility," says Carey Gleason, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist at the
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
Play a video game
Companies like Lumosity charge you a monthly fee
Use your time efficiently
Don't spend an hour doing something that should take you 10
minutes. Conversely, don't spend 10 minutes on something that deserves an hour.
In other words, calibrate your mental energy. "Decide from the get-go how
much mental energy you are going to spend on a task," says Chapman.
"Giving your full forceful energy all the time really degrades resources.
You need to know when to do something fast and when to do something slow."
Write by hand
Sure, typing is faster, but writing longhand may be better
for your brain. Studies have shown that students learn better when they take
notes by hand because it forces them to process the information as they take it
in. The cursive you learned in elementary school may be particularly useful.
First graders who learned to write in cursive scored higher on reading and
spelling than peers who wrote in print.
Take naps
Go ahead, sneak in a super-quick catnap: it'll recharge your
brain. One group of German researchers saw improvements in memory among people
who dozed for as little as six minutes, although the results were even better
among those who napped longer. Conversely, problems sleeping, including sleep
apnea and insomnia, are associated with dementia. That research is still early
(people with dementia have disturbed sleep), but bear in mind that sleeping
seven to eight hours a night may help you live longer and, hopefully,
healthier.
Wash the dishes
It may be easier than you think to get the optimal amount of
physical activity. According to one study, washing the dishes, cooking, and
cleaning can add to our daily activity total and are linked with a reduced risk
of dementia. In the study, people with the least amount of total physical
activity were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's compared with
people reporting the most activity. Even playing cards and moving a wheelchair
counted.
Ramp it up
Whether it's physical activity or mental activity, you need
to keep pushing your limits in order to reap the benefits. "You need to challenge
yourself to the next level so you get the benefits," says Verghese. Don't
be satisfied with finishing Monday's easy crossword puzzle. Keep going until
you master Saturday's brainteaser as well. The same with walking: keep
lengthening your distance.
Source: Health.com
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