How to keep your brain sharp as you age – No doubt about it, you are aging. You’ve recently become aware of changes in your cognition and memory.
You can’t seem to keep track of your keys, you have to pause for a moment to remember where you parked, or you have trouble finding the appropriate words to explain yourself.
Do these changes indicate normal aging or the beginnings of dementia?
As we get older, our brains naturally begin to atrophy. Inward blood flow decreases.
A decreased brain volume results in a lessened capacity of nerve cells to communicate.
Ignorance and forgetfulness will increase frequently.
This kind of forgetfulness is a natural part of aging; it is not always indicative of dementia.
Taking care of one’s body and mind can help mitigate these signs. To maintain mental acuity as you age, consider the following strategies on ‘how to keep your brain sharp as you age’
Keep on studying
Better cognitive health in old age is linked to having completed more schooling.
In the opinion of experts, a healthy memory can be maintained by a consistent routine of mental activity, which is fostered by a high level of education.
Mental exercise, or a challenge to one’s cognitive abilities, is thought to kick off mechanisms that keep brain cells healthy and promote communication.
It’s common for people to engage in mentally stimulating work. To maintain cognitive health, you can also engage in activities such as volunteering or being mentored or pursue interests such as learning a new skill.
Use all your senses
When you incorporate many senses, a greater portion of your brain is activated in the learning process.
Adults in one experiment were exposed to a sequence of neutral-emotion pictures accompanied by a smell. They weren’t even prompted to try to recall what they’d seen.
After that, they were again shown the same set of photographs (this time without the smells) and asked to choose which ones they’d already seen.
All odor-paired images were easily recalled, but those connected with pleasant smells fared the best.
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that when people saw objects previously paired with odors, the main odor-processing region of the brain, the piriform cortex, became active.
This occurred even though the smells were no longer present, and the subjects had not tried to remember them. In other words, use whatever sense you have to investigate this new environment.
Don’t Smoke or Drink Excessive Amounts of Alcohol
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, smoking and heavy drinking raise a person’s risk of developing dementia; therefore, those who smoke should try to quit, and those who drink excessively should practice moderation.
On days when alcohol is consumed, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend no more than two drinks for males and no more than one drink for women.
Depending on the type of alcohol, one “drink” is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 8 ounces of malt liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
Alcohol consumption above seven units per week is connected with greater brain iron, associated with lower cognitive performance, according to a study published in July 2022.
Four 12-ounce cans of beer or three 5-ounce glasses of wine can give you around seven units of alcohol.
Timing is everything
Timing your repetitions is key to their effectiveness as a learning tool.
Don’t repeat something repeatedly in a short time frame like you’re trying to memorize it for an exam.
Instead, you should periodically review the fundamentals, starting with once an hour and working up to once every few hours and once a day.
Spreading out your study sessions is an excellent way to strengthen your memory and is especially useful when you’re attempting to learn a lot of new material, like the specifics of a new project at work.
Eat Smart
Vegetables and fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, have been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.
Cutting out fatty meats, processed foods, and hydrogenated oils is a good start.
Conclusion
The article discussed how to keep your brain sharp as you age. The process of aging occurs naturally throughout time. How we treat our bodies now can significantly impact how we feel as we age.
Maintaining physical fitness, a healthy diet, and mental engagement are all important as you age. As a result, you might live a long, healthy life filled with wonderful memories.
