Surely you have heard it before: the brain is like a muscle. So the more you use it, the stronger it gets. If your brain cells (neurons) are not used, they will wither and die. However, you can create a good reserve and develop new paths. What follows are things you can do in your life that will give your brain a good workout, keep it nourished, and in some cases, actually change your brain. These habits will do you good now and hopefully pay off in the future, as they can help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
1 Positive Thinking Practice
When bad things happen in your life, tell yourself that you will get over them. Know that you have the strength and support to do it and they won’t last forever. On the contrary, enjoy when good things come your way. As the day goes by, try to see the good in the world and in other people. By thinking this way, new pathways are formed in the brain. Yes, the brain can really change and it’s known as neuroplasticity. By developing a positive mindset, your brain has literally built new positive pathways. How good is that? Additionally, New York University research found that when people engage in optimistic thinking they activate the rostral anterior cingulate and the amygdala. These parts of the brain are involved in emotional responses and are also affected by depression. So by acquiring the optimistic habit, your emotional responses will be better and you will reduce the risk of depression.
A final reason to convince you to be optimistic is that positive thoughts are thought to release serotonin, a brain chemical that makes you feel good. So you end up feeling even better, thanks to those original happy thoughts you had.
2 Participate in regular exercise
Exercise has so many benefits for both mental and physical health and research continues to find more and more reasons to exercise. The benefits to your brain are remarkable and I’ve included some of the highlights below.
Recent theories about evolution suggest that we are more intelligent due to physical activity. Early ancestors ran after their prey (drag racing) and anthropologists suggest this led to brain development in humans. There is research showing better memory performance after participants have been running. Additionally, a 2007 Columbia University study found that exercising four times a week increased the production of neurons in the dentate gyrus, an area important for memory.
John Ratey has extensively researched the benefits of exercise for the brain and notes that, in the short term, you will notice a sharpening of your attention span for a few hours after exercise. Perhaps if you find it difficult to concentrate at work, a good time to exercise would be in the morning. In the long term, it can prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Exercise has been shown to reduce hypertension. If you have high blood pressure, you are at increased risk of brain hemorrhage, which can lead to long-term brain damage.
When you exercise, various neurotransmitters are released in the brain, including endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These are naturally occurring mood boosters that reduce the risk of depression.
Research by Weuve et al (2004) at the Harvard School of Public Health found that exercise reduces cognitive decline in older women. Benefits were shown for women in their 70s and 80s who walked just 90 minutes a week. However, the more active the person, the greater the benefits. Exercise is believed to increase neural fibers, synapses, and capillaries. Another study by Duff et al (2008) found that older people who walked more slowly did not perform as well on cognitive tests as people who walked faster. An indication of a slow walk is someone who took more than 17 seconds to walk 50 feet. So continue your walking regimen now for later benefits.
Clearly there are both short-term and long-term gains to your brain health when you exercise. Remember to enjoy what you’re doing and mix things up a bit to keep your brain sharp.
3 go dancing
When you dance there is a lot to think about. You have to make quick decisions, you have to pay attention, you have to remember the movements, be aware of your partner, keep track of your body in space and be in touch with the rhythm of the music. So it’s not surprising to learn that dancing activates many different parts of the brain, giving your brain and body an effective workout. Your cerebral cortex and hippocampus are used when you’re dancing, and dancing requires complex neural pathways. Through the formation of these new pathways, your brain becomes larger, stronger, and more resistant to cognitive problems in old age.
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine compared a variety of recreational activities to see which ones helped reduce the risk of dementia. People who danced regularly had a 76% lower risk of dementia. This reduced risk was greater than reading or doing crossword puzzles, both beneficial activities.
4 Eat healthy and not too much
For good physical and mental health, maintain a balanced diet rich in whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. However, there are certain products that are good for the brain. These include: fruits, vegetables, and proteins like eggs, soy, beans, nuts, and seeds. Cinnamon, rosemary, turmeric and basil are believed to help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Drinking fruit or vegetable juice can help protect damaged brain cells, as they contain high levels of polyphenols, which are antioxidants. A 2006 study from the University of South Florida found that people who drank such juices were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Of course, a healthy lifestyle in general may have been important to those people, so it’s not just about the juice.
It also appears that eating too much can cause changes in the brain. Eating too many high-calorie foods (those with a lot of fat and sugar) can cause the brain to change, making a person more likely to overeat. The changes are similar to what happens when a person becomes addicted to drugs. Another study showed that overeating can increase a person’s risk of memory loss. People over the age of 70 who consumed between 2,143 and 6,000 calories a day were twice as likely to be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment compared to those who consumed between 600 and 1,525 calories a day. The risk was not apparent for those who ate fewer than 2,143 calories a day. Overeating is theorized to cause changes in the brain that result in memory problems.
5 Turn off the TV
Watching too much television can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s according to a 2005 study published in Brain and Cognition. The risk increased by 1.3% for each additional hour a day spent watching television. Watching TV is not only a passive activity, but also the more hours you spend in front of the box, the less time available for other activities that will give your brain a good workout.
6 Play video games
If you must sit in front of the TV, you can also be active while you’re there. The answer, believe it or not, is video games. In moderation, of course. Researchers are finding that playing video games is good for the brain. Bavelier’s research has shown that gamers are more focused than non-gamers and are proficient at tracking information. Brain scans showed that players’ brains were more efficient and faster when it came to paying attention (they can track 6 things at once. The norm is 4). Other research has shown that gamers are more creative, make better decisions, have superior perceptual abilities, and improve hand-eye coordination. Now, as a COD widow, do I tell this to my husband?
7 puzzles and games
Puzzles and games activate different parts of the brain depending on the type. Participate in anything that makes you think. Play chess, logic puzzles, anagrams, strategy games, crosswords, sudoku, mahjong, brain teasers, card games, scrabble. Try doing a variety to exercise different areas of your brain, and increase the complexity once they get too easy.
Bunge and Mackey had students play board games, cards, and video games that challenged their processing speed or reasoning ability. After 8 weeks, the reasoning ability-trained students saw a 32% increase in their nonverbal intelligence scores. Students trained in processing speed saw their speed scores increase by 27%.
8 Learn new things
When you learn something new, you create new connections between neurons and the existing ones get stronger. Learning new things is not just about taking courses or expanding your knowledge in new areas. It’s about adapting to the changes that happen every day. For example, every time your favorite software or social media app gets an update, you can complain about the change. However, think about your brain for a moment. You are used to the old way of working and you don’t have to try very hard to operate the software. Change means you have to actively rethink, which leads to the creation of new paths. You have exercised your brain. So the next time you face a challenge, instead of giving up, resolve to master it. Not only will you feel a sense of accomplishment, but your brain will get bigger too!
9 Do not see intelligence as something fixed
Dweck and colleagues’ research showed that when students were taught to recognize that the brain forms new connections and essentially grows through learning, the group saw an increase in their math scores. As adults, it’s easy to assume that all of our learning and development is complete. At this point, either you’re good at something or you’re not. I hope this article has shown that your brain can continue to grow and that the more paths you have, the better. Take off the labels you were given as a child. Give it a try, decide to learn a new skill or face your Achilles’ heel. If you’ve decided to work on your Achilles’ heel, keep in mind that if you’re struggling, there’s more than one way to learn something. Give yourself a new path to follow.
10 read a book
There are a lot of things involved when you settle down to the seemingly relaxing activity of reading. Your brain stays busy as it needs to store information about what you have read and be able to retrieve it as you go through the book. Who was that character mentioned 100 pages ago? You also activate your creativity and imagination by bringing the characters described in words to life in your mind. This is just fiction. There is also the possibility of discovering new areas that you know nothing about by browsing the non-fiction section. If you’re a collector of free Kindle books, be sure to set aside time to read them.
The National Institute for Medical Research in France showed that people who do not read were 18% more likely to develop dementia and the symptoms would be more severe. Reading may also delay the onset of Alzheimer’s for those genetically predisposed to the disease.