Posted April 11, 2024 by Kerri Towsley, Director, Product Development & Market Intelligence
Do you frequently misplace your car keys or phone? Do you have trouble coming up with the right words during conversation or forget why you went upstairs?
Many people think that becoming forgetful and slowing down mentally is a fact of growing older. But, it doesn’t have to be!
Just as our bodies require care and exercise over the course of our life, so do our brains — especially as we age. Lifting weights strengthens our muscles, while strengthening our brain improves memory, attention, brain speed, intelligence and more.
In addition to regular physical activity, a number of different activities can go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy and sharp for the long haul. Some brain-beneficial health choices include: a brain-healthy diet rich in antioxidants, reducing stress and getting good sleep and incorporating brain exercises. As the saying goes, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”
SummaCare offers five steps you can take to preserve brain function and keep your mind sharp as you age. These exercises can improve just about everything in your life because your brain is at the core of everything you do.
Your brain is capable of learning at any point in your life. New skills are a great way to increase brain activity.
When you learn something new, the brain forms new connections or neural pathways. Your memory and brain health improve with each new connection formed. Plus, gaining a new skill works multiple areas of your brain. For example, your memory comes into play, your brain learns new movements and you associate things differently.
Learning to play an instrument, building a ship in a bottle, learning new dance moves or a new language all challenge your brain in new ways and can add something fun and interesting to your life.
Then, once you’ve learned the new skill or pursued a new hobby, teach it to someone else. It’s one of the best ways to expand your learning — and brainpower.
Socializing stimulates brain activity because it constantly engages and exercises the mind — strengthening neural pathways to fight off cognitive decline. In fact, research shows older adults who regularly socialize have a better working memory, processing speed and verbal fluency.
What’s more, increasing social interactions, such as going out with friends or joining a club, not only gives you a sense of belonging and connectedness, it’s fun, too. Socializing can also reduce symptoms of depression by decreasing feelings of loneliness, isolation and anxiety.
The more senses you use, the more of your brain that will be involved in retaining that information and memory. When you incorporate activities that simultaneously engage all five of your senses — from taking a cooking class to visiting a farmer’s market or food festival to trying a new restaurant — it strengthens your brain by focusing on smelling, touching, tasting, seeing and hearing all at the same time.
It’s OK, even healthy, for adults to carve out a few minutes each day to play games. Doing puzzles (crossword, Sudoku, jigsaw) and other games that rely on logic, math, word and visuospatial skills are great ways to increase brainpower. These types of activities require multiple cognitive abilities, which challenge your brain and improve processing speed and memory.