Ways to improve brain health at any age.
Our brain undergoes anatomical and functional changes as we age. This can lead to a deterioration in cognitive functioning, memory, and emotional regulation. Certain lifestyle variables, as well as our genetics, might hasten the brain’s aging. What’s the good news? Activities that excite your brain can assist in alleviating these symptoms. So, it is a good idea to get your brain excited for your own health benefits.
Much like muscle and the adage ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it,’ utilizing your brain can help prevent typical memory decline and slowness. Memory decline is not what you want from your brain. Most people feel that their memories are what make up the story of their lives. Some memories are needed to keep you out of danger, keep you safe from harm, guide you on a familiar path, remember passwords, and a whole bunch more.
Brain stimulation has been shown to promote mental sharpness, guard against decline, and provide an overall sense of well-being. Taking deliberate action to address brain health gives you control back, which is quite reassuring and can even drive you to continue prioritizing your health. Prioritizing your health may be exactly what you need to live a better and healthier life. Consider that good mental and physical health is much better than ‘picture in your mind’ the opposite, which would be poor mental health and poor physical health.
Begin with the following brain-stimulating tactics and activities:
Move Your Body in Beneficial Ways
You probably already know that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health, but did you realize it may also help your brain? Choose an enjoyable activity that focuses on your heart and cardiovascular system. This could include taking quick walks, doing yoga or pilates, lifting weights, or swimming.
Reframe your thoughts about exercise to include mental wellness, weight loss, or muscle toning. We often lose motivation to exercise if we don’t see results on the scale, but if you can remind yourself that every time you exercise, you are giving your brain a boost and potentially protecting it from cognitive decline, you may find some more motivation and feel optimistic about the activity.
Listen to a Variety of Music
Music has an immediate effect on your mood, and it has also been linked to brain health. Music of diverse types has been demonstrated to have a variety of impacts on both the emotional and cognitive functioning of the brain. It can influence learning and memory processes, stimulate auditory skill development, and improve attention and memory, making it an excellent activity for overall brain health.
Try making playlists with different genres that appeal to moods and activities and using music to boost and energize you throughout the day. Have upbeat music for exercise, soothing music for relaxation, and inspiring music for creative work.
Contact a Friend
Even the most introverted of us are friendly beings. Maintaining and nurturing good relationships with friends and family is a great way to engage your brain and feel better overall.
Healthy relationships are crucial for various reasons, especially as we age. They can provide support, which is essential throughout transitions and health changes associated with aging, and prevent isolation. Loneliness can lead to depression, which in turn can lead to decreased physical activity and food intake.
Spending time with others also creates a sense of purpose and belonging, and it can even be done daily.
Get a Book
Put down the phone and pick up a book. Reading has numerous benefits for your brain, whether you choose a scorching romance novel, an intriguing piece of nonfiction, or a dark mystery. As you follow storylines and absorb and recall new material, it encourages critical thinking, enhances vocabulary and language, improves focus, and aids memory.
Control Your Stress
Chronic stress that is poorly managed can have significant consequences for your nervous system as well as your emotional and mental health. According to research, it might also harm your physical well-being.
When we are stressed, we are more likely to experience feelings of anxiety and melancholy, both of which can contribute to changes in our appetite, sleep, concentration, and attention. If aging is already affecting your cognition, stress might exacerbate the problem.
Her advice is to keep a mental record of your stress levels. Determine what causes your stress and what activities help you cope with it. Consider what hobbies have previously brought you joy and reduced your anxiety.
Discover Hobbies That Give You a Sense of Purpose
A strong sense of purpose is a crucial component of the human experience, perhaps even more so as we age. As we bid goodbye to some of the roles and responsibilities we held earlier in life, such as caring for children or our employment, we are prone to withdrawal and feeling unimpressed, as well as perhaps understimulated by life. This can put you at risk of poor cognitive health.
Find an activity that you enjoy and make time to devote yourself to it. It doesn’t have to be something groundbreaking or monumental in scope, but rather something that gives you a sense of accomplishment. It could be attending a class, learning a new craft, volunteering, or beginning a garden.
Make Time for Relaxation
While boredom is commonly perceived as a negative state of mind, research has discovered that it can boost creativity, self-reflection, and problem-solving abilities.
Boredom, for example, has been found in research to motivate individuals to pursue more exciting and creative tasks, as well as to foster mind-wandering, which adds to future planning and personal development. Furthermore, boredom can be used as a motivator, encouraging people to pursue new goals and develop new skills.
Set aside 20 to 30 minutes weekly to practice mindfulness and observe your surroundings without phones, music, TV, or other distractions. Create some time to be away from the distractions of the normal and continuous stimulations of everyday life and it’s activities. If you really use the time properly, there is a sense of freedom felt as the ties of everyday life are released momentarily.