In the past few years, it has become
clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and
continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts
as the older parts wear out. How?
There are lots of things you can do
right now to preserve, protect and enhance your gray matter.
A healthy body really does mean a
healthy mind. In the last decade it became clear that regular exercise
beneficially affects brain function. Exercise boosts brain power by stimulating
formation of new brain cells (neurons), the process known as neurogenesis. Also, exercise strengthens
connections between those cells. Researchers have found the areas of the brain
that are stimulated through exercise are associated with memory and learning.
Physical exercise may even help prevent
Alzheimer's disease. Several studies have confirmed that
regular physical activity reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in
old age.
2 Lifelong
learning - your brain is a learning machine
For most of us, after we graduate from
high school or college, our pursuit of new knowledge bottoms out over time. We
may be masters at what we do, but we aren't learning new things. There is clear
evidence that education and learning produce favourable changes in the
brain. Researchers believe that intellectual activity play a neuroprotective
role against dementia. Some studies suggest that having a low level of formal
education and poor linguistic skills is a risk factor for cognitive decline in
later life.
But if you continue to learn and
challenge yourself, your brain continues to grow, literally. Recent research have demonstrated
that learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new brain cells. An
active brain produces new connections between nerve cells that allow cells to
communicate with one another. This helps your brain store and retrieve
information more easily, no matter what your age.
How can you challenge yourself?
Scientists agree that anything that is new and expands your knowledge will be
effective:
·
Learning to play a musical instrument
·
Switching careers or starting a new one
·
Starting a new hobby, such as crafts, painting, biking or
bird-watching
·
Learning a foreign language. According to the latest study speaking more than one language may slow the aging process in the
mind.
·
Staying informed about what's going on in the world
·
Learning to cook new dish
If you let your brain be idle, it's not
going to be in the best health.
3 Mental
stimulation
Researchers found that a woman's memory
can be impaired for at least a year after giving birth, although the effects
are minor
Stimulate your brain. Make sure you're
actively problem-solving and having to use your memory. Just as physical
activity keeps your body strong, mental activity keeps your mind sharp and
agile. The more we think, the better our brains function - regardless of age.
Without something to keep us mentally charged, our brains, like unused muscles,
can atrophy, leading to a decline in cognitive abilities.
The study, conducted by researchers at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, found that mentally active
seniors reduced their risk of dementia by as much as 75 percent, compared to
those who do not stimulate their minds. Researchers from the Princeton
University found that simple cognitive stimulation such as Bingo can be of
great value to the daily management of Alzheimer's patients.
Some good ways to stimulate your mind:
·
Travel
·
Going to museums
·
Reading books, newspapers, or magazines
·
Play 'thinking' games like cards, checkers, chess, crosswords,
sudoku puzzles
·
Scrabble or doing crossword puzzles
·
Playing musical instruments
·
Dancing
·
Crafts such as drawing, painting, and ceramics
·
Ditch the calculator once in while and forcing yourself to do the
calculation
·
Volunteering
4 Social
interaction - People are good medicine
"Social interaction" can be
measured by how often people talk on the phone with friends, neighbors and
relatives, how often they get together with them, how many people they can
share their most private feelings and concerns with.
Men are one and a half times more
likely than women to develop mild cognitive impairment (the transition stage
before dementia).
Socializing may have a protective
effect on the brain because it's a form of mental exercise. Not only does
interacting with people stimulate the brain, but it can also keep you sharp,
because dealing with people can be pretty challenging. Strong social ties have
been associated with lower blood pressure and longer life expectancies.
A U.S. team found that talking to
another person for 10 minutes a day improves memory and test scores. They found
that socializing was just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental
exercise in boosting memory and intellectual performance. They also found that
the higher the level of social interaction, the better the cognitive
functioning. Social interaction included getting together or having phone chats
with relatives, friends and neighbors.
In a study of more than 2,800 people
ages 65 or older, Harvard researchers found that those with
at least five social ties - church groups, social groups, regular visits, or
phone calls with family and friends - were less likely to suffer cognitive
decline than those with no social ties.
5 Sleep &
Nap
Sleep plays a crucial role in brain
development and growth.
One of the explanations the science has
come up with for the healing power of sleep is that sleep may contribute to
neurogenesis, the formation of new nerve cells in the brain. New research in
animals provides a clue about
how the sleep deprivation harm the brains - reduces the number of new brain
cells. Without sufficient sleep, neurons may not have time to repair all the
damage, and so could malfunction during the day.
Sleep is necessary for the brain to
process and consolidate knowledge and for memories to form. Neuroscientists say
that during sleep the hippocampus (where memory is stored) becomes highly
active and moves knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory.
The memories laid down by the sleeping
brain are of two kinds. Declarative memory is memory for information - facts,
dates, and names. Procedural memory is what allows us to do things like play a
musical instrument, ride a bicycle, or add up a bill. Scientists think these
two types of memory are influenced by different parts of the sleep cycle. Slow
wave sleep benefit mainly the consolidation of declarative memories. In
contrast, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep seems to benefit procedural memory.
According to animal studies, when you
perform a task, the brain cells fire in a certain sequence. If you then fall
asleep, the same cells automatically fire in an identical sequence without
being distracted or disrupted by incoming visual stimuli.
There is a consistent pattern: Learn
something new during the day, consolidate what you have learned during a good
night's sleep, then remember or perform the task better in the morning.
However, sleep before learning is also critical in preparing the brain for
next-day memory formation.
Even a nap in the middle of the day may
benefit some learning, according to a recent study. Sleep appears to help "set"
the declarative memories and make them easier to recall.
6 Stress
management
The brain uses 20 percent of our body's
oxygen and 20 percent of its blood.
Scientists believe people exposed to
chronic stress tend to have elevated levels of cortisol - a hormone produced by
the adrenal glands in response to acute and chronic stress. High cortisol
levels are dangerous to the brain.
Some of the most impressive effects of
the stress on brain are hippocampus atrophy, shrinkage of the hippocampus or
prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain unique to humans), and even neural
death in some brain regions. The hippocampus, a
vital brain region for episodic, spatial, and contextual memory, has many
cortisol receptors, which makes it especially susceptible to stress.
Severe stress lasting weeks or months
can impair cell communication in the brain's learning and memory region.
Increased stress hormones lead to memory impairment in the elderly and learning
difficulties in young adults.
Short-term stress is also destructive.
Researcher from the University of California have found short-term
stress lasting as little as a few hours can impair brain-cell communication in
areas associated with learning and memory. They found that rather than
involving the widely known stress hormone cortisol, which circulates throughout
the body, acute stress activated selective molecules called corticotropin
releasing hormones, which disrupted the process by which the brain collects and
stores memories.
Stress is a constant in our lives and
cannot be avoided. So, stress management is the key, not stress elimination.
Several ways to help you manage stress in your daily life:
·
See problems as opportunities
·
Get away from the noise
·
Exercise
·
Learn relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation
·
Cut down on unnecessary responsibilities and avoid over-scheduling
·
Make time for leisure activities
·
Get a massage
Laughter is the best medicine! We've
heard the expression time and again. Medical world has begun to take more
serious notice of the healing power of humor and the positive emotions
associated with it. By having fun and laughing, your stress levels decrease
significantly. Humor stimulates the parts of our brain that use the "feel
good" chemical messenger dopamine. Also, researchers found that humor
improves memory.
It might be the last thing on your
morning to-do list, or it might not be on your list at all. However, many
studies have shown that having breakfast improves the ability of concentration,
reaction time, learning ability, mood and memory, whereas skipping breakfast
reduces people's performance at school and at work.
A recent study done at Cardiff
University in Wales found that subjects who ate a high-fiber cereal in the
morning showed a 10 percent reduction in fatigue, lower incidence of
depression, and better cognitive skills. Fiber helps slow down the absorption
of food in the stomach, so you have more energy for a longer period of time.
9 Omega-3
fatty acids
High intake of omega-6 rich oils (such
as sunflower or grape seed oil) may boost the risk of developing memory
problems, say French researchers.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for
brain health - they provide the physical building blocks necessary for the
development and maintenance of the structural and functional integrity of the
brain. In fact, one of the omega-3 fatty acids, commonly known as DHA
(docosahexaenoic acid), makes up a large portion of the gray matter in the
brain and is vital for brain cells function. Adding more DHA to your brain
directly influences cell-to-cell communication, affects nerve conduction and
neurotransmitter release, and other things that allow brain cells to send
messages to each other. DHA is essential to
normal brain function, and a diet rich in DHA improves learning, while a lack
of DHA worsens learning ability.
French researchers found that people who
regularly consume omega-3 rich oils, such as canola, flaxseed, and walnut oil,
are 60 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who do not regularly
consume such oils. Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables lowers dementia
risk by 30 percent. People who eat fish at least once a week are 40 percent
less likely to develop dementia.
Coldwater fish, such as salmon, tuna,
mackerel, and herring are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids (just be careful
to eat this in moderation due to potential contamination with mercury). Dutch
studies revealed that high fish consumption may reduce the risk of
dementia and cognitive decline.
Would you believe that eating this
tasty, low-glycemic superfood every day was found by the USDA at Tufts
University to slow and even reverse age-related brain decline, as well as
improve short-term memory loss and help reverse age-related loss of balance?!
Blueberries are a major source of
flavonoids, in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. Although the precise
mechanisms by which these plant-derived molecules affect the brain are unknown,
they have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake. It
is believed that they exert their effects on learning and memory by enhancing
existing neuronal connections, improving cellular communications and
stimulating neuronal regeneration.
Researchers found that eating
vegetables appears to help keep the brain young and may slow the mental decline
sometimes associated with growing old. Cruciferous and green leafy
vegetables including cauliflower, spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage, brussels
sprout and collards appear to be the most beneficial. Researchers say that may be because
they contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, an antioxidant that is believed to
help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells.
Increased blood level of homocysteine
is a strong risk factor for the development of Alzheimer disease and dementia. Three B vitamins, folic acid, B6, and
B12, can help lower your homocysteine levels. Fortified cereal, other grains,
and leafy green vegetables are good sources of B vitamins.
12 Want to
drink? Choose red wine!
People who drink to forget bad memories
may actually be doing the opposite by reinforcing the neural circuits that
control negative emotional memory
While heavy drinking clearly causes
serious problems for many people, drinking in moderation may be good for the
brain.
Intake of up to three daily servings of
wine, unlike other alcohol beverages (liquor, beer), is associated with a lower
risk of dementia. This may be due to the ability of red wine polyphenols to
protect brain cells against alcohol-induced damage. There is well-documented evidence
that resveratrol, a polyphenol found in red wine and red grape skin and seeds,
has a significant antioxidant properties and produces neuroprotective effects.
13 Care for
your heart and vessels
Many risk factors for cardiovascular
disease may also contribute to cognitive decline and dementia.
High blood pressure in midlife
increases the risk of cognitive decline in old age.
Diabetes and high levels of
LDL ("bad") cholesterol appear to
significantly increase the risk of dementia.
14 Neurobics
Created by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., a
professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center, neurobics is a
unique system of brain exercises using your five physical senses and your emotional
sense in unexpected ways that encourage you to shake up your everyday routines.
Studies have shown that even small changes in daily patterns cause brain
stimulation.
Neurobics can be done anywhere,
anytime, in offbeat, fun and easy ways. These exercises can activate underused
nerve pathways and connections, helping you achieve a fit and flexible mind:
·
Drive to work a different route
·
Brush your teeth with the other hand
·
Unlock the door with your eyes closed
·
Use your opposite hand to dial the phone or operate the TV remote
·
Listen to music and smell flowers at the same time
·
Shop at new grocery store
Research has suggested that using your
left hand if you're right handed or your right if you're left handed more
often, can help stimulate parts of the brain that you don't normally use.
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