We all wish to maintain our youthful exuberance and energy, and we wish to keep our brains functioning properly in our old age. However, the reality is that our bodies and brain change significantly as we age.
However, there are several ways for you to keep your brain functioning at its optimum for as long as possible. Below are some of the ways to do that.
Maintaining a regular fitness schedule
You do not need to be a fitness freak to keep your brain healthy, but you definitely need to maintain a regular exercise schedule. Physical activity is well-known for keeping your body fit, but multiple studies are also finding it very effective in slowing the decline of one’s mental function. This is believed to be the result of increased blood flow into the brain, which increases during exercises.
So, exercises of about 30-60 minutes a week are enough to keep your brain young and healthy. And any activity that puts some strain on your body is encouraged, from brisk walking to running, from swimming to yoga or playing tennis.
Sleeping
The hustle culture has made us come to believe that sleeping is taking away valuable time that could be spent ‘hustling’.
However, sleep is an important part of living a healthy life and it works wonders to your brain as well. While scientists can still not pinpoint to the exact reason as to why we feel sleepy, many studies have found that sleep helps in clearing ‘abnormal proteins’ in your brain. This then, helps consolidate memories, thus boosting your overall brains’ health and memory.
As an adult, aim for at least 8 hours of consecutive sleep for the best outcome for your brain.
Stimulate your mind
Aside from physical activity, you can also choose to do activities that engage your mind and stimulate it in terms of thoughts. Doing mind-stimulating activities helps create new connections between nerve cells in the brain. The new connections then help in acting as a reserve that comes in handy as brain cells in your brain die off due to old age.
You can stimulate your mind through reading well-written, imaginative or informative books (both fiction and non-fiction), taking new courses, doing word puzzles, solving math problems or even learning a new language. Other ways could be doing activity that need manual dexterity, like learning how to paint or draw.
These and many other ways will help keep your brain healthy for longer, reducing chances of you suffering from mental issues in your senior years.