I thought of my earlier posting (in jest) about brains cells coming and brain cells going, when I came across a list of 20 tips on fighting off dementia (below), sent by a university classmate.
"More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to
your brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuropsychologist and an
adjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, School of
Medicine. "If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need
to start as early as we can," he added.
So what can you do to beef up your brain, and possibly ward off dementia?
Dr Nussbaum offers these 20 tips:
1. Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers. If you start
volunteering now, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you retire.
2. Develop a hobby or two. Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because
you're trying something new and complex.
3. Practice writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes every day.
This will exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those neurons.
4. Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the
only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in
the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The people who
danced three or four times a week showed 76 percent less incidence of
dementia than those who danced only once a week or not at all.
5. Need a hobby? Start gardening. Researchers in New Zealand found that,
of 1,000 people, those who gardened regularly were less likely to suffer
from dementia. Not only does gardening reduce stress, but gardeners use
their brains to plan gardens; they use visual and spatial reasoning to lay
out a garden.
6. Buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day. Walking daily can reduce
the risk of dementia because cardiovascular health is important to
maintain blood flow to the brain.
7. Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas
that process and store information. Likewise, writing (not copying)
stimulates many areas of the brain as well.
8. Start knitting. Using both hands works both sides of your brain. And
it's a stress reducer.
9. Learn a new language. Whether it's a foreign language or sign language,
you are working your brain by making it go back and forth between one
language and the other. A researcher in England found that being bilingual
seemed to delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for four years. (And some
research suggests that the earlier a child learns sign language, the
higher his IQ - and people with high IQs are less likely to have dementia.
So start them early.)
10. Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly. Not only are you
taxing your brain, you're socializing too. (Playing solo games, such as
solitaire or online computer brain games can be helpful, but Nussbaum
prefers games that encourage you to socialize too.)
11. Take classes throughout your lifetime. Learning produces structural
and chemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people
live longer. Brain researchers have found that people with advanced
degrees live longer - and if they do have Alzheimer's, it often becomes
apparent only in the very later stages of the disease.
12. Listen to classical music. A growing volume of research suggests that
music may hard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres.
Any kind of music may work, but there's some research that shows positive
effects for classical music, though researchers don't understand why.
13. Learn a musical instrument. It may be harder than it was when you were
a kid, but you'll be developing a dormant part of your brain.
14. Travel. When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on
a different route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a
new and complex environment. A study of London taxi drivers found
experienced drivers had larger brains because they have to store lots of
information about locations and how to navigate there.
15. Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system. And people who
attend a formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier,
healthier lives.
16. Learn to meditate. It's important for your brain that you learn to
shut out the stresses of everyday life.
17. Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep
and dementia.
18. Eat more foods containing omega-3 fatty acids: Salmon, sardines, tuna,
ocean trout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts (which are higher in omega
3s than salmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and walnut oil
are good sources too.
19. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables
mop up some of the damage caused by free radicals, one of the leading
killers of brain cells.
20. Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends. You'll slow down,
socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food than if you ate
alone or on the go.
There's a book by Barbara Strauch called "Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain" that covers these points. And, it provides some interesting anecdotes and stories on how the aging brain adapts itself, so long as it is sufficiently stimulated, as you listed above.
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