Habits for a fit brain
March 21st 2007 13:23
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HABITS FOR A FIT BRAIN
Challenge your mind. Learn a foreign language or how to knit or play a musical instrument. Do crossword or jigsaw puzzles. Read a few paragraphs upside down, shop at a new grocery store, use your non-dominant hand for tooth- or hair-brushing, do certain routine tasks with eyes closed. Read a book or article on a subject you know nothing about. Figure out how to do small fix-it jobs yourself. Keep a journal or diary.
Exercise your body. Aerobic activities boost blood flow to the brain, keeping it in peak condition. Three hours of walking per week improves memory, learning ability, concentration and abstract reasoning. Ballroom dancing is more aerobic than tai chi, but both protect against cognitive decline because they require learning and remembering specific movements.
Eat (and drink) right. Nourish and protect your brain with whole-grain carbs; lots of fruits and vegetables; grain, vegetable and fish protein; fats from nuts, seeds, olives and cold-water fish; and plenty of filtered or bottled water. Cut down on meat, shellfish, dairy, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, carbonated drinks, caffeine and alcohol. Consider vitamin B-complex and antioxidant supplements.
Protect your skull. Head injuries, even in childhood, increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life. Use helmets when biking, skating and playing contact sports.
Strengthen your spirit. Maintain social ties and an active interest in the outside world. Stress-tamers like meditation, prayer and deep breathing are valuable to brain health, too.
Sources: “Gary Null’s Mind Power” (New American Library, 2005), “Saving Your Brain” by Jeff Victoroff, M.D. (Bantam, 2002), “Brain Fitness” by Robert Goldman, M.D. (Doubleday, 1999), National Institutes of Health
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