Boost Your Brain Power
Written by Cynthia Green Tuesday, August 02 2011
Brain health is a hot health topic. While research provides more and more answers about how to safeguard brain health and significantly lower risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's, the average person has little idea what exactly can be done. Often I am asked what can be done to boost everyday memory and protect long-term brain health. Here are my top 10 things I think everyone should absolutely know about brain health – and they might just surprise you.
Take a Walk. Many of you think about giving your brains a workout, but the kind of exercises you think of as “brain healthy” rarely involve working up a sweat. Yet getting off the couch and on your feet is absolutely the best thing you can do for your brain. Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise (the kind where you can keep up but can't keep up a conversation) boosts your daily intellectual performance and significantly lowers your risk for dementia. Some studies have even suggested that regular exercise can reduce that risk by up to 38 percent. So if time is limited and you need a “best bets” tip for boosting brainpower, go bust some moves. How much exercise do you need? Studies suggest that even just walking at a vigorous pace at least 30 minutes a day five to six days a week will do the trick.
Lose that Spare Tire. While there is no miracle diet for your brain, what you eat definitely matters to your brain health. A brain healthy diet supports everyday memory and can protect you from chronic medical conditions that increase your dementia risk. Also, studies have shown that maintaining a healthy weight with a low ratio of belly fat can significantly lower your risk for a memory disorder, even beginning in middle age. No need to spend on a special supplement. Stick to a healthy, well-balanced diet; maintain an appropriate weight; and balance your intake of alcohol and caffeine. Want to go that extra step? Try adding foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants to your diet. Some studies have suggested that they may lower dementia risk. Even if in the long run other studies aren't as supportive, foods such as fish and berries are still a better choice than that double bacon cheeseburger with fries.
Follow you Doctor's Orders. Staying on top of your medical care is key for addressing issues that affect memory. Managing chronic conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes, can significantly reduce your risk for stroke and dementia. Also, taking care of medical issues such as hearing or vision loss can make a tremendous difference in your ability to learn new information. Have a cold? It might be making it harder for you to keep track of errands. Finally, find out if your medications may be making it harder for you to remember. Talk with your doctor about your concerns, and see if any adjustments should be made.
Get your Zzzzz's. Lifestyle choices you make daily, such as how much sleep you get, how stressed you feel, what risks you take (such as whether you use a helmet when you ride a bike or ski) impact your daily memory performance and brain health. Emotional distress – anxiety, feeling blue – also can lower your everyday ability. It may even increase your risk for memory impairment. Want to live better for your brain? Lead a brain healthy lifestyle. Get a good night's sleep, avoid risky behavior, and don't ignore emotional upsets. A leading study on successful aging found that folks who aged well were more emotionally resilient. In other words, they didn't let their feelings fester. Great advice.
Play Pacman. As you grow older, you can experience changes in your everyday intellectual skills. Those changes commonly affect your ability to stay focused, think quickly, multitask, and learn new information. Want to stay sharp no matter what your age? Play games against the clock. Research shows that training in these skills can help you stay more effective at them, no matter what your age. Timed activities force you to pay attention, work fast, and think nimbly – you can't beat the clock without doing so. And the great news is that there are so many great brain games – from board games to electronic games to computer-based, brain fitness specific training games.
Learn How to Remember. Strategies that help you learn and retain information are key for improving everyday memory. While things such as timed brain games or eating a brain healthy diet certainly support better memory, you still need a bit of a boost when it comes to remembering things such as passwords, directions, and – everyone's favorite – names. Studies have long supported the use of task-specific memory strategies. For example, researchers at the University of Alabama found that using such strategies not only significantly improved recall but also that those gains in performance held for more than two years. To enhance your daily recall, learn simple strategies, such as making a connection between something you are learning (like the name “Florence”) and something already know (such as the actress Florence Henderson, or the Italian city of Florence). And don't forget those date books and “to do” lists. These memory tools are essential for keeping track of the things you have to do but that aren't worth memorizing.
Get Schooled. A few years ago I was approached after a lecture by a gentleman who told me that every year he and his wife agree to try some new hobby or pursuit. That year, he decided to learn guitar. His annual resolution is the perfect approach to always finding new challenges for your mind. Research shows that staying intellectually engaged over your lifetime can significantly lower your risk for memory impairment – in some studies by as much as 63 percent. While it isn't clear exactly why maintaining mental challenge matters to brain health, most likely such challenges encourage brain plasticity and may offer protection against deterioration over time. In addition, intellectual engagement offers you opportunities to socialize and supports emotional well-being, which in themselves are important to better brain health. Look for activities out of you comfort zone – if you like to read, try a pottery class. Also, look for little ways to “change up” you brain's routine, such as brushing your teeth with your nondominant hand or taking a new route to work.
Go Out with the Gang. Want a really fun way to boost your brainpower? Try a night on the town with you best buddies. Staying social has been shown to potentially cut your risk for memory impairment in half. That's a pretty powerful reason to get away from the TV and out the door. In addition, social situations offer a great challenge for everyday thinking. Keeping up your end of the conversation gets you to stay focused, think fast, and be nimble with your neurons. Look for ways to get out informally with friends, as well as other ways to engage through your community or other resources.
Get a Job. Working or volunteering can improve your daily intellectual performance. Get a good brain workout on the job, which offers the chance to engage both mentally and socially. What you may not know is that more complex work settings, such as those that require you to supervise others, have been associated with a reduced risk for dementia later in life. In addition, continuing to work or volunteer gives you a sense of purpose, which researchers at Rush Medical Center in Chicago recently found may protect you from memory impairment.
Practice the Power of Positive Thinking. The final surprising fact is one that, when you think about it, isn't surprising at all. If you want to remember better, believe that you can. Self-perception can impact your performance. If a baseball player thinks he'll never hit it out of the park, chances are he never will. In that same vein, if you are convinced you memory is lousy, it probably will be. Studies have shown that your memory self-belief impacts how well you do on tests of memory ability. In addition, what you think about can make a difference in how motivated you are to even try to remember something. Practice the power of positive thinking and believe in your memory. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right.”
Cynthia R. Green, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized expert in memory fitness training, an author, keynote speaker, and spokesperson. She has appeared on MSNBC, as well as in the pages of Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, and Parenting. Recently, she was appointed guest blogger for the Huffington Post on the topic of brain health.
Dr. Green lectures extensively on memory fitness and related topics as president of Memory Arts, LLC (www.totalbrainhealth.com). She has served on the faculty of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Mount Sinai Health System since 1990, where she is currently an assistant clinical professor in the department of psychiatry. She is the author of Brainpower Game Plan, Total Memory Workout, and coauthor of Through the Seasons.
