As you age, it isn’t just your physical health that you need to maintain. Your cognitive health must also be a top priority when caring for yourself. As the population of seniors in North America steadily increases, preserving brain health has become more essential.
In the US, industry experts predict that the number of Americans ages 65 and older will increase to 82 million by 2050 from 58 million in 2022. Meanwhile, in Canada, it’s estimated that, as of 2023, there are about 7.6 million seniors aged 65 and above.
As you get older, you must preserve your brain health to remain productive, prevent cognitive decline, preserve meaningful relationships, and enhance your quality of life. In this article, I’ll enumerate ten ways to keep your brain healthy as you age.
How Important Is Brain Health in Aging?
Brain health is crucial as you become older because it directly influences your quality of life and general well-being. Through good brain health, your cognitive abilities, such as memory and problem-solving skills, stay functional, helping you to remain productive in society.
As we age, some parts of our brain shrink in volume, including those critical to learning and mental activities. Memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, can also occur.
That said, it’s vital to ensure brain health through various activities that help preserve brain vitality and longevity. Below is a list of preventive measures and lifestyle habits fundamental to protecting your brain and retaining its functionality for a long time.
10 Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy
1. Stay Mentally Active
According to a study, being “cognitively engaged” can reduce the risk of showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The study also showed that patients with high levels of brain damage due to Alzheimer’s experienced fewer symptoms due to cognitive engagement.
Being engaged in hobbies and social and leisure activities that keep your brain active can help preserve cognitive function and possibly lower the risk of developing dementia in later life.
2. Exercise Daily
You can preserve efficient brain function by engaging in regular physical exercises. For older people, being physically active and having a healthy general lifestyle can slow cognitive decline. This also applies to individuals diagnosed with dementia.
Exercise likewise promotes physiological changes in the body. It boosts your body’s ability to produce growth factors that influence the development of new blood vessels and brain cells.
3. Maintain a Healthy Diet
What you eat can affect your ability to think and remember things. A diet consisting of multiple nutrients and phytonutrients is beneficial, even for individuals with dementia.
These nutrients include antioxidants, Vitamin E, B vitamins, Vitamin D, zinc, and others. You can get these from brain-healthy food groups like green leafy vegetables, whole grains, seafood, poultry, nuts, olive oil, and wine.
4. Get Quality Sleep
Not getting sufficient sleep tends to increase the risk of developing mental disorders like depression and anxiety. Additionally, insomnia is an underlying condition that can cause a broad array of health conditions.
If you sleep enough, you improve various cognitive functions, such as memory, problem-solving, judgment, and emotional processing. It also encourages sharper thinking, boosts cognitive performance, and reduces age-related mental decline.
5. Avoid Smoking and Limit Alcohol Intake
Did you know that smoking can lead to a smaller brain volume? Are you also aware that alcohol causes long-term cellular damage that kills brain cells and weakens memory? Plus, research shows there’s no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Aside from accelerating cognitive decline in older individuals, smoking and alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These habits can also damage immune function and affect one’s balance and reflexes, lowering one’s quality of life.
6. Maintain Low Blood Sugar Levels
Diabetes can affect brain function, so you must manage your blood sugar effectively. High blood sugar levels cause brain stress and, over time, damage the blood vessels transporting blood to the organ. This can cause brain cells to die, a condition called brain atrophy.
There’s also a link between diabetes and depression, slower physical and mental reactions, and impaired memory and attention span. It’s vital to control your blood sugar levels since consistently high glucose levels can affect the brain.
7. Improve Your Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is more common in older adults. When your body ages, the arteries become stiffer, resulting in elevated blood pressure. It can lead to shortness of breath (even with light physical activity), falls and lightheadedness.
High levels of bad cholesterol have been linked to mental disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It’s, therefore, important to maintain adequate levels for optimal brain function.
8. Engage in Weekly Stress Reduction Exercises
Perform stress-reduction exercises, from aerobics to yoga, to reduce stress and improve your general sense of tranquillity. Stress negatively impacts the brain, causes anxiety and affects mood and memory.
When you perform exercises that relieve stress, your brain produces more endorphins. This leads to positive emotions, reduced daily tensions, lesser symptoms of anxiety and depression, and healthier cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems.
9. Build and Maintain Your Social Networks
Strong social ties are vital to brain health as they stimulate memory and attention. In comparison, people who are often more alone have been found to be at higher risk of cognitive decline than those who are more sociable.
To enhance your social networks, rekindle old friendships, expand your circle to people who make you feel relaxed and fulfilled, send loved ones emails, or visit family and friends.
10. Stimulate Your Brain
To hone your mental acuity, engage in activities that sharpen your memory, concentration and focus. Keep your brain active by doing new things. These can help preserve your brain cells (or may even produce new ones).
Learn new skills or a new language, solve jigsaw puzzles, play card games, and learn meditation. These activities stimulate your brain, enhance your mental skills, and keep it healthy as you age.
Related: Dental Coverage for Ontario Seniors
