All living things age, it’s inevitable, as people age it tends to come with cognitive decline, and this has led many to believe the cognitive decline is as inevitable as aging itself. Everybody wants to live till very old ages, and they just don’t want to do so living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, which are associated with aging.
There are no known cure for Alzheimer’s and many other types of dementia. However, research has shown that living a very healthy life can help prevent it. Below we will see 10 ways of keeping our minds young and healthy.
Exercise
There are many lifestyle changes to consider to avoid damage to our brains, and exercise has been shown to maintain the integrity of the brain. Studies have also shown that workouts that are aerobic in middle-aged or older adults have reported improvements in thinking and memory and also reduced rates of dementia. When we exercise, we don’t only improve our physical health, and we also improve our mental health as well. Exercise helps in the development of new nerve cells and increases the connection between brain cells, which in turn makes the brain more effective and adaptive. Exercise improves cholesterol levels, blood sugar balance, and lowers blood pressure, and this helps not only in the development of the body but also the mind.
Good Diet
We are as good as what we eat, and research has shown that people who eat food high in Mediterranean diets tend to live a healthy live in old age. Mediterranean diets are high in fruits, vegetables, legumes cereals, and fish, and they are low in meat, saturated fat, and sugar. Fat in this type of diets comes from unsaturated oil (olive oil). Research in the 1960s showed that men from Mediterranean regions who adhered to traditional diets have lower rates of heart attacks. This led to a continual investigation into the potential health benefits of the diet. Investigations revealed that this kind of diet is associated with slower rates of decline in memory and thinking, lower levels of stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Avoid Tobacco
Smoking can tighten and damage blood vessels, which can restrict blood flow to the brain, this can deny the brain essential nutrients and oxygen. Smoking also makes blood clots occur more inside the brain, and this can lead to a type of dementia known as vascular dementia.
Music
Music, as they say, is the food of the soul, and music helps relieve stress and could also be a companion when you are lonely. A lot of musical activities can help improve the brain. This could be karaoke, listening to your old musical collection, or even learning to play a musical instrument. Playing musical instrument throughout life is associated with a lower risk of dementia, as the neurons keep growing and evolving to accommodate the upgrading of one’s musical proficiency. Playing a musical instrument requires an active engagement of a wide range of cognitive processes, including sensory and motor systems.
When becoming used to some particular type of music, the brain does something called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) which feels like tingling in the brain or scalp. According to a recent study, the part of the brain responsible for ASMR doesn’t degenerate in Alzheimer’s. According to studies, people with Alzheimer’s disease have been shown to benefit from music. ASMR is indeed powerful.
Avoid Drugs
It has been proven that drugs can cause temporary and even permanent brain damage. Avoiding drugs will go a long way to improving one’s mental health.
Mental Exercise
Mental exercise helps stimulates and improve the brain, by simply attempting tasks we are not familiar with helps develop our mind and consequently improve our health. Mental exercise can be achieved in various ways, puzzles, and mental games like scrabble and chess improve brain functionality and keep the mind sharp. Even video games and card games are good for your mental health.
Art
You don’t need to be a talented artist to try your hands in art. Learning art like painting, photography, and sculpture goes a long way in improving one’s mental health.
Adequate Sleep
First of all, lifestyle changes that are useful in brain damage prevention, sleep is by far the cheapest and easiest. Getting enough sleep has long been associated with sharper and healthier minds. Inadequate sleep is linked to physical and mental stress, high blood pressure, and heart diseases. Always try to get enough sleep and even naps to constantly recharge your batteries and attain optimum functionality of the brain.
Reduce Alcohol
Regular consumption of huge volumes of alcohol can cause Alcohol –Related Brain Damage (ARBD). ARBD includes several different conditions, like Wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and alcoholic dementia. All these diseases have been proved to be caused by drinking too much alcohol over the years.
Chronic drinkers are more likely to have reduced volume of the brain’s white matter which helps to transmit signals between different brain regions, and they also risk the lack of vitamin thiamine B1 and Korsakoff’s syndrome, a memory disorder affecting short term memory. Generally, it’s advised not to drink if you haven’t been doing and reduce to a maximum of 2 bottles a day if you are already and heavy consumer of alcohol to avoid brain damage associated with consumption of alcohol.
Learn
A certain way of improving one’s mental functionality is by learning things you don’t know before. Learn new words, new things, new skills, visit new places and learn new languages. Essentially, ensure you learn a new thing every day.
The cognitive decline comes with aging, which could lead to diseases we dread to live within our latter years, most of these diseases are not curable but can only be managed. However, studies have shown that those who live a healthy lifestyle are less likely to suffer these diseases associated with old age.
A good diet, good hygiene, adequate sleep, constant learning and relearning, music, and adequate mental and physical exercise are the secrets to keeping the mind sharp and healthy from our youthful years through to geriatrics.
