Tips For Seniors To Keep Your Mind And Memory Sharp

Tips for seniors to keep their minds and memory sharp can be as simple as playing a game of chess with a friend. The adage, “Use It, Or Lose It”, holds true as we age. Stretching your brain keeps your mind sharp. People who are more active in mentally challenging activities are more likely to stay sharp. For example, try these activities:

 

• Learn a second language
• Read a book.
• Go to a lecture.
• Listen to the radio.
• Play a game.
• Visit a museum

 

 

 

Tips: Mix Things Up, Avoid Boring Habits

Researchers at Duke University created exercises they call “neurobics,” which challenge your brain to think in new ways. Since your five senses are key to learning, use them to exercise your mind. If you’re right-handed, try using your left hand. Close your eyes and see if you can recognize food by taste.

 

 

Tips: Exercise

Exercise, especially the kind that gets your heart rate up like walking or swimming, has mental pluses, too. Physical activity increases the blood supply to the brain and improve links between brain cells. Chemicals called endorphins are released after exercise. They improve mood, and have been found to help memory, imagination, and also ability to plan tasks.

 

 

Tips: Eat A Healthy Diet

Eating nutritious food is great for your brain.Choose foods that are good for your heart and waistline. Being obese in in your aging years can lead to dementia, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Try these easy tips:

• Bake or grill foods instead of frying.
• Cook with “good” fats like oils from nuts, seeds, and olives instead of cream, butter, and fats from meat.
• Eat colorful fruits and veggies.
• Eat fish.

 

Tips: Drink In Moderation

Too many drinks can affect judgment, speech, movement, and memory. Moreover, long-term drinking can shrink the frontal lobes of your brain. And that damage can last forever. A healthy amount is considered one drink a day for women and two for men.

 

 

Tips: Video Games Sharpen Your Brain

Several studies found that playing video games stimulates the parts of the brain that control movement, memory, planning, and fine motor skills.  Plus, it’s fun.

 

 

Tips: Music Soothes Your Brain

Playing an instrument early in life pays off in clearer thinking when you’re older. Musical experience boosts mental functions that have nothing to do with music, such as memory and ability to plan. It also helps with greater hand coordination. Moreover, it’s fun, and it’s never too late to start.

 

 

Tips: Make Friends

Be a people person! Talking with others actually sharpens your brain, whether at work, at home, or out in your community. Studies show social activities improve your mind. So volunteer, or sign up for a class.

 

 

Tips: Avoid Stress, Stay Calm

Too much stress can hurt your brain, which contains cells that store and process information. Here are some ways to chill:

• Take deep breaths.
• Find something that makes you laugh.
• Listen to music.
• Try yoga or meditation.
• Find someone to talk to
• Exercise

 

 

Tips: Get Enough Sleep

Get enough sleep before and after you learn something new. You need sleep on both ends. When you start out tired, it’s hard to focus on things. And when you sleep afterward, your brain files away the new info so you can recall it later. Adults need about  7-8 hours of sleep every night.

 

 

Tips: Memory Helpers

Here are some tips to help you remember and plan activities.

Write things down.
Use the calendar and reminder functions in your phone, even for simple things.
Focus on one task at a time.
Learn new things one step at a time