How has your memory been lately? As good as ever? Do you remember names easily? Find the word you want quickly?
The hard truth as you get older is probably not.
Brain cell loss begins in adulthood, and by the time we turn 50, we lose 1% of our brain each year. And losing cells in our brain is not like losing the other weight that we so often want to get rid of! When we lose brain cells, we lose the very neurons that allow us to think, remember, and manage our lives.
Loss of one percent. Every year. That means that in the span of 20 years, we lose 20%.
That’s not good.
But it doesn’t have to happen that way. You can change the process, stop the loss and even grow new neurons.
Let’s look at five powerful factors that research shows will make a difference in brain health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, learning, and meditation.
Nutrition:
Sugar increases early-onset dementia and inflames the brain. Hard to avoid in our culture, but worth considering. Omega-3s feed and help heal your brain. That’s much easier: A krill supplement can actually help keep your brain younger and healthier.
The Mediterranean diet slows cognitive decline in multiple studies, in addition to reducing heart disease. Could you add a new Mediterranean dish per month? What’s good for your heart is good for your brain, which means you get double the impact of your choices.
Exercise:
A recent meta-analysis of 39 randomized clinical trials of physical activity shows that physical activity is strongly associated with slowing cognitive decline. The research is consistent: exercise makes a difference.
Simply walking 40 minutes, 3 times a week, has been shown to stop brain loss and actually add new brain cells: add 2% of brain mass in new cells in a year, instead of losing a one %. And this was true even for the oldest walkers.
What if you added 2% to your brain mass per year, instead of losing 1%? What would it mean to you in the next 10 years?
To sleep:
Sleep is important for your mood, but it’s also important for the health of your brain. During sleep, there are actual structural changes in your brain: Useful spaces expand and stress-related areas recede. Sleep helps protect against obesity and reduces stress and depression, all of which are associated with cognitive decline.
How is your sleep? Exercise and meditation are good ways to sleep better and strengthen your brain at the same time.
Learning:
Learning something new will strengthen your brain. The problem is that it has to be something difficult to learn. Not just solving a new puzzle, but working on something that requires real effort. Learning a new language or a new instrument can give you the brain workout you need.
Frankly, you will never really be good at the new language or instrument you start learning as an older adult. But that’s not why you’re doing it. You’re doing it to have more brains to work with.
And what the heck, you may not be great, but you will be able to make some jams and make yourself known on your next trip!
Meditation:
For most people, meditation is the easiest and most enjoyable way to add brain cells. New meditators who practiced 30 minutes a day for just 8 weeks showed significant and measurable increases in brain matter in parts of the brain associated with memory, as well as parts of the brain associated with a positive sense of self and increased ability to handle stress.
Do you know how to meditate? It’s easy, free and enjoyable. It can be as simple as paying attention to your breath for 10 minutes a day. Or you can try using a guided meditation, rich in healing imagery, to learn how to meditate. It’s easy, relaxing, and comforting to do. And it’s a powerful tool for building a healthy brain.
Choose any of these areas, the easiest one, the one you like best, and start your mental work. Support yourself on your way to a healthy memory and a healthy brain.