Proactive Brain Health to Live Well Every Day

When we think of maintaining our health as we age, we typically think of our physical health. But what about our brain and cognitive health?

Although research is still evolving, it has shown that we can make fundamental lifestyle changes to improve and promote good brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Unfortunately, brain health is often overlooked until issues arise.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, worldwide, 55 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, making it imperative to do everything you can to improve and promote a healthy brain.

In this article, we’ll discuss everything needed to understand the importance of brain health and how to maintain and improve brain and cognitive functions as we age.

The Importance of Brain Health to Healthy Aging

The human brain is the center of the nervous system, enabling memory, thoughts, emotions, and physical coordination.

As we age, changes occur in all aspects of the body, including the brain. Communication between neurons may become less effective, blood flow in the brain may decrease, and certain parts of the brain may shrink.

These changes can cause slowness in thinking, difficulties sustaining attention, multitasking, retaining information, and other memory and cognitive issues.

Despite these cognitive changes as we age, there are things older adults can do to protect their brain health.

The Science of Brain Health

The science and methodologies behind brain health involve things we can all do to improve brain and cognitive health.

Whether you’re cognitively independent or have cognitive challenges, healthy lifestyle changes can lead to sharper thinking and long-term cognitive vitality.

Proactive brain health involves taking measures to improve and promote good brain health from a preventative point of view.

These measures can help people with cognitive challenges and prevent them in cognitively independent people.

By focusing on brain health as a part of your wellness routine, you can build resilience against cognitive decline and improve your quality of life.

Proactive Ways to Promote Brain Health

We should approach preventing and promoting good brain health the same way we approach other age-related conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

These conditions don’t appear overnight; they build up over time. You can adopt lifestyle changes to prevent them. The same is true for our brains.

Adopting the following consistent lifestyle changes can boost your brain health:

Speak With Your Physician

Ask your physician to add cognitive health to your annual physical. This will help you recognize signs of cognitive decline early to catch and treat early.

Prioritize Sleep

Getting enough quality sleep is essential for brain health and mental restoration. Sleep restores and repairs the brain, which plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, enhances cognitive abilities, and helps regulate emotions.

Healthy Nutrition

A healthy diet benefits both your body and your brain. Reducing your intake of high-fat and processed foods and increasing your consumption of green leafy vegetables, lean meat, proteins, and whole grains can reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

In addition, fatty fish such as salmon, cod, and canned light tuna have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid, the protein that forms damaging clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Stay Physically Active

Exercise is essential to healthy aging and is associated with enhancing brain health and lowering the risk of cognitive decline, including dementia.

Regular physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, promoting oxygen and nutrient delivery. Exercise also promotes neuroplasticity, which is your brain’s ability to form new brain cells.

Intellectual Engagement

Stay intellectually engaged by continuing to challenge and stimulate your mind by learning new things. Learn a new skill, a new language, a hobby, or play a new instrument to keep it fresh and new.

Don’t continue to do the same activities you’ve always done. Growing new brain cells and new connections between our existing brain cells is supported by novelty. Novelty includes engaging in new intellectual pursuits.

Social Engagement

Seniors with rich social lives are less likely to experience cognitive decline or depression as they age.

Meeting friends and engaging in social activities are not only fun. Socializing boosts our informal intellectual skills.

Being social forces you to work out cognitive skills, you don’t have to when you’re socially isolated. When you socialize, you must be attentive, think quickly, follow along, remember things, and be verbally fluid.

Take Care of Your Emotional Well-Being

Our emotional well-being is vital to brain health and our motivation to care for our brain.

Just knowing you have the power to make a difference in your day-to-day thinking and overall well-being can give you the confidence to take steps toward better emotional health.

Manage stress by speaking with a therapist or trying relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation.

Benefits of Memory Care Programs

Many families initially choose to take care of loved ones with Alzheimer's disease or dementia at home. However, as the disease progresses, many families realize they need professional assistance.

Memory care programs and communities provide support, helpful resources for families, cognitive stimulation training, and activities for residents to help preserve cognition longer.

According to Dr. Cynthia Green, a memory fitness and brain health expert and founder of the Memory Enhancement Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, cognitive independent programs include health and wellness, social-based brain training, and hands-on learning.

Memory care communities provide the following benefits to residents:

• Customized person-centered programs that meet the cognitive level and individual needs of each resident by focusing on their strengths, weaknesses, passions, and background
• Professional staff with extensive specialized memory care training
• Health and wellness programs
• Family-oriented activities and games that promote family togetherness and bonding

Wrap-up

Your brain is central to your health and well-being; taking care of it is essential to living well daily.

Adopting a proactive approach to brain health can enhance cognitive function, promote sharper thinking, and promote long-term cognitive vitality.

Regular exercise, prioritizing a good night’s sleep, eating a diet of leafy vegetables, whole grains, and fatty fish, staying socially engaged, and protecting your emotional health can lead to greater cognitive vitality and well-being.