Improve Your Memory and Reduce The Risk Of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

Increasingly, scientists and researchers are confirming a link between keeping your brain active and reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. While there is no guarantee, of course, more and more evidence shows that at the very least, actively working to improve your memory and keep your brain active also helps to improve your overall health and well being.

Exercise Your Brain

Your brain functions through millions of connections called synapses; the more you have, the better your brain performs. Synapses can be disconnected in a number of ways, but the good news is you can also create new synapses and strengthen existing ones in a number of ways, too. You can accomplish this by “exercising” your brain, just as you exercise the rest of your body.

But how, exactly, can you exercise your brain? By using it, of course! Seniors who make a conscious effort to stimulate their brains and keep them active are much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, depression, or general dementia. So it is important to continually find ways to make your brain work a little bit harder and keep those synapses strong.

Brain Exercises

In general, anything you do that causes you to think or use your brain in new ways can provide the vital exercise your brain needs. But this doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some examples of great exercises for your brain:

• Change your routine

The more often you repeat a routine the less your brain has to work, so consciously look for ways to do things in a different way. If you normally brush your teeth with your right hand, for example, try using your left hand instead. Or, when you go to the grocery store go through the aisles in the opposite way you normally would.

• Expand your knowledge

Taking in new information is a good way to keep your brain active, so find ways to expand your knowledge. Read more books, take a class, study an interesting subject, or anything else you can think of along these lines.

• Use your senses

Your brain is also strengthened when you use multiple senses to take in information, perform tasks, and the like. Find ways to use more than one sense when you’re doing normal activities. For instance, you could read a magazine aloud or take notes as you carry on a conversation or watch a movie. By using more than one sense to process information your brain is better able to stay healthy.

• Seek new mental challenges

This is a particularly fun way to strengthen your brain because it is all about playing games and challenging yourself. Do word searches, try your hand at Sudoku, do mind puzzles, complete a crossword puzzle, or any other activity that causes you to think and solve problems.

• Electronic tools

There are more and more electronic tools available to help seniors keep their brains active and healthy. Try a computer software game designed for this purpose, or get a handheld device (like a NintendoDS) plus some of the special software that exists for this platform. Keep it in your purse or pocket, and use it when you’re waiting for an appointment, riding the bus, or any other free moment that occurs.

Keep The Rest of Your Body Healthy

There is a very strong relationship between the health of your brain and the health of the rest of your body, so don’t skimp in this area either. Keep your body healthy with regular exercise, good nutrition, and a good night’s sleep. If you smoke, stop; if you drink, do it in moderation. Anything you can do to improve your physical condition and health will also improve the functioning of your brain.

Another way to keep your body and your brain healthy is to cut down on stress in your life. Stress can cause you to feel fatigued, be more susceptible to illnesses, and be less active. Additionally, the chemicals and enzymes produced in your brain due to stress can damage those synapses you’re working so hard to build up.

So take time to relax and don’t schedule your days with too many responsibilities or requirements. Practice relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, or simply closing your eyes and letting yourself take a break. Keeping your body healthy will also keep your brain healthy, resulting in a better overall quality of life.

How To Keep Mentally Alert

Have you recently noticed that your mind tends to wander no matter what you are doing? Do you walk into a room only to forget why you even came in? You are not alone. This sort of absentmindedness plagues a huge percentage of the world’s population. It can be very frustrating, and so you should try to do your best to keep an alert mental state. There are many ways to do this, and if you are not taking advantage of any of them then you should start today. Read on to find out about some of the most common and popular ways to maintain mental alertness.

Exercise is the one that you will hear the most. It is easy to get caught in a rut of going to work and then coming home and relaxing. Instead of sitting in front of the TV all night, why don’t you lift some weights or go for a run? Exercise releases just the right chemicals into your brain to make you more alert, not only during the exercise, but for the rest of the day until you go to sleep. This is why so many people like to start off their days with a good run through the neighborhood. The type of exercise you choose will depend on what options are available to you.

Another way to increase mental alertness is to stimulate your mind at least once per day. It is very healthy to always teach yourself new things. Whether you sit down and read a science fiction book with interesting scientific theories, or you read a college textbook and discover new things about biology, there is everything to be gained from learning new things. Not only do you get to keep the great knowledge, but you also will sustain higher levels of alertness due to the effort that it takes to learn all of those things. So go to the library today and find a book that piques your interest.

A good amount of sleep is crucial to being mentally alert. If you are only getting 5 hours of sleep per night and you are complaining about being forgetful, then you should slap yourself in the face right now. The answer is very obvious. All you need to do is regularly sleep more. If you don’t give your mind enough time to recuperate, then you can expect to see poorer performance. If your job requires you to get up early, then go to bed earlier. If you have too much to do, then all you need to do is plan your days out better so that you get things done more efficiently and leave more time to sleeping.

Ultimately the best thing to do is to combine these three methods to remain as mentally awake as possible. If you start to utilize all 3 of these, you should start seeing improvements in a matter of days. Hopefully you will stop losing things, stop forgetting important dates, and generally stop being so absentminded. If the problem persists, then you should talk to a doctor or a shrink about any stressors that could be causing you to mentally stray away from other areas in your life. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but you shouldn’t ignore the possibility.

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