5 Ways To Boost Brain Health and Slow Cognitive Decline

As we age, it’s natural for our health and brain health to change. From around 60 to 70 years of age, the frontal lobe and hippocampus may start to shrink, potentially affecting memory and cognitive function.

However, this doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop it or slow it down. By taking proactive steps, we can significantly influence our brain health and potentially prevent or slow down these changes.

By actively preserving our brain and physical health as we age, we can continue to enjoy all of our cognitive functions and potentially reduce the risk of age-related brain changes. This means we can stay sharp, engaged, and independent as we enter our senior years.

I’m sharing about this topic because I’m a bestselling author on anxiety and leading Behavioral Change Coach – with about 2 million books sold globally.

So, what exactly can you do to help you boost brain health and slow down cognitive decline as you age? Read on…

Exercise

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your brain and your body. There is a wealth of research indicating that getting the heart pumping and breaking out into a sweat on a regular basis is one of the best things you can do for your health.

While there’s a lot of information out there about the ‘best’ type of exercise, the truth is, the best exercise is the one you enjoy and can stick to. It’s not about pushing yourself to the limit, but about finding an activity that raises your heart rate, gets you slightly out of breath, and makes you break a sweat. The key is to find something that suits your lifestyle and preferences, so you can maintain it in the long run.

You can walk, run, swim, lift weights, or join a dance class—it’s your choice—but engaging in physical activity is the best way to boost brain health. In addition to boosting brain health, exercise also benefits your heart, prevents depression, and reduces your risk of illnesses and health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Experts suggest incorporating some type of strength training into your exercise habits to help you remain mobile and avoid loss of mobility so you can remain independent for as long as possible.

Get Enough Sleep

Your body and brain need sleep. However, did you know that your body and brain remain fairly active while you sleep? They’re busy performing a manner of distinct functions, most notable of which is that your brain releases toxins during your sleep that have accumulated while you’re awake.

The brain needs 7-8 hours of sleep per night, and there are studies on both too much and too little sleep, which, in extreme cases, can be harmful to brain health and cognitive abilities. If you want to preserve your memory, build new pathways, and boost that all-important cognitive function, you need a good sleep routine that allows your brain the downtime it needs to get things done and prepare you for the next day.

To support healthy sleep patterns and ensure optimal brain function, incorporating Sleep Support Plus into your routine can be beneficial. This supplement is specifically formulated to promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, and support restful sleep, providing your brain with the essential rest it needs to function at its best.

Be Social

Staying socially active is one of the best ways to boost your brain health. While brain training games can be fun, nothing beats the connection you get from conversing with other people. Even if you’re not big on socializing, maintaining relationships with friends and family can help you stay alert and engaged, not just catch up on all the gossip. Talking to others can stimulate memory attention, prevent signs of depression, and boost mental health. Loneliness is often cited as the silent killer in older people because the fewer social interactions they have, the less they’re using their brains, and the quicker the cognitive decline can be. So get out, talk to others, join social events, find a new community, and see how much benefit you get at any age.

Challenge The Brain

You need to keep your brain active, learn new things, and challenge yourself as much as possible. Pay attention to how much you need to think about things, what new information you absorb, and how proactive you are about keeping your brain engaged.

There are multiple different ways you can do this. You can make it your aim to learn something new regularly. This can be anything from going back to education or casually studying something new; it can be learning a new language or a musical instrument, taking up dancing and having to learn the steps, or even learning DIY. It doesn’t actually matter what you learn as long as it interests you; it’s the act of learning that is going to help boost brain power and memory. When you learn something new, over time, your brain and the neurons connected with learning form new connections and even new neurons. It’s similar to what happens when you exercise on a regular basis. These actions keep your brain healthy.

Other ways to slow down cognitive decline by challenging your brain…

• Play mentally stimulating games that encourage you to think more, be strategic about your decisions, and are challenging to compete in. These can be crossword puzzles, number-based games such as Sudoku, card games like solitaire, or anything that requires some thought and skill to complete. You can play these games physically or online; it doesn’t matter.
• Brain training games are available online or in apps to help you create the same effect in your brain. They challenge you in different ways, and they aim to keep the brain active. Different games all claim to help you boost cognitive function; however, finding something you enjoy that isn’t too easy and engages you is more likely to be effective than a game described as a brain training game if it doesn’t do all of these things.
• Puzzles such as jigsaws or games like chess, where you need to pay attention and think about what you are doing, can be extremely effective in helping you keep the brain active. These are all activities you can do alone or with others for that added social benefit, and the mental stimulation you can get from playing these types of games can be really effective in supporting good brain health and reduced cognitive decline.
• Video games can also be useful, especially when they require you to make strategic decisions or challenge you to race against the clock and make the right decision fast. The more challenging it is to complete, the better it will be for your brain.

Diet

Your diet plays a massive part in your brain’s function, and it needs certain vitamins and minerals to help it function properly. This isn’t a one-time fix, and you need to include these types of foods in your diet on a regular basis. However, studies have shown that certain foods are more beneficial to your brain than others, and including them in your diet can help you preserve your brain health and boost function.

These foods include blueberries, leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and spinach, and oily fish, blackberries, tomatoes, eggs, and pumpkin seeds to help you stay healthy in all ways, not just your brain.

Your brain needs omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, choline, and vitamins B, D, and E to be healthy. Making sure you eat foods rich in these qualities can help you stay fit and healthy and remember your name for many years to come.

There will always be some changes in your body as you get older, and much like with your physical health, you can protect your mental health and cognitive function by making some small changes to what you eat and how you live. The more proactive you are about preserving your brain health, the slower your cognitive decline will be, and the longer your mind will be sharper.

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