Keeping Your Mind Sharp As You Age To Enjoy Life

Miami FL

31 December, 2020

9:15 AM

Description

the Miami Times Family Features Dec 30, 2020 If you are aware of the passage of time and want to stick around a lot longer with all of your faculties intact, this is the article for you. This has been a tough year on the aging population. Many seniors have been isolating for months, away from children and grandchildren, to keep from becoming infected with COVID-19. In fact, seniors in assisted living or nursing facilities where staff come and go have the highest coronavirus-related death rate, in Florida and around the world. If you are fortunate enough to have survived and are looking forward to a pandemic-free world in your remaining golden years, heed some advice. As knowledge about the aging process, medical research and technology continues to advance, so too do the options for managing how aging impacts your life. While everyone ages differently, you can control some things by committing to healthy lifestyle choices that can keep your mind sharp for years to come. Stay in motion. A study published in the journal Neurology found formerly sedentary people who started walking three times a week improved executive function – the myriad processes required for people to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and juggle multiple tasks – and lowered predicted brain age by nine years in just six months. In fact, exercises such as hiking can have an increased impact on brain health. Improve your diet. Diet is often seen as a pathway to weight loss, but as you get older it's important to understand how diet holds the keys to your health and physiology, and impacts brain function and the ability to concentrate. For example, fatty fish like salmon is rich in omega-3 acids, which are linked to lower risk of dementia and stroke and slower mental decline, according to the National Institutes of Health. Berries, apples and tea can also help lower dementia risk, as found in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Develop good sleep habits. The proper amount of sleep can go a long way toward maintaining good cognitive health. Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night to adequately rest their brains. Steps you can take to develop good sleep habits include going to bed and getting up around the same time each day, and avoiding caffeine or eating food too close to bedtime. Reduce and manage stress. Few things cause aging as intensely or negatively as stress. It can lead to a variety of cognitive issues and manifest itself in your physical appearance, as well as in chronic conditions such as heart disease, depression and other psychological disorders. To help reduce and manage stress, consider practicing yoga or meditation, spending time in nature, decluttering your home and getting adequate sleep. Feed your brain. Like any muscle in the body, the brain needs stimulation and regular exercise to avoid atrophy and decline. Brain games and activities such as listening to music, reading, or arts and crafts can help maintain brain fitness. Blogging can also help engage your inner storyteller and uses the brain to do something that involves both passive and active thinking outside of its usual routine. There's plenty of "brain food" available to devour. By reading and experiencing new things, as well as keeping your mind active with puzzles and games, you can slow age-related cognitive decline. The Miami Times hopes you take these steps in 2021 as part of your New Year's resolution to get back to living your best possible life. Learn more about enhancing your cognitive performance and feeling your best at any age at Aviv-Clinics.com. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.