6 Tips to Improve Brain Health
Jennifer D'Angelo Friedman, SELF magazine
Think you don't have to worry about your brain failing you until you get older? Think again.
Dr. Cynthia Green, an expert on memory fitness and brain health, says it's never too early to start boosting your brain power.
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"When you are young and healthy is the best time to lay down some great brain healthy habits!" says Green, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "Choices we make about routine lifestyle things such as always getting regular aerobic exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, staying intellectually challenged and dealing effectively with stress all matter to our everyday memory and long-term brain health."
In her new book, 30 Days to Total Brain Health, Green offers an entire month's worth of ways to clear brain fog, boost memory and lower your risk for dementia. The best part? You'll spend just 10 minutes a day doing fun things like playing a game on your phone or simply doodling.
Here are 6 of her tips, excerpted from her book:
1. Get Physical! Recent research shows that regular aerobic exercise can improve your memory and decrease your risk for dementia.
2. Take a Yoga Break Yoga is a terrific resource for maintaining emotional balance, and can be used to reduce stress, anxiety and depressed mood, all of which may lower our everyday memory performance.
3. Get Some Phone Game Playing a game on your phone gets you to focus, think fast and think flexibly. Research has shown that by exercising these skills, which often can be challenged as we age, we can improve our performance in these areas.
4. Doodle! Recent research suggests that doodling may help us maintain focus and remember more effectively.
5. Reconnect with a Long-Lost Friend Research has shown that folks who report higher levels of social engagement have an associated reduced risk for memory loss and dementia.
6. Spend 10 Minutes Organizing Your Desk Folks who are organized remember better, so get rid of what is non-essential. Keep out only papers that require immediate attention.
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