Four things you can do to stay mentally sharp
A crucial part of our wellbeing is caring for your brain, particularly memory and cognitive function. Luckily, it’s not rocket science. Here’s four key things that can optimise your brain health.
1. Keep hydrated, drink water
Memory loss and finding it hard to concentrate are common symptoms of dehydration. As we age it’s much easier to become dehydrated. That’s because our body water percentage decreases as we grow older, so even a small decrease in water intake can have an impact.
Regular medications and mild illnesses also contribute to dehydration.
When you consider that our brains are around 75% water, and H2O is essential for nerve function and electrical signalling in the brain, that extra glass of water a few times a day can do more than vitamin supplements or specific foods to improve our brain function.
If you have trouble remembering (ahem) to drink water during the day, try setting a reminder on your phone to get the habit started. There are even apps to help you.
2. Use it or lose it
Staying mentally active is vital to maintain our cognitive ability as we age. Our brain’s ability to flex or re-organise itself as we experience or learn something new is known as neuroplasticity.
Activities like puzzles, playing musical instruments, new hobbies or even life-long hobbies like reading, can boost neuroplasticity and enhance cognitive abilities.
When it comes to reading, recent research1 shows that people who read a lot of fiction have enhanced cognitive skills particularly abstract thinking, empathy and reasoning.
And the sense of accomplishment that can come from doing mentally challenging activities can provide an important mood boost, because even mild depression or anxiety is known to lead to cognitive decline.2
3. Stay social
Along with being mentally active, staying socially active also prevents cognitive decline, by easing feelings of loneliness, stress and isolation that can bring on depression.
Social activities that centre around shared interests can exercise memory, attention and language skills.
Making an effort to stay connected to family and friends, or being involved in volunteering or hobby groups, shouldn’t be underestimated for its cognitive stimulation . Our super helpful retirement guide includes ideas on practical ways to get and stay connected as you transition into retirement.
4. Get enough sleep
Sleep seems like a passive activity, but for the brain it’s the downtime needed to get busy clearing out toxins and waste products that accumulate in our brain tissue during the day.
This process is vital to maintain good cognitive function and one of the main reasons we wake feeling refreshed after a good night’s rest.
When we sleep, the brain is also busy consolidating information absorbed during waking hours, dispatching those experiences from short-term to long-term memory. Not enough quality sleep can lead to problems with memory recall and learning.
Healthy adults require about seven to nine hours of shut eye each night to get the full benefits of these and other processes. The challenge is that as we age, our bodies produce less melatonin, the sleep-promoting hormone. Getting a daily dose of sunlight can help, along with a healthy diet that provides enough Vitamin D (think eggs, fish, dairy) which the body uses to produce melatonin.
'Youth' may be wasted on the young, but our memories are ours for the keeping.
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