How to keep your brain young

A rich new area of science is analyzing which healthy habits best keep your mind and memory healthy in the 40s and beyond. Kenneth S. Kosik, MD, co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has studied which habits most powerfully boost our cognitive function. Here, he shares the most up-to-date research from innovative labs plus the best brain-boosting tips from his book Outsmarting Alzheimer’s. These are daily habits of people with impressive memory.

Whether you’re deliberating a chess move or bluffing at cards, you’re also giving the frontal lobe, the area of your brain that handles executive function, a workout. “The frontal lobe is particularly vulnerable to degeneration and the effects of aging,” says Dr. Kosik. A recent study in Brain Imaging Behavior found that adults in middle age who routinely worked on puzzles and played board games had higher brain volume in the area responsible for cognitive functions, including memory, than those who didn’t play games. These weird brain exercises can help you get smarter.

Scientists surveyed volunteers about seven familiar heart-health factors and tested their cognitive performance at two points over eight years. The results, published in 2017 in the journal Stroke, found that the more heart-healthy habits people had, the less cognitive decline they showed. A stronger cardiovascular system means a stronger pipeline of nutrients to the brain, says lead author Hannah Gardener, ScD, an epidemiologist and assistant scientist in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami. The seven heart-health ideals to strive for: Not smoking; maintaining a healthy BMI (body mass index); staying physically active (aim for at least 150 minutes per week); having healthy total cholesterol (under 200 mg/dL), blood pressure (under 120/80 mmHg), and blood sugar (under 100 mg/dL); and following an eating plan that’s rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and low in sodium and sweets. They all may be familiar, if a little overwhelming, but “each one helps,” says Gardener.

The brain relies on connections between neurons to function well, reports the National Institute on Aging. In Alzheimer’s, these connections begin to die off. Doing all you can now to help strengthen your neural connections will help protect your brain as you age. Use any opportunity in your daily routine for critical thought and analysis. “The strongest mental habit is to pursue deeper level thinking,” Dr. Chapman says. “This can happen in your everyday life, for instance abstracting themes from shows you see or books you read. Deeper-level thinking is like push-ups and sit-ups for the brain.”

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