How to Keep Your Mind Sharp and Keen as You Grow Older

Aging. There are many pros and cons to getting older. As you get older, you may struggle with your hair or eyes, you may find it more difficult to lose weight, and it can be a lot more difficult to be able to get around. There are a lot of things that can make these later years of your life something that is not very golden.

One of the most frustrating parts of getting older is that your mind just doesn’t work like it used to. Those who have passed their 40th birthday can tell you that remembering things isn’t as easy, trying to solve problems can become more challenging, and focusing on any particular topic can become less possible. It can become extremely frustrating.

What You Can Do to Help Reduce This Problem

Fortunately, there are ways that you can reduce the issues with your mind losing its sharp edge. Best of all, virtually anybody can do them!

  • Read

Some people are not huge fans of reading. However, several studies have proven that by reading regularly you can actually decrease the rate of dementia or memory loss by up to 50 percent. Those who read more complex stories or who read for longer periods of time show an increased level of sharpness as they reached into their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

  • Write

If reading is a good idea, then writing is one as well! Writing has a profound effect on helping to improve the sharpness of your brain because it requires a number of different parts of your brain to be able to effectively write. Even if you are typing on a computer or keyboard, you will still find that this can be beneficial. You are not only using the creative centers of your brain, drawing on knowledge of how to write using your language of choice, but also on memories that help to create stories or even to write letters.

  • Learn

While you don’t have to go to school to do this, it may not be a bad idea to go and take a college class or two, no matter how old you are. Go to a community center, college, university, or take a class online. By learning, you keep the nerve cells in your brain active and even create a number of additional connections throughout your brain to make it process and work more effectively. In fact, those who choose to learn languages, later on, have shown a decreased rate of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia. Learn new things and you will see a dramatic improvement in the way your brain functions. Best of all, if you decide to go to college a number of universities will offer free college classes to those who are in their senior years and want to return to school.

  • Play Games

Remember when you were a teenager playing video games and you tried to convince your parents that they help improve hand-eye coordination? Well, now you can use games and puzzles to help keep your brain sharp as you are aging. Math and other kinds of puzzle games help to improve neural connectivity, increase memory, and help with decision-making. They also reduce the rate of Alzheimer’s and dementia. You can put together jigsaw puzzles by magazines or newspapers that offer these kinds of puzzles in them, or even play higher level games that require you to strategize and think more.

  • Learn to Play an Instrument

Just like learning a new language, learning to play a new instrument can be just as beneficial to your brain. What really helps with this is that you are learning something that requires a number of parts of your brain to be able to be successful. You not only have to understand how to read music, but that has to be translated in your brain into muscle control of your hands, arms, and feet to perform with the instrument. This can be an exceptional choice to assist you in keeping your brain sharp.

  • Sleep and Eat Well

One of the factors that can have a profound impact on brain health is how you take care of yourself. If you are not sleeping enough at night and are not eating well, this can slow down your brain and make it more difficult for you to function. Get enough rest, eat well, and eat right and you will find that your brain functions much more effectively.

Where You Live Can Help

Living alone or in an area that you feel unsafe can also have a dramatic impact on the health of your brain. This can increase stress and tension, and help to make it so that you are unable to sleep well at night.

This is why many choose to move to Bestland Senior Living Community. They not only have the opportunity to make new friends and have an active life, but they can enjoy peace and quietness, resting well and getting the proper nutrition that enables them to have a sharper mind. Plus, transportation is provided should you decide to take that college course!