Mental activity. Protect or improve your memory and mental sharpness by:
- Challenging your intellect on a daily basis. Read, learn a new musical instrument or language, do crossword puzzles, play games of strategy with others. Just like an active body, an active brain continues to develop and thrive, while an inactive brain loses its power over time.
- Helping your memory along. Write down dates, names, and other important information that you easily forget. Use routine and repetition-keep daily items such as keys and eyeglasses in a specific place; when you learn a new name, repeat it out loud in conversation or to yourself several times to commit it to memory. (No matter what your age, having too much on your mind can interfere with your memory of new information. And as you age, it is normal to take longer to retrieve new information from your memory banks.)
- Preventing depression, which is a common yet treatable cause of cognitive decline in older people. In addition to getting regular exercise and social contact, avoid the depressant effect of alcohol and sedative use, eat a healthy diet, and include meaningful activity in your daily life (such as learning, creating, working, volunteering). If depression strikes, seek professional help-antidepressant medication and/or counseling are effective treatments for depression. For more information, see the topic Depression. If you find that a physical condition or disability is worsening your depressed mood, get the medical treatment you need.
- Not smoking. Cigarette smoking may speed mental decline; this connection was recently identified in a large study comparing smokers and nonsmokers age 65 and over.8
Found at Webmd.com
