Healthy Body, Healthy Brain

• Most decreased brain function we see in older people is from disease, not old age itself. With age comes an increased incidence of disease, which can drastically affect functioning. The most important thing anyone can do to keep the brain fit is to keep the body fit. A healthy body is more likely to support a healthy brain. Maintaining a healthy weight and getting plenty of exercise will go far to keeping the brain fit.
  
  

Regular Activities

• Make the brain work by solving problems. Puzzles such as crosswords offer good exercise.
  Find discussion groups. A reading group is good because first you have to read the book (which in itself can be a good exercise) and then discuss it. It can be a puzzle to figure out someone else's perceptions. Start a current events discussion group where each of the members reads the paper and once a week all gather to discuss local and national news. Remembering names, locations, cultures, etc., is great exercise.
  Learn a new language. Long believed to help mental capacity in seniors, learning a new language is one of the best ways to stay sharp.
  Consider picking up a book on philosophical issues. These issues are basic to all cultures and present quite a set of dilemmas. Trying to solve age-old questions about life and death won't only demand some good work from your gray matter, but might also lead to more appreciation of life.
  Remember your own life. What were you best at? Rework projects you've done and tests you've taken in the past.
  Go through old photo albums and address books. Usually the information isn't really forgotten, it's an access problem. Re-familiarizing yourself with stuff you already know will make access to that information easier.
  Today will soon be the past, so jot down a few notes about your day at the end of each day. Each morning go over the notes from the day before. Each week thumb through the notes from a year ago or more.
  Gary Small, a researcher at UCLA, suggests memorizing a list of unrelated words each day. He states that this will help prevent Alzheimer's disease, as will most brain exercises and general good health.
  
  

Exercise Discipline

• Take a disciplined approach. Whatever you decide to do, treat it as seriously as you do physical exercise. Have a regular time of the week to add in some of these more complex activities. Just like body exercise, moderate mental exercise every day is good, or an hour three times per week for more intensive activity. Put it on the calendar and make it happen.