June is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month! While it’s essential to keep a sharp and healthy mind at any age, it’s even more important when you're older. In addition, since there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, this is even more reason to ensure a healthy brain.
To prevent Alzheimer’s and other cognitive issues, you’ll want to keep your brain sharp at all times. In this post, we’ll talk about a few different ways you can boost your cognitive abilities to keep your mind working at its best.
Try a puzzle or play cards
Working on puzzles and playing games can go a very long way for your mental health. Not only are they fun and exciting, but they can also keep your brain working effectively. There are many different shapes and sizes of puzzles out there, so find one best suited for your needs. Whether you start a small 100-piece puzzle or you’re trying to tackle a 2000-piece masterpiece, working on this fun activity can boost your brain health. In addition, it’s an excellent activity for the whole family to enjoy! From young children to older adults, everyone likes a fun puzzle!
Utilize your senses
While it may sound surprising, using your senses can help to improve brain health. In fact, the more senses you utilize when learning something new, the higher chance your brain will hold onto those memories. As multiple studies show the connection, this is something you should try for yourself. No matter your age, try to incorporate various senses when learning. Doing so can take your brain health to another level!
Learn at a pace
When working on something complicated or learning something new, you don’t want to cram everything into a short period of time. If you do, this increases the chance you won’t retain the information. Also, it makes it harder to learn something complicated. That said, be sure to space out your learning sessions accordingly. If you’re practicing guitar, start by playing for only an hour or so. Based on how quickly you learn, you can lengthen these sessions over time.
Especially if you’re elderly, you don’t want to overwhelm your brain. As you’re learning something new, take your time, go at your own pace, and learn on your own schedule. Finding the right balance can do wonders for your brain health.
Boost your vocabulary
Were you in the spelling bee as a kid? If so, we hope you retained that stellar vocabulary! By building your vocabulary, you can experience a sharper brain. You can even make a fun game out of a vocab lesson!
As multiple areas of the brain are used when doing vocabulary exercises, these lessons can give your brain a boost at any age. To increase your vocabulary, scroll through a dictionary and choose a few words to use on a daily basis. After using these for a week or so, choose a new set of words. If you continue this cycle, your memory and cognitive abilities can certainly improve.
Focus on repetition
If you really want to work on retaining something you just learned, you need to constantly remind yourself of that info. To do this effectively, write it down, say it aloud, and repeat it every chance you get. For example, if someone just suggested a book for you to read, write down the title, talk about it, and bring it up in conversation with friends. Constantly repeating something you just learned can improve your memory and give your brain a boost.
Hit the dance floor
While reading a book and completing a puzzle are great for the brain, did you know dancing can also lead to improvement? In fact, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control claim that learning new dancing skills can improve how quickly your brain processes information and retains memories.
Not sure what dancing to try? Even if you’ve never danced in your life, here are some fun and exciting dance activities to try for yourself:
- Watch online videos of new dance moves
- Take a virtual class from an expert
- Get the friends together for line dancing
- Find a friend to try salsa dancing with
- Join a contemporary dance class
- Hire a professional dance instructor
If you want to live a long, happy life with fantastic brain health, give dancing a try today!
Never stop learning
To always maintain a healthy brain, try to learn continuously over your entire life. Whether that involves taking a few college courses or learning how to play chess, you always want to keep your brain stimulated. In fact, challenging your brain can even activate processes that keep individual brain cells healthy, while also boosting communication among these cells. The better your brain cells can communicate, the healthier your brain will be.
