2023-06-22 05:00:16
A few simple and pleasant tricks that allow you not to lose your sharpness of mind in old age.
A well-known English proverb says: “use it or lose it” (use it or lose it). Usually we are talking regarding skills that tend to be lost in the absence of training. And this applies to intellectual skills no less than any other.
As we age, cognitive abilities begin to decline naturally, but the good news is that this is not an inevitable process at all (unless, of course, we are talking regarding neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s).
Scientific research clearly shows that if you regularly train your brain throughout your life, do not let it get lazy, you will keep it in good shape and protect it from age-related degradation.
Mental activity stimulates the establishment of new connections between neurons and even helps to grow new nerve cells. Thanks to this, the brain has a “power reserve” in anticipation of the future loss of part of the neurons.
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Here are some simple, yet enjoyable, daily activities that will help preserve memory, concentration, spatial orientation, and other intellectual abilities in old age:
1. Put puzzles together
Whether it’s a picture of the Eiffel Tower, made up of a thousand pieces, or a simple picture of a portrait of Mickey Mouse made out of a hundred pieces, it doesn’t matter: putting together puzzles is an excellent way to train the brain. This was demonstrated by a study whose results were published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
When you have to decide how disparate pieces fit together to form a coherent picture, you are using many cognitive abilities at once, especially the ability to visual-spatial orientation, which, as the brain ages, often suffers first.
2. Play cards
Bridge, poker, preference, playing solitaire – all these card games perfectly stimulate the intellect. As the study showed, the results of which were published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior, card games improve memory and thinking ability – and increase gray matter volume in certain areas of the brain.
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3. Expand your vocabulary
This also stimulates the brain, forcing it to work actively. Another study demonstrated, which is especially useful for memorizing new words for brain regions associated with visual and auditory information processing. Make it a rule to write down all the words you don’t know, look up their meaning in the dictionary, and try to use them in your speech.
4. Dance until you drop
Learning new dance steps improves memory and speeds up information processing. In other words, dance and your brain will thank you! Sign up for salsa, tango, hip-hop, zumba, learn to dance at home by watching videos – or just go to a dance party.
5. Use all your five senses
To properly train your brain, try smelling, touching, tasting, seeing and hearing at the same time. This can be done by, for example, going to a farmers market, visiting a new restaurant, or simply baking cookies at home.
Scandinavian diet: 12 staples – in our gallery:
Whole grain products.
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Lean meat (for example, chicken and rabbit).
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Sea or river fish, depending on what kind of water is near you.
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Seafood, if you live near the Black, Baltic, Northern, Okhotsk and other seas.
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Unpolished cereals.
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Mushrooms growing in your area.
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Rice and other cereals.
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Legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas).
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Dairy products low fat.
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Berries (blueberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
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6. Learn new skills
This is not only fun and interesting, but also helps to establish new neural connections. Now you will have a good incentive to learn something that you have long dreamed of. For example, programming, repairing a car or riding a horse.
7. Listen to music or play musical instruments
As the results of the study showed, published in PLOS One magazine, when we listen to our favorite music, non-standard solutions appear in our head. In other words, music promotes creativity and activates thinking. And keep in mind – our brain is able to learn new things at any age. So don’t say that you are too old to start playing guitar, piano or drums.
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8. Take new routes
If you make the same journey every day, going to work or school, or doing other similar activities, try changing that. Change routes, try new things, and you’ll be surprised how easy it really is to change the way you think.
9. Meditate
Daily meditation calms the body, slows breathing, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves memory and enhances the brain’s ability to process new information. Therefore, try to find free five minutes every day to spend them in a quiet place with your eyes closed, plunging into meditation.
10. Learn new languages
The ability to speak multiple languages fluently has a huge positive impact on the brain, multiple studies show. People who are fluent in several languages have a good memory, excellent visual-spatial abilities, high creativity, they easily switch from task to task, and age-related decline in intelligence occurs later in them.
It is never too late to start learning a new language.
Other brain-stimulating activities include guessing crosswords and solving puzzles sudokuvarious word games, drawing and engaging in other activities artas well as using the non-dominant hand when brushing teeth or eating.
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In order to maintain your mental abilities into old age, it is also important not to sit still, but regularly moveA: Walk, bike or swim every day.
In addition, good quality is of great importance. 7-8 hour sleep and correct healthy eatingcontaining a lot of vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish, seeds, nuts, olive oil.
It is also important to take care of your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels: Hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes are risk factors for dementia.
As, however, chronic stresswith which the circle will help to cope close friends. Remember that communication, the presence of strong social ties are no less important for a healthy and happy life than nutrition and physical activity.
According to the materials of the sites healthline.com and peacehealth.org
Read also:
How to recognize the early signs of Alzheimer’s
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