Keep Your Brain Sharp

Get Mental
Stimulation

Think of your brain as a muscle—you need to use it or lose it. There are many things that you can do to keep your brain in shape, such as doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku, reading fiction, playing cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Consider it cross-training your brain. Incorporate different types of activities to increase the effectiveness. Harvard Medical School researchers found that brainy activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological “plasticity” and building up a functional reserve that provides a hedge against future cell loss.

Refine Your Diet

Your diet plays a large role in your brain health. Consider following a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes plant-based foods, whole grains, fish and healthy fats, such as olive oil. It incorporates less red meat and salt than a typical American diet. Studies by the Mayo Clinic show people who closely follow a Mediterranean diet increase mental focus and slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Foods high in antioxidants, such as berries and dark leafy greens, help fight oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which contribute to cognitive decline.

Get Plenty
of Sleep

One of the best things you can do for your brain is to give it proper rest. Dr. Milstein says sleep is a time when you clean your brain, when you wash it out and remove those toxins and waste. Some theories state that sleep also helps consolidates memories, which boosts your overall memory and brain health. In our 30s and 40s, sleep quality can diminish based upon responsibilities and some physiological changes too. Aim for at least seven consecutive hours of sleep per night, not fragmented sleep of two- or three-hour increments. Consecutive sleep gives your brain the time it needs to consolidate and store your memories effectively.

Listen to Music

Johns Hopkins researchers found that there are few things that stimulate the brain the way music does. If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout. They say you should listen to both old, familiar music (which brings back memories and feelings) and new music from different genres (which triggers creativity and inspiration). It might not feel pleasurable at first, but that unfamiliarity forces the brain to struggle to understand the new sound.

Challenge Yourself

You always want to be learning new things. Remember how curious you were as a kid? That was really important. But in our 30s and 40s, we often get stuck. It's easy to get focused on our career or other things, but suddenly, there's not a lot of newness in our lives. You might be getting more and more skilled at a certain set of skills—for your job, say. And that's good, too. But Dr. Milstein says doing things outside of your comfort zone that are new and challenging is really important, because that builds new connections in the brain. Every time you learn something new, you make a connection.