Slow Down Your Brain’s Aging Process

These days a great deal of emphasis has been placed on anti-aging for our faces. However, many people neglect their brains. Even though many people primarily think of Alzheimer’s disease when they think of the aging brain, less dramatic effects of an aging brain can be problematic. Anything from mild to major senility or dementia are signs of an aging brain. However, modern science has found a few things that we can, no matter our age, to slow down the aging process in the brain.

Physical exercise. A healthy body increases the chances of a healthy mind. When the body is healthy, blood circulates more freely, bringing needed oxygen to the brain in a proper and beneficial manner. Efforts to be active, whether it is taking a walk or playing with children, will stave off the rapid degeneration of the brain.

Gardening is another great physical activity. Plus, it gets you out into the air and lets you come into contact with green plants, which scientists are beginning to see through studies as healthy. Additionally, exercise programs that include Tai Chi and Yoga can help body and mind. No matter your skill and fitness level, there are modifications and poses that will fit your needs. For those who are required to remain in a sitting or laying position for a great deal of time, there are even exercises programs that are adapted for sitting and laying, allowing you to get some physical activity.

Reading is exercise for the brain. While reading only novels will help you keep your brain in decent shape, reading on serious subjects, or reading more challenging works, will do even more. Reading that forces you to think about complex ideas keeps your brain busy maintaining old pathways and forming new ones. Crossword puzzles help, too.

Getting good sleep is essential for a healthy brain. Years of sleep deprivation can actually build up, causing extra stress on a brain that is aging. When you get a good night’s sleep, your brain recovers from the rigors of the day and it prepares you for the next day. Additionally, sleep is the process used by the brain to sort, catalogue, and file the information input from throughout the day. You will retain more if your brain has more time to sort through everything.

You do not have to be beyond middle age to start preparing your brain to resist aging. In fact, it is better to start young and take care of your brain prior to your body beginning to show the signs of age. But at the same time, it is never too late to start working to keep your brain active.