Your Brain on Exercise

We all know about the importance of proper nutrition and exercise to keep

our muscles in good shape. But did you also know that giving the brain

a workout is equally important?

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Southern

California have determined that computer-based mental training

programs appear to improve cognitive performance in older people by

as much as 10 years. Another study from Harvard found that taking

beta-carotene long-term can improve cognitive function.

So what can you do to keep your brain as fit as the rest of you?

Here are a few tips:

Move your body.

A recent study from Columbia University in New York

City found that people who exercised regularly for three months

increased the blood flow to the hippocampus part of the brain, which is

responsible for memory. This also can lead to the production of new brain

cells. Sandra Aamodt, editor-in-chief of Nature Neuroscience, a leading

scientific journal on brain research, explains that increased blood flow to

the brain can offset mini-strokes, which can cause cognitive decline.

Eat your vegetables and fruits.

Your mother was right all along! TheAlzheimer’s Association recommends

a diet high in dark-colored vegetables (e.g., kale, spinach, beets and eggplant);

colorful fruits(e.g., berries, raisins, prunes, oranges and red grapes) and

fish such as salmon or trout high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids to

keep those neurons firing. James Joseph, director of the neuroscience lab at the

USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University,

says, “We have found that the berry fruits improve neuronal communication.”

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Challenge your brain. Games such as crossword puzzles, word jumbles

or even sudoku (a numbers puzzle originating in Japan) keep those mental

wheels turning. In tests of experienced crossword puzzlers of all ages,

those in their 60s and 70s did the best, according to a recent article in

U.S. News & World Report.

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Be social.

Get involved with your community or participate in your

favorite hobby with others. Researchers at Harvard found that those

with at least five social ties were less likely to suffer cognitive decline

than those with no social ties. Researchers at George Washington

University found that elderly people who joined a choir stepped up their

other activities during a 12-month period, while those who were not

involved with the choir dropped out of other social activities.