• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Six Easy Ways to Enhance Your Brain Health

As we get older, we take increasing care of our bodies, but we need to care for our brains for the long haul, too. Here are six simple things you can do to keep your brain quick for years to come.

Written by Danette Rivera Last updated on February 26, 2013

Have you ever gone into the kitchen and can’t remember why? Or you can’t remember someone’s name while speaking to them? You may have missed an appointment because it slipped your mind.

Have you ever gone into the kitchen and can’t remember why? Or you can’t remember someone’s name while speaking to them? You may have missed an appointment because it slipped your mind.

These kinds of memory lapses can happen at any age, but we tend to get more upset by them as we get older because we fear it’s only downhill from there. As I constantly comb over all areas of my health, cognitive health becomes increasingly important especially as I get older. Also, it seems wise to address this area of health now, while in my forties, as opposed to waiting until I forget completely.

Brain aging and memory loss were once thought to happen because neurons died or stopped functioning. Neuroscientists believed we were born with a certain amount of neurons and as we got older and little by little they were lost permanently.

New research shows that the neurotransmitter dopamine can trigger the formation of new neurons in adult brains. In fact, these dopamine neurons move directly to the brain associated with higher brain function and could be the basis of mature wisdom. There’s hope yet!

Even though we can form new neurons throughout life, it doesn’t mean our brains don’t change as we age. Over the years, brain weight and volume decreases.

Between the ages of twenty and ninety, the brain loses five to ten percent of its weight. But age isn’t the only contributing factor to brain shrinkage. Our lifestyle most certainly plays a big part. According to the Framingham Offspring Cohort Study, chronic health conditions such as diabetes and bad habits such as smoking accelerated brain shrinkage.

Other bad habits can trigger brain changes, too. Poor diet and lack of exercise can contribute to cardiovascular disease that reduces blood flow to the brain. An unhealthy lifestyle, in general, may increase our chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

So, how can we stay sharp as we age? Here are six ways to help improve brain function:

  1. Exercise your brain. Brain games and certain puzzles and brainteasers help create new associations between different parts of the brain, which keeps it sharp. Other exercises that challenge the brain are things like doing normal activities with your non-dominant hand like brushing your teeth or combing your hair.
  2. Vary activities. Most of us here are already physically active, which is extremely important for brain health, but consider challenging your body – and brain – in a variety of ways from time to time. Mix up exercise routines, do something you haven’t done in a while whether it’s hiking or tossing a ball around. This variety is as healthy for your brain as it is your body.
  3. Eat brain food. We all know that a good, clean diet will improve all areas of our health, but there are many studies and an increasing amount of evidence that certain foods slow mental decline. Topping the list of brain-boosting food is any food high in Omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which has been linked to a lower risk of dementia and improved focus and memory. And you were just taking your fish oil to keep your joints from hurting.
  4. Try new things outside of the gym. Take up a language, an instrument, memorize poetry. Asking your brain to do some new tricks keeps it active and able to learn.
  5. Volunteer. Research shows that this can lower your stress levels and increase mental functioning. Volunteering adds to a person’s well-being and overall health. Not only does it feel good, but it promotes brain health by raising self esteem.
  6. Socialize. We are social animals and according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, we need a variety of brain stimulation, including social activity, to keep our minds sharp. This is especially true later in life, when aging takes its toll on memory and other complex neurological processes. In the study, older adults who were less socially active than those who were socially active had both cognitive and physical limitations.

Keeping our bodies fit is a great endeavor, but if our minds don’t stay sharp, how will we enjoy the benefits? We work hard for an enduring quality of life in all areas of health so throwing in some brain teasers along with your squats will only benefit us especially in the long run.

I can only hope that when I’m in my seventies, I’m as with it as Stephen Jepson featured in this video who has made life a fun playground that constantly challenges him.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

About Danette Rivera

Danette “Dizzle” Rivera, from Santa Monica, CA, was once a salsa dancer, an ocean swimmer, a street baller. She can still beat the neighborhood in HORSE because her set shot remains bad-ass. She can bake the hell out of a pie. But nowadays she spends more time prepping raw food delights. Her husband of 14 years is very handsome and her two daughters are brilliant and funny. Dizzle will kick down mountains that get in their way.

Dizzleloves coaching the CrossFit LA Prodigy Teen program. Her commute bicycle is her favorite kind of car. She is a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. She's beenvegan nine great years. And she writes.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

womanonrowingmachine
BDNF Basics: 7 Ways to Train Your Brain
hanggliding
Why You Should Try Something Entirely New This Year
physical education, gym class, BDNF, john ratey spark, pe class
Improve a Child’s Grades With Exercise
concussion, alzheimer's, als, football, brain injury, football brain damage
10 Scientifically Proven Ways Exercise Is Good for Your Brain

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Strongman Legend Hafthor Björnsson Receives International Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About