It’s no mystery that your lifestyle can significantly impact how you age and how well your brain functions as you age. We’ve noted on many occasions that the risk of a dementia diagnosis can be greatly lowered with such lifestyle modifications as regular exercise, a healthier diet, good quality sleep, social engagement, and regular vision and hearing exams. Some of these may be challenging to embrace and may take time to implement, though it’s never too late to try to make these healthy changes in your life. But there are also many simple, expert-recommended tweaks that you can easily begin to get your brain in solid shape so that whatever challenges arise, you have some cognitive reserve in the tank to see you through it.

So let’s look at some basic, easy-to-implement steps. In an early March post in Eating Well, registered dietitian Allison Knott suggested some steps you can take every morning, including grabbing a big glass of water, exposing your face to sunlight, get yourself moving before your day gets away from you and don’t forget a nutrient-dense breakfast, with lots of protein and healthy fats to give you some energy for the day. Expanding on these suggestions, The New York Times recently consulted some expert neurologists about their recommendations for basic brain health. Along with some very basic suggestions, including wearing a helmet whenever you risk a head injury and wearing a seat belt (it’s important for brain health to prevent neck injuries), the neurologists consulted by The Times suggest such easy to incorporate tweaks as wearing earplugs when in a noisy environment (preserving your hearing is important for good brain health), managing your cholesterol, flossing your teeth (don’t forget the link between gum disease and dementia), limiting your exposure to air pollution by wearing a mask, and the all important physical activity, including using a seat, such as a stool, to engage your core if you have to be sitting. A recent post in Super Age takes the tweaks even a step further, suggesting such daily “microhabits” as amping up your curiosity by asking a new question each day and exploring the answer, switching hands to perform common tasks and challenge your brain in the process, and revisiting a positive memory each day before bedtime, setting you up for better sleep and psychological resilience.

What about “brain” games or mental exercises to regularly engage and challenge your brain? Next Avenue recently ran a post reviewing various daily brain exercises that can support new neural connections in your brain and strengthen your mental acuity. Among the recommended “brain gymnastics?” Such games, puzzles, or logic challenges as crosswords, chess, or word games. However, it seems the jury is still somewhat out when it comes to the value of crossword puzzles and better brain health. According to a recent post in National Geographic, such puzzles may be of benefit, but repetitive puzzling eventually loses its value in supporting cognitive reserve, and it’s not clear from the evidence whether the people who typically do crossword puzzles are already taking better care of themselves or it’s the puzzles that are helping. So you can’t conclude from the data that the puzzles make a difference in better cognitive functioning, though there’s certainly no harm in engaging with a good challenge. 

Finally, many lists for better brain health suggest that you limit your screen time, even going so far as to suggest that exposure to screens may be harmful and cause “brain rot” or “digital dementia.” However, a brand new study seems to suggest the brain health value of engaging with smartphones, computers, and the internet more generally. According to this new study in Nature Human Behavior, which thoroughly examined the existing research on the relationship between technology use and cognitive aging, it turns out that among the 400,000+ older adults whose data was examined, the routine use of digital devices was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline compared to those who did not use technology. There was no evidence to suggest that digital technology can drive mental decline and the relationship between cognition and technology may be a two-way street: While those who are more cognitively intact are more likely to use technology as a stimulating activity, the technology may also be a way to engage and support those who may need extra cognitive support, such as reminders to take medications or directions to unfamiliar places. Of course, this is not an endorsement of mindless social media scrolling, but this study does suggest that there is a place for the regular creative and stimulating connection that can come from technological exploration and adaptation. For more on this study, move your mouse and click here.