{"id":1354,"date":"2016-11-21T19:56:18","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T00:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.freedomshowers.com\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2023-05-18T16:08:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T20:08:35","slug":"6-ways-keep-mind-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/6-ways-keep-mind-young\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways to Keep Your Mind Young"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Everyone ages. People will tell you \u201cit\u2019s part of life,” which is true, but not entirely reassuring. Truth is, aging can be incredibly frightening<\/span>. First, we notice our bodies can\u2019t do the things they used to be able to. Stairs we once climbed two steps at a time become something we plan our days around. Bathing, once relaxing, is now an ordeal. Yet, our anxiety of physical aging is almost always overshadowed by the worry that our minds will one day regress.
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In the developed world, countless innovations have allowed us to overcome physical barriers in our day-to-day, walk-in showers<\/a> <\/span>make bathing safer, and wheelchair lifts<\/a><\/span> help us tackle impending stairs. And in past articles, we\u2019ve described various ways you can slow down physical decline, such as eating healthy<\/a><\/span> or exercise<\/a><\/span>. Luckily, there are also countless tips, tricks, and lifestyle alterations that can slow down the aging of our minds. That\u2019s why we made this list.
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\nFollow these tips to help the mind stay young and healthy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Daily physical exercise<\/span><\/h3>\n

A study<\/a><\/span> at the University of Edinburgh found that subjects in their 70\u2019s who were most physically active had less brain shrinkage than those who got less exercise. Any activity that burns calories\u201a including brisk walks are effective. Find an activity that is fun so you look forward to it each day. Even better, join an exercise class or walk with a friend. You\u2019ll feel more committed and it will be more fun anyways.<\/p>\n

2) Exercise your brain<\/span><\/h3>\n

Just as lifting weights, stretching, or cardio activity can keep your body young, engaging in \u201cmental gymnastics\u201d can keep your mind sharp. Daily puzzles and activities like Sudoku\u201a crosswords and other brain exercises on websites like Lumosity.com and Positscience.com are just a few of the many ways to flex your \u201cmental muscle\u201d and increase brain longevity. You can even try more creative tasks, such as drawing, knitting, or playing an instrument, which tests your ability to think abstractly as well as your manual dexterity.<\/p>\n

3) Break out of your routine<\/span><\/h3>\n

Using your opposite hand for daily activities like brushing your teeth\u201a using cutlery, or moving the computer mouse, can help keep the brain active and young. Routines put us on auto-drive, meaning our brains don’t need to work too hard to complete a routine task. So mix up your routine to engage new areas of your brain. This can help develop new neural connections to fight the connections that are weakening.<\/p>\n

4) Learn something new<\/span><\/h3>\n

Take a continuing education course\u201a learn a language\u201a or join a choir. Learning something new will refresh your brain\u201a forcing it to work hard to learn new things. The social interaction with fellow classmates will also help keep the brain young as you learn new perspectives. Never been to college or miss your college days? Many post-secondary institutions offer free college tuition for people over 65. Take courses that interest you for free. Maybe you\u2019ll even be study buddies with your grandkid.<\/p>\n

5) Eat seafood at least once a week<\/span><\/h3>\n

Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA) are vital for brain cell function and have been shown in multiple studies to improve cognitive function scores. Seafood with high levels of Omega-3 (DHA)? Salmon, mackerel, anchovies, oysters, and many oily fish types. Not into fish? Try chia seeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts, and spinach.<\/p>\n

6) Read regularly<\/span><\/h3>\n

Reading stimulates several parts of the brain\u201a improving visual and verbal comprehension\u201a decision-making skills and developing new neurons. Reading will also help improve memory\u201a focus and problem-solving skills, not to mention it\u2019s a lot of fun. Consider joining or starting a book club!<\/p>\n

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Everyone wants to be that \u201csharp as a tack\u201d senior and there\u2019s no reason we can’t all be. Aging is inevitable, yet the speed of aging is anything but predestined. Incorporate a few of these tips into your lifestyle or seek out new ways to challenge your brain, this in itself would be challenging it! See what we did there? Stay healthy our friends.<\/p>\n

Do you have any tips to add? What are your favourites habits and hobbies that keep your mind young? We\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it on Facebook or Twitter below<\/em>.<\/p>\n

P.S.<\/strong> We\u2019d love to meet you on Twitter here<\/a><\/u>\u00a0<\/strong>or on\u00a0Facebook here<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Everyone ages. People will tell you \u201cit\u2019s part of life,” which is true, but not entirely reassuring. Truth is, aging can be incredibly frightening. First, we notice our bodies can\u2019t do the things they used to be able to. Stairs we once climbed two steps at a time become something we plan our days around. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle-for-aging-in-place","category-health-and-well-being-for-aging-americans"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1354"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5954,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions\/5954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomshowers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}