Stay Alert

One out of four people is mentally imbalanced. Think of your three closest friends-if they seem okay, then you're the one.......Ann Landers

Strategies for the Mind and Brain

Just as physical exercise keeps your body young, mental exercise helps keep your brain working efficiently, especially as you grow older.

Mental stimulation lowers the risk of dementia. Some studies believe that mental stimulation also reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, although not all studies agree with this.

To stay alert keep your brain functioning efficiently well into old age, pay attention to your diet, cultivate your family and friends, and try different activities to stimulate mental activity.

• Keep your diet rich in healthy fats by eating nuts, oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel or sardines and virgin olive oil. If this is difficult, try taking cod-liver oil tablets or products containing omega-3. As well as keeping your brain healthy, this will also protect your cardiovascular system. Eliminate unsaturated fat completely from your diet as far as possible.

• Buy a daily newspaper or a magazine like Time, Newsweek or the Economist, listen to the news and analytical political programmes on the radio and television. This way you will be in touch with what is happening in the world and will be able to take advantage of your democratic rights intelligently. It will also allow you to contribute to conversations when you are in society. Keeping abreast with current affairs or learning about other issues via books or documentaries, will help you to remain connected with the outside world and make you a good conversationalist.

• Learn all you can about how to keep your body and brain healthy. Subscribe to the Age-well.org Ezine by completing and submitting the form below. Read the E-zine regularly in order to keep up to date with new additions to the website, new developments in the field of anti-aging medicine and, why not, contribute your own tips and knowledge about keeping young to the website or ezine by clicking here.
  

  
  

  Subscribe to our E-zine Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. First Name* First Name* E-mail Address* E-mail Address* Country Country United States Canada ---------------- Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribadi North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Federated States of Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Monserrat Morocco Montenegro Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda S. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls. Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Pierre and Miquelon Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam US VIrgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia (former) Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe

  
  

  
  

  
• Playing cards, especially learning new games keep the brain working and bridge is especially good for this, so think about going to bridge lessons or joining a club if you already know the game. Join a club that organizes activities for retirees, play scrabble or other word games, or learn a new computer programme.
  

• Mensa has some very good logic tests and those who enjoy crossword, suduko or jigsaw puzzles might try these. Borrow your children or grandchildren’s electronic games if they will let them out of their sight for a few hours. Some of them have special programmes for stimulating mental activity for all ages and training your brain to function more efficiently.

  Try to practice several different activities to stimulate different parts of the brain.

  

• If you have grandchildren try to spend time with them learning something new together, playing board games or charades, or help them with their homework. If you don’t understand it, try getting them to explain it to you. Spending time with your younger grandchildren will help you to regain a sense of wonder at the beauty of the simple things of life as you watch them observe the world through a child's eyes. Those who don't have grandchildren probably have grandnieces or nephews whom they are close to.

• If you don't have children in your family and miss this contact, there are probably children in your neighbourhood who don't have grandparents living nearby, and they and their parents might welcome contact with someone from your generation. Pets can also bring a lot of happiness and affection into your life and delight you with their antics. If you’ve never had a pet, this will also give you a new interest in life as you learn how to care for your new friend.

• Make a point of learning new skills. Life-long learning is being encouraged as we are expected to work till we are older, now that our life spans are becoming longer.

• If you miss working, you could also enjoy a volunteer job. But, if you no longer work, you could go in for higher education, learn a new sport or go to a dance class. Alternatively, learn a new language, then travel to a country where they speak so that you can practice your new skill or learn about different cultures.

  

• Don’t neglect family and friends. A good support group is even more necessary as you grow older and activities are more fun when you have a companion to enjoy them with. Laughter is a great stress reliever so cultivate your sense of humour. Keep in touch with the child within and have fun with your grandchildren, your peers or people of a different age group. If you stay young at heart, you will appear younger and enjoy life more


• Turn off the TV. Spending time outdoors especially walking in the country, will help oxygenate your mind and body. Take short breaks to visit a new region if you can afford it, go cycling, or take a boat trip. And if it’s raining, prefer a visit to the cinema or a museum, or read a good book. Television is fine too, in moderation, but choose what you watch carefully, preferring programmes which will stimulate your mind, or make you laugh.

• Meditation, sophrologie, relaxation techniques will also help combat stress and rejuvenate your brain and mind as well as your body.

Longevity Strategies to feel well and youthful
Longevity Strategies to look well and youthful
Return from Stay Alert - Strategies for the mind and brain to the Age-well.org home page