As I begin to age, I am more aware of the fact that I need to not only care for my body but also my mind. I often see reports of men and women in their 80′s, 90′s and near 100 who are still very active and quite frankly, doing really well for their advanced age.
So what keeps them so fresh and quick minded in the latter part of their lives? Well, after looking into the concept of boosting brain power and health, I found 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Boost Your Brain Power.
Consume Food that Feeds Your Brain
Food fuels the body, plain and simple but if you feed it junk, it can make you sluggish both physically and mentally.
According to an article in Prevention on their website there is a simple plan to boost brain power and that includes eating the right foods, playing daily memory games (as stated above) and exercising. Based on what I read, here are some food related tips I gathered from their piece:
- Eat fatty (the good Omega-3 kind) fish like salmon, albacore tuna and mackerel several times a week to minimize your potential for developing alzheimer’s disease.
- Eat green veggies.
- Guacamole is your friend.
- Having a Hershey dark chocolate bar is a good thing.
- Acquire a taste for Thai because the curry dishes they are known for has been proven to be a brain booster.
For more detailed explanation of what these foods offer in the way of vitamins, nutrients and what specifically you should do in the way of portions etc., check out their comprehensive article over at Prevention.
Become a Life-long Learner
The saying “you use it you lose it” comes to mind when thinking about the brain. We spend many years in school only to come to a full-stop once the diploma’s are procured – unless you are of the mindset that you should be a lifelong learner.
Consistently seek out new information through different mediums whether that be books, social media, or on television. By doing this, you are keeping up with what is current an in turn your knowledge base is fresh and your brain power is at it’s fullest potential.
Do Yoga & Pilates
According to mindpowernews.com and their article 70 Ways to Increase Your Brain Power they recommend as their top three methods for boosting brain power to breathe deep, meditate and sit up straight.
Well my friends, the way to do all three of those things is through Yoga and Pilates. Both practices require deep breathing, mindfulness and working on your core strength which in turn gives you  a strong back and abdomen resulting in great posture.
By doing these three things, you increase the oxygen flow to your brain allowing for clearer thinking. Additionally, you increase your ability to be more mindful and therefore more productive and capable as a person taking in information, attempting to cultivate a plan or complete a task.
Get Plenty of Rest
Who can think when they are exhausted? No one. Rest is the key to a high functioning brain. Sure, you can pop a 5-Hour Energy every once in a while when it’s crunch time, but for a consistent boost in brain power, make sure you are a well rested individual.
Socialize with Others
A 2009 study looked at social engagement in a group of individuals whose average age was 80 and how their socializing may be linked to longevity in their cognitive abilities. What they concluded from that study was that those who were more engaged socially had higher cognitive functions.
I don’t know about you, but I would like to live as many years as possible with my wits about me, so I plan to put some of these things in practice that I know I could use improvement on. Like getting more sleep…wait, I have twins that are toddlers…it might be a while until I get to that one. Ok, so I’ll eat those greens for sure!
How will you work on boosting your brain power?
Image: jpoirrier
