Changes You Can Start Making Today to Support Brain Wellness as You Age

It’s natural to worry about losing your mental capacity. In fact, most Americans fear losing cognitive function more than they fear losing physical ability.

Luckily, there are changes you can make to help delay or prevent cognitive impairment and support your brain health as you age. It’s best practice to begin these lifestyle modifications as early in life as possible. But studies have shown that interventions even later in life can improve or maintain cognitive functioning in at-risk elderly people. This is especially important considering that there are very few pharmaceutical treatments for cognitive decline and dementia, and the ones that are available have limited efficacy. 

Lifestyle Modifications to Improve Your Brain Health

• Mediterranean diet: The Mediterranean diet emphasizes vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish, and olive oil, and limits intake of animal protein and saturated fats. High in nutrients and antioxidants, this diet may help protect against some of the damage to brain cells associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The diet has other benefits as well, including reducing inflammation, optimizing cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Physical exercise: Increasing physical exercise to three or more times per week, or engaging in one hour per week of vigorous exercise like running, biking, or swimming, can help improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease dementia. 
• Cognitive training: Also known as brain training, cognitive training is a natural intervention that involves following a program of mental activities to help maintain or increase cognitive functioning. Cognitive training can reduce the decline in reasoning and processing speed.