While some changes to our mental faculties are inevitable as we age, there are steps we can take to minimize their impact. This post from Psychology Today focuses on lifestyle changes and strategies that are under our control and that can help us to stay sharp as we age. They emphasize four steps:
- Prioritize sleep – Sleep is not only essential for physical health, but it’s also critical to our cognitive functioning and our mental well-being.
- Get moving – Exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise that elevates the heart rate, gets the blood flowing, and increases oxygen delivery throughout the body and brain.
- Be social – Strong social networks are linked to well-being across a number of metrics, including both physical and mental health, and can help us to be resilient when we encounter stressors or setbacks.
- Exercise your brain – The way to strengthen the brain? Use it, and give it challenges. Don’t just stick with familiar tasks.
Read the full post HERE.