Jerry (not his real name) recently had to check his father into a nursing home. While there were plenty of options, he chose one particular home that emphasised a brain-healthy lifestyle.
They told him that his father’s brain’s cognitive reserve – its ability to withstand neurological damage due to ageing without showing signs of slowing or memory loss – will benefit from physical and mental exercise.
Just as weight workouts add and help retain muscle, following a brain-healthy lifestyle and performing regular, targeted mental exercises can increase one’s brain cognitive reserve. The home’s approach to brain health includes a well-balanced diet low in fats and high in antioxidants.
Jerry learnt that the elderly are more vulnerable to dementia when they pay less attention to the things around them. When the brain is passive, it has a tendency to atrophy. Sedentary and passive activities such as sitting in front of the television for hours a day can be detrimental to brain health.
Physical exercise is particularly beneficial for the brain. A single 10-minute period of low-intensity pedalling on a stationary bike will increase activity in the hippocampus, which creates new memories and helps one remember facts and events.
A single moderate workout session immediately before a cognitive task results in greater brain activation. Their research used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the brain activity of 26 healthy adults aged 55 to 85 on two separate occasions.
On the first day, they had participants rest for 30 minutes before identifying famous and non-famous names. On a separate day, they had participants pedal a stationary bike for 30 minutes before doing the same activity.
The result was that there was significantly greater brain activation after exercise, leading them to conclude that physical activity can change the way brains function and strengthen memory.
Jerry is aware that there are many computer games and apps that promise to enhance cognitive function, but there isn’t definitive research that shows these products have significant neurological benefits for the elderly.
He agreed for his father to stick to brain training that involves real-world activities instead. Exercises to strengthen brain function should offer novelty and challenge.
Here are 10 brain exercises to boost memory and cognitive function at any age:
- Test one’s recall: Make a list – grocery items, things to do, etc. – and memorise it. An hour or so later, see how many items one can recall. Make the list as challenging as possible.
- Let the music play: Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Learning something new and complex over a longer period of time is ideal for the ageing mind.
- Do math mentally: Figure out problems without the aid of a pencil, paper or calculator. Make this more difficult by walking briskly at the same time.
- Take a cooking class: Learn how to cook different cuisines. Cooking uses a number of senses like smell, touch, sight and taste, which involves different parts of the brain.
- Learn a foreign language: The listening and hearing involved stimulates the brain. A rich vocabulary has been linked to a reduced risk of cognitive decline.
- Create word pictures: Visualise the spelling of a word mentally, then try to think of other words that begin or end with the same first two letters of the original word.
- Draw a map from memory: After looking at an atlas, try to draw a map of the area. Repeat this exercise with different countries.
- Challenge one’s taste buds: When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in the meal, including subtle herbs and spices.
- Refine one’s hand-eye coordination: Take up a new hobby that involves fine-motor skills like knitting, drawing, painting, or assembling a puzzle.
- Take up a mental sport: Start doing athletic exercises that involve both mind and body, such as yoga or meditation.
Jerry is sharing his experience to help people realise they can take steps to keep their brains healthy. Just as heart disease can be prevented by taking certain actions, the same applies when it comes to mental and cognitive functions.
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