Helps Brain Stay Sharp: Brainercize

As American society gets progressively grayer, we are beset by bleak sketches of a demented old age. Keep Memory Alive, in association with the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, is committed to promoting healthy, vital aging in people at risk for dementia or memory impairments. Randolph B. Schiffer, MD, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, thinks the warnings about age-related declines in cognition and behavior should be balanced with some attention to the upside of the older brain.

“In general, we gain greater self-insight as we age,” he notes. “We have better control of our emotions. We make better choices, and we have the benefits of experience in our decision making.” It’s the wisdom of aging. If we’re really wise, we’ll put some effort into enhancing that hard-won brain power.

“We know that an inactive lifestyle in the middle years correlates with a greatly increased risk of dementia,” says Dr. Schiffer. “It stands to reason that, just as physical exercise keeps our bodies in good condition, a regular mental workout keeps our brains in shape as we age.”

Call it “brainercizing.”

Anyone can do it. Here are nine tips to help you brainercize effectively:

1. Engage in challenging, interesting activities
Do the crossword puzzle, take a class, volunteer, coordinate a community food drive.

2. Use visual cues and associations to “jog” memory
For example, to remember the names of people you’ve just met, think of something they remind you of.

3. Process new information in steps
With a new cell phone, for example, learn button functions on day one, message retrieval on day two, and so on.

4. Sleep on it
The brain needs downtime to commit information and experiences to long-term memory.

5. Reduce stress, which interferes with the ability to concentrate, stay focused and remember.

6. Get physical
When you exercise and rev up your circulation, your brain cells are flooded with oxygen and nutrients that help them work more efficiently.

7. Socialize
Research strongly suggests that people with a wide and varied social network stay sharper longer.

8. To ensure that you’re fully benefiting from brainercizing, check your medications
Over-the-counter pills and prescription drugs can cause many symptoms of memory decline.

9. Finally, go ahead and break your habits from time to time
As Dr. Schiffer says, “It’s good for the soul.”