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Research has shown that seniors who were cognitively active were 2.6 times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia than those who were not. This is a statistic that may help motivate many older adults to consider taking some time to sharpen their own cognitive skills. Retirement years are a time to relax and enjoy the rewards of a lifetime of work and challenges but seniors need to continue to challenge their minds for optimal mental acuity. These suggestions are simple ways to stay mentally active.

Enroll in a class or college course

Many community colleges offer continuing education or educational enrichment courses that can teach you something new. Whether you have an interest in computers or genealogy, there is probably a class offered that can help you explore this subject. Many of these courses are offered at a discount for seniors.

Express your creativity

Do you enjoy drawing, painting, singing, making jewelry, or writing poetry? These are just a few of the ways we can tap into our imagination. All of these ways of expressing creativity encourage the mind to see the world in new ways and nurture problem solving skills. Sophia Loren once said, “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”

Play Video Games

A recent study found that seniors were able to perform mentally as well as they did in their thirties after spending only 40 hours with brain training software. The popular video game company, Nintendo, offers a series of “Brain Age” games that provide mental exercises. These games are available for a portable gaming system called the Nintendo DS.

Crossword Puzzles and Scrabble

The next time you’re waiting at an appointment, consider working on a crossword puzzle. These challenging brainteasers stimulate problem-solving skills. The practice of actively searching for words may help reduce tip-of-the-tongue experiences where particular words can’t quite be recalled. The board game Scrabble also offers this type of mental exercise.

Social Networking

There are many studies that indicate that an active social life may delay memory loss among older adults. Participation in sports leagues, card clubs, and church are all ways to widen your social circle. Volunteer work is also a great way to interact with people while improving your community and the world.

Exercise

There is a correlation between physical and cognitive health. Exercise is central to memory reinforcement at all ages. Explore your community to find exercise groups especially for seniors or design your own personal fitness plan with the help of your primary care physician.

Learn a New Language

If you’re really up for a challenge, consider learning to speak in a foreign tongue. Perhaps you know a little German, Spanish, or Polish from hearing it from your parents or grandparents. Take some time to brush up on the language so you can preserve your heritage and perhaps pass it on to new generations in your family. Plan a trip abroad as a reward to yourself if you can master a new language. The process of learning a new language is very cognitively challenging for many but it can be rewarding and a lot of fun.

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You CAN grow younger and one of the best anti-aging action steps is exercise. But ‘use it or lose it’ doesn’t apply only to muscle fitness or sex. It also applies to the brain.

Our brains change as we mature but it’s not all about decline. I recently read about a brain scientist with two teenage sons who noticed such changes in their personalities that she started studying all the research reports of the brain during that phase of life. Turns out that a lot of the bad decisions teens make is due to the fact that the brain hasn’t finished developing and there’s a gap between two important sections of the brain.

I mention this only to point out that as adults, we do have fully mature brains, and contrary to an outdated but prevailing myth, we can stimulate new neural pathways and cell growth no matter how old we live to be.

Advances in brain imaging and neuroscience have enabled scientists to learn more about the brain and how it works. While researchers at the University of Kansas have found that getting plenty of physical exercise may keep your brain fit too, there’s even better news.

The latest scientific research shows that your brain performs best when it has its own fitness program, fostering a whole new industry – neurobics, exercise for the brain.

Neurobics can take the form of mental exercises, brain teasers and puzzles. Studies show that by exercising your brain, you can actually create new neural pathways and reverse cognitive decline.

This contradicts the old belief that our brain cells are just dying off as we age. The truth is we can stimulate growth in our brain cells at any age!

Every day I exercise my body and my brain, but that’s a big change. Before I began my ‘Grow Younger’ program, every time I got the urge to exercise, I’d lie down until it went away. Now I exercise every day and it’s fun!

I had a special reason for beginning brain exercises and changing my negative mental chatter about aging: my mother died of Alzheimer’s. Mom spent over three years in a nursing home and every time I visited her, I absorbed those images of her wasting away. I’d read a lot about Alzheimer’s and that it’s hereditary, so I worried that I’d have the same kind of deterioration of mind and body as I aged.

It was after I had a ‘wake up’ call that I realized how my thoughts and beliefs about aging were creating a life for me that I did not want. That’s when I began to consciously change my self-talk and exercise my brain.

It’s very easy to fall into habits of doing the same things and not trying anything new. Routine actions and thoughts become so automatic that most of our actions are governed by ‘muscle memory’ and we do them largely unconsciously.

To activate new brain circuits we need to stimulate our brain chemistry by doing something new, like eating with our non-dominant hand or closing our eyes during some routine action.

Sudoku is good for the brain and so are crossword puzzles, especially if you set a time limit for yourself and do them quickly. Want a new challenge? Try word games and puzzles at  http://www.merriam-webster.com/game/new.htm.

Another way to stimulate your brain is by learning how to do something completely new – to speak a foreign language, a new skill such as knitting or how to play an instrument – perhaps the piano, banjo or guitar.

The best book I’ve found for increasing my brain power is “Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain” by Ryuta Kawashima.

Allow yourself to become excited about trying new things and challenging yourself. The brain can be exercised and become more flexible just as our muscles can.

So use it, don’t lose it, and you can forget about memory loss.

Author, anti-aging coach, columnist and speaker, Ellen Wood helps men and women grow younger with body/mind/spirit action steps. She is living proof that they work. Sign up for three free gifts at her website: http://www.howtogrowyounger.com.

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It is now scientifically proven that the brain starts deteriorating with age, and this process of aging begins from as early as 30. And, seniors will have to take extra care about their mental health too besides their physical to keep diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer’s at bay.

There is nothing like exercising the brain with frequent activity, challenging your brain with new activities and keeping it going. Even the smallest of the activities such as looking at an old photograph album and recalling people or events can be a great form of an exercise to your brain. Similarly, there are a plenty of online games that can help revive the brain activity for seniors.

Exercising the Brain with Games

The normal activities of seniors should not be restricted to walking, watching television or reading a newspaper. It is always a better idea to indulge in those games for seniors that can revive brain cells and improve the efficiency to a large extent.

Children or grandchildren of the seniors should make it a point to remind them of the past events or keep prodding them with questions related to their childhood or early days, which can make a remarkable difference on the memory of the seniors. Some of the brain games for the seniors that are easily accessible include the daily crossword puzzles that are featured in the newspapers or magazines, or the Sudoku puzzles or any such new activity that can do a whole of good to their mental health.

Online Brain Games for Seniors? You got to be joking!

You will not find better options than online brain games for seniors; you will find a wide range of games to cater to different seniors with different interests and intellectual capacity. To simply say, there is one brain game for every senior, your search ends online. You could find interesting puzzles, face memory games, brain exercises, video games, Nintendo, face memory games, math problems, language improving games and much more can be easily accessed online and most of these games can be played free of cost, which is a major plus point.

A daily dose of brain games for seniors…

Just like you concentrate on eating healthy food and do physical exercises to be in shape, some amount of brain activity is also needed that can change your lifestyle completely. Spend 15-30 minutes a day on playing any brain game of your choice to keep the brain active and agile, and within few days you can see the change for yourself. Brain games for seniors should be made a habit to remain sharp and smart for a longer time, which will make them confident, self-reliable and can live with dignity for the rest of their life.

Thousands of people have already joined http://MemoryGames.biz and are enjoying a better mental health. Start Playing Today – Membership is free for a limited time.

You can also find more information about Brain Games for Seniors

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Part of the emphasis on mind-body health will be the integration of physical exercise with mental exercise. Physical exercise has been shown to increase the rate of neurogenesis, or the creation of new brain cells, while mental exercise is now showing promise of supporting the health of newly created brain cells. While these two forms of exercise usually take place in separate settings such as health clubs or libraries and colleges, new programs will combine brain fitness for seniors with gym workouts.

It is becoming more widely accepted by the medical and the general public that a balanced program of moderate physical exercise, good nutrition, stress reduction combined with brain training can help maintain cognitive health throughout life.

We are just beginning to discover how science combined with cutting-edge technology can be used to enhance brain health. It is particularly exciting to contemplate the rich benefits that computerized cognitive assessment and training will have on seniors in assisted living situations. In the near future, as government initiatives begin to move toward prevention of Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases, we can expect to see an increased emphasis on the senior market. As part of this new trend, computerized brain tools are finally beginning to be offered to senior housing residents as a part of comprehensive wellness programs.

The vast majority of people who think about exercise, really only ever consider the exercise that goes into the human body. In reality, however, it is important for you to make sure that every part of your body is as fit as possible. This would include the brain, which is not only necessary for thought, it can actually help you in many ways to overcome barriers that you may be experiencing in the gym. Here are some brain fitness exercises that will help you to get the most out of this all-important part of the body.

One of the most important things for you to understand is that in order for the brain to be sharp, you need to exercise it regularly. This is something that many people have lacked, simply because they spend most of their time watching TV or mindlessly surfing the internet. A number of things that can assist you in doing so would be mind games, such as crossword puzzles or sudoku. As a matter of fact, as people age, their doctor may recommend that they do these puzzles regularly in order to keep the mind sharp.

Another thing that can really affect the function of the brain is our diets. There is an old saying, you are what you eat, and our brain is going to get the lions share of what we put into the body. The reason why this is the case, is because it is responsible for so many different functions that go on within the human body and it must be nourished in order for everything to function properly. Eating a diet that is high in raw fruits and vegetables is a great way to start. You should also make sure that you are feeding it throughout the day so that you do not experience any highs or lows in your sugar levels.

One of the most essential things that you can do is to make sure that your brain is getting enough water as well. The human body, and especially the brain is made up almost entirely of water and if you are depriving yourself of this natural resource, you’re really depriving yourself of the ability to lead a normal life. Hydrate yourself thoroughly by drinking half of your body weight every day in ounces of water and you will notice a huge difference in the function of your mind. Although it is not really one of the brain fitness exercises, such as puzzles, it is equally or more important to do regularly.

Finally, make sure that you’re getting enough rest as the brain needs rest in order to grow mentally. Most of us tend to push ourselves and only get six hours of sleep a night or less, but the human brain needs much more than that in order to function properly. Whenever you put all these things together, diets, hydration, proper rest and the use of a few brain fitness exercises, you will really have a resource that will benefit you in many different ways.

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