We had a reader write in with the following question:
“I love all of Dr. Lipman’s articles in the weekly email and follow the advice. Can you please write an article on brain fitness? I’m in my 40’s and eat very well and exercise my body on most days. Do I need to be doing exercises for my aging brain as well? ”
While what we eat is incredibly important for brain health, to our readers point, exercising the brain is a fantastic way to optimize brain health and function. Think of your brain as a muscle, the more you use it the stronger and sharper it will be.
Here are three ways to exercise your brain:
- Learn something new: Want to improve your cooking skills? Always wanted to learn French? Think it’d be fun to put on your dancing shoes? Learning a new skill and challenging your brain and body in a new way is a great way to keep those neurons firing and therefore develop new neural pathways.
- Play games: Utilize online brain training such as Luminosity, developed by neuroscientists, which delivers daily games and exercises to train memory, attention and more.
- Meditate: Studies show that meditation improves cognitive function, particularly around memory and focus. Just 10 minutes a day of regular meditation can yield results. Check out the Take 10 program by the meditation app Headspace, where you’re challenged to meditate 10 minutes a day for 10 days! Plus, there are even more benefits to meditation than just brain health.
