Stand while you work, ditch the sat nav and embrace friendships with millennials… The experts share their best ways to keep your brain younger for longer
Whether we’re working on an exciting project, travelling to a new place or reading an engrossing book, we need sharp brains to appreciate all life has to offer. Yet most of us devote more time to looking after our teeth than we do our brains. And, considering dementia is the most feared disease in over 55s, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK, it’s worth prioritising our brain health.
‘Your brain is the most precious part of the body and defines who you are,’ says Gill Livingston, professor of psychiatry at University College London. ‘Looking after your brain is not just about remembering things, it’s about your feelings, reactions and simply enjoying life more.’
It’s true that our brains change with age, starting from as young as when we’re in our 20s. As we get older, we tend to become more forgetful and find learning new skills more difficult. But cognitive decline isn’t an inevitable part of the ageing process, says Bournemouth University neuroscience professor Hana Burianová.
‘The brain is plastic, so its structure and function changes and adapts throughout our lifetimes,’ she says. In a nutshell, our lifestyle and habits can directly affect brain ‘elasticity’, either contributing to our dementia risk or protecting us against it.
According to neuroscientist and author of 100 Days To A Younger Brain Dr Sabina Brennan, our brains are dynamic organs that not only influence our behaviour, but are also influenced by our behaviour. ‘Through daily brain-healthy choices, you will gain a sense of rejuvenation and greater satisfaction with life,’ she says.
Our actions right now can not only protect our brains in the long term, but also provide sounder sleep, more laughter, sharper thinking and improved memory. Here, the experts share their brain-boosting advice…
1MAKE IT ‘NEW’ You’re likely familiar with aerobics, but have you heard of ‘neurobics’? These are brain-stimulating exercises performed when you try something new or do routine habits slightly differently. University College London researchers found that the region in the midbrain responsible for regulating motivation and processing reward responds better to novelty than to the familiar. ‘Our brains love new things,’ says Professor Burianová. ‘Even mundane tasks can be revamped. Take brushing your teeth, for instance: concentrate on the taste of the toothpaste, the sensation of the brush against your teeth and visualise cleaning away debris.’ TIP Try using your non-dominant hand to do a task. This requires the brain to pay closer attention to a normally unconscious behaviour.
2 BUILD STRENGTH Incorporating hand weights, kettle bells and/or resistance bands into y
