Brain health: you are what you think

A decline in brain function is natural as we age. However, growing older doesn’t mean you’ll automatically lose memory or thinking skills, or that you can’t do something about it. 

Research has found repeating certain tasks helps improve our ability to do specific tasks as well as broader brain performance. Regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and mental exercises can help keep your brain and memory working. 

Doing mental exercises grows and strengthens brain cells called neurons. It also improves the function of the synapses between neurons. This helps the brain cells to communicate more efficiently or, in the case of a neuron dying, allows another neuron to take on its function. 

Just like muscles, it’s possible to lose brain condition by not exercising it, especially in the senior years. 

Changes to the brain during ageing include: 

• Neurons dying from “old age” and are not being replaced by new cells 

• The process of sending messages between neurons becomes slower 

• Fat and other deposits build up in neurons, limiting their function. 

You may have heard that as you age your brain gets lighter and smaller and can’t perform as well as a younger brain. Well, that isn’t true. It can still function just as well, even when neurons die. 

When a neuron dies, another neuron can take on its responsibilities and function even if a new one doesn’t replace it. That’s why brain exercises are important to keep neuron pathways re-routing and growing, along with regularly moderately intensive exercise to give the brain an oxygen boost. 

You won’t be surprised to learn that the smart advice is to avoid smoking and don’t drink too much alcohol. 

Good nutrition helps keep your brain in good condition. Some tips for eating well include: 

• Make sure your diet contains sufficient nutrition and vitamins 

• Eat a balanced diet and avoid extreme low- carbohydrate diets, as glucose is the brain’s only energy source 

• Eat more vegetables and some fruit 

• Eat less processed food, especially foods that have a lot of saturated fat (like biscuits, pastries, fast foods), salty foods and drinks and foods high in sugar 

• Drink enough water for your body size and lifestyle. 

Memory can be improved by 30-50% simply by doing mental exercises.  

Try the following: 

• Have a social life and engage in plenty of stimulating conversations 

• Read newspapers, magazines, and books 

• Take a course on a subject that interests you 

• Take up a new hobby 

• Learn a language or a dance 

• Play games that challenge the intellect and memory, such as chess 

• Watch quiz shows on television and play along with the contestants.

These inexpensive problem-solving games and activities can be easily added to your everyday life: 

Crosswords: Research found they’re good for a lot more than just passing the time. Crosswords can delay the onset of memory decline in people with preclinical dementia. 

Reading: Apart from being enjoyable, reading demands attention and memory, and keeps the brain operating as we age. Listening to audio books is also useful.  

Sudoku: Number puzzles can prevent or delay cognitive decline. They are great for challenging the brain and keeping the player mentally stimulated.  

Hobbies and crafts: This is a good way to keep stimulating the brain and promoting the growth and replacement of brain cells. Drawing, painting, knitting, and playing video games can create neural pathways and activate parts of your brain. 

Being good at remembering something is a learned skill. Some ways you can improve your memory, no matter what your age, include: 

• Pay attention to whatever it is you want to remember. For example, if you are busy thinking about something else, you may not notice where you put the house keys. 

• Use memory triggers such as association or visualisation techniques. For example, link a name you want to remember with a mental picture. 

• Practise using your memory. For example, try to remember your grocery list using memory triggers to help you “jump” from one item to the next. Using a walking route that you know well, mentally attach each item on your shopping list to a landmark along the way. For example, imagine putting the bread at the letterbox, the apples at the next-door neighbour’s house, and the vegetables at the bus stop. To remember the list, you just have to “walk” the route in your mind. 

Related reading: Better Health, Health Direct, University of Queensland, HelloCare