A workout for your brain

Fear of losing your memory and thinking skills is one of the greatest concerns of getting older. Maybe that's behind the increasing number of clinics offering brain fitness programs. "Brain training" isn't a typical exercise program; it incorporates a number of activities and lifestyle changes to help boost brain function.

While you might know that you need to exercise your body, did you know that it might also be important to exercise your mind? You've probably heard the old adage "use it or lose it." Many researchers do believe that this maxim applies to your brain health.

Brain training is often touted as a way to sharpen your mind and even boost intelligence. While many cognitive scientists suggest that the claims surrounding brain training are both exaggerated and misleading, there is an abundance of research suggesting that certain types of activities can be beneficial for your brain's health.

What's involved?

A typical brain fitness program incorporates the following.

• Physical exercise 

  Exercise increases activity in parts of the brain that have to do with executive function and memory and promotes the growth of new brain cells. But most of us don't work hard enough to realize the benefit. You have to push yourself, and that requires being cleared to exercise and wearing a monitor to get your heart rate to a certain zone. If you want to take care of your mind, you need to start by taking care of your body.

  Research has time and time again shown that people who engage in healthy behaviors such as exercise and proper nutrition are less susceptible to the cognitive declines associated with the ageing process. Researchers found that people who practiced certain healthy behaviors were around 60% less likely to experience cognitive impairment and dementia as they age.

  These healthy behaviors included not smoking, maintaining a healthy BMI, regularly exercising, consuming lots of vegetables and fruits, and consuming a low to moderate amount of alcohol.

  So if you want to build a better mind, start by working on your physical health first. Go for a walk, start incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet, and try to give up any bad habits like excessive alcohol consumption or tobacco use. Some of these might be more difficult than others, but your brain will thank you for years to come.

• Cognitive training 

  Cognitive training is an approach that seeks to sharpen or maintain brain functions through the use of regular mental activities. These mental activities are intended to help cognitive abilities such as working memory, executive function, and problem-solving abilities.

  There is a long-standing notion that playing brain games, such as puzzles and memorization activities, can help stave off the negative effects of aging. But is the old "use it or lose it" adage really true? Do these cognitive games really have any sort of impact on mental functioning? This training may be beneficial for helping people to maintain and even improve some aspects of cognition. With a large population of aging adults, such improvements could have a significant impact on the mental health and functioning of older adults.

  Finding ways to challenge your brain may help you feel sharper now and protect your brain as you age.

  If you want to try more general mental training designed to improve overall brain fitness, you might want to focus on doing mental exercises on your own. Some brain-boosting activities that might be helpful include:

• Do math in your head

• Draw a map from memory

• Learn a new language

• Learn how to play an instrument

• Memorize lists and test your recall

• Play Sudoku

• Put together a jigsaw puzzle

• Nutrition

  Just as there is no magic pill to prevent cognitive decline, no single almighty brain food can ensure a sharp brain as you age. Nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Try to get protein from plant sources and fish and choose healthy fats, such as olive oil or canola, rather than saturated fats.

  Research shows that the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels, including the following:

• Green, leafy vegetables.

  Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene. Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline.

• Fatty fish.

  Fatty fish are abundant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, healthy unsaturated fats that have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid—the protein that forms damaging clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Try to eat fish at least twice a week, but choose varieties that are low in mercury, such as salmon, cod, canned light tuna, and pollack. If you're not a fan of fish, ask your doctor about taking an omega-3 supplement, or choose terrestrial omega-3 sources such as flaxseeds, avocados, and walnuts.

• Berries.

  Flavonoids, the natural plant pigments that give berries their brilliant hues, also help improve memory, research shows. A study done by researchers at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital found that women who consumed two or more servings of strawberries and blueberries each week delayed memory decline by up to two-and-a-half years.

• Tea and coffee.

  The caffeine in your morning cup of coffee or tea might offer more than just a short-term concentration boost. In a 2014 study published in The Journal of Nutrition, participants with higher caffeine consumption scored better on tests of mental function. Caffeine might also help solidify new memories, according to other research. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University asked participants to study a series of images and then take either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet. More members of the caffeine group were able to correctly identify the images on the following day.

• Walnuts.

  Nuts are excellent sources of protein and healthy fats, and one type of nut in particular might also improve memory. A 2015 study from UCLA linked higher walnut consumption to improved cognitive test scores. Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Diets rich in ALA and other omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries. That's good for both the heart and brain.

• Better sleep 

  Poor sleep can undermine cognition. Restoring sleep can help. Brain fitness programs typically check for underlying causes of sleep loss, such as a medication side effect, sleep apnea (when a blocked airway during sleep causes you to stop breathing periodically), or an overactive bladder that interrupts sleep for trips to the bathroom. Sleep is absolutely instrumental in cognitive function, mental acuity and the ability to concentrate and learn new things.

  During sleep, your brain deals with information received during the day. It consolidates memories and clears plaque-forming amyloids and tau proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. There’s a cleanup process that happens in brains when we sleep. There’s a pressure to sleep, and when you do, that pressure gets dissipated and that’s how you feel fresh in the morning.

  REM sleep, or the dreaming phase of sleep, has been shown to enhance learning, memory and emotional well-being. Sleep disruptions affect your levels of neurotransmitters and stress hormones, which may make it more difficult to think and regulate your emotions. If you have long sleep but it’s fragmented, you’re interrupting the sleep cycle.

  Try the following steps to get better sleep.

• Practice good sleep hygiene.

  Make your bedroom or sleeping space as comfortable, quiet and dark as possible. Banish bright light from lamps, TVs, cell phones and other electronic devices. Bright light will suppress the release of melatonin, a hormone that gets your body to fall asleep. Turn off the TV, so your melatonin can rise naturally and you can have a good night’s sleep without any help.

• Skip the stimulants.

  Although young people may be able to handle a cup of coffee in the afternoon, that may change as they age. Make sure the effects of caffeine have worn off before you go to bed.

• Avoid consuming alcohol too close to bedtime.

  Alcohol is a sedative, but once it’s metabolized by your body, it creates arousal and you may have more broken sleep.

• Don’t eat heavy meals before bed.

  While a light snack may be OK, a large meal may trigger acid reflux. Your body processing the nutrients may also disturb sleep.

• Don’t rely too much on sleep aids, which can be addictive.

  Even melatonin supplements shouldn’t be used regularly. They may help you for a short period, but you need to make sure you’re able to wean off of them. The goal is to sleep naturally.

  You should prioritize sleep the same way you do other healthy activities such as exercise and diet.

• Socialize

  Socializing tends to engage multiple areas of the brain and many social activities also include physical elements, such as playing a sport, that is also beneficial to your mind. Even if you are an inveterate introvert, seeking social interactions can be beneficial to your brain in both the short and long term.

  If you’re looking for new ways to socialize, try the following activities:

• Have Daily Facetime or Video Chats with Family and Friends.

  If social distancing or another reason prevents you from seeing others in person, set up daily video chats to talk with your children, grandchildren and friends over the phone.

• Dine with Loved Ones.

  Instead of eating alone, why not have lunch or dinner dates with family and friends? Meals are the perfect time for lively and enriching conversation.

• Engage with your community.

  Do you want to make a difference in your community while interacting with others? Find a volunteer opportunity that offers you a chance to meet new people or participate with friends.

• Join a Club or Organization.

  Whether you’re into reading, games, sports, cooking or knitting, there’s most likely a club or organization for it. Joining these types of organizations is a great way to met other like-minded people.

• Participate in Exercise Classes.

  Exercising as a group or with another person helps keep you motivated and makes the activity more enjoyable. Even if you’re not a fan of exercise classes, bring a friend with you to the fitness center so you can both socialize as you walk the track or cycle.

• Meditation

  Meditation is a powerful tool that comes with a number of health benefits. It’s the practice of thinking deeply or focusing one’s mind for a period of time, with the goal of obtaining feelings of relaxation and inner peace. While meditation is an ancient practice that has been around for centuries, scientists are just beginning to study its effects on the human body.

  One realm of research concentrates on how meditation impacts the brain. Studies show that meditation has a variety of neurological benefits, from changes in brain volume to decreasing activity in parts of the brain involved with stress.

  Below are four ways that meditation has been shown to change the brain:

• Meditation Changes Structures in the Brain

  Some studies suggest practicing mindfulness meditation can actually change the structures of the brain. A study conducted by a team of researchers at Harvard University used brain scans to determine that eight weeks of a mindfulness training program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) increased the cortical thickness in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory and plays an important role in emotion regulation.

  While scientists are still working to understand the effects of volume increases or decreases of the hippocampus, it is generally believed that increases correlate to improved emotional regulation, while decreases are a risk factor for negative emotions, like stress. Additionally, several mental health disorders, including major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are associated with decreased volume and density of the hippocampus.

  The study also found decreases in the volume of the amygdala, the part of the brain involved with experiencing emotions like fear, stress, and anxiety. What’s more, the observed brain changes matched the participants’ self-reporting of their levels of stress, meaning meditation not only altered structures in the brain, but how those practicing it actually felt.

• Meditation and Stress Regulation

  A small study from 2016 used brain scans to analyze the effects of meditation on the brain and people’s health.

  For the study, researchers recruited 35 unemployed adults who were seeking employment and were under a considerable amount of stress. The participants were put into two groups for a three-day intervention: one that was taught a formal program of mindfulness meditation and one that was taught a sort of “fake” meditation program focusing on distracting oneself from worries, such as with chatter or jokes. At the end of the intervention, participants underwent brain scans and found that those who had participated in the meditation training showed more expressive activity in the areas of the brain related to resting state.

  At a follow-up four months later, those who participated in the meditation group also had lower levels of a marker in their blood that is associated with inflammation and closely related to stress. In another study, that inflammatory marker, interleukin-6, was also shown to be a key factor in how effectively the body responded to infections and injuries.

• How Meditation Can Help Improve Focus and Concentration

  In today’s busy world with its many distractions, everyone has trouble keeping focus from time to time. Perhaps not surprisingly, scientists say there’s reason to believe that meditation can help with that.

  Studies suggest that mindfulness meditation can decrease mind wandering and improve cognitive performance. The researchers found that a two-week mindfulness meditation course helped participants’ focus and memory while completing the GRE. The training led to improved scores and reduced the occurrence of distracted thoughts.

  Another study found similar results. Researchers compared the brains of experienced meditators to those of people new to the practice and paid particular attention to the default mode network (DMN), or the part of the brain that is active when the person is not focused on the outside world. Essentially, it’s responsible for the wandering thoughts that appear when you’re sitting still or about to go to sleep.

  The researchers found that in experienced meditators, the DMN was relatively deactivated while the participants were practicing various forms of meditation, which translates to fewer distracted thoughts than the novice meditators.

• Meditation and Protecting the Aging Brain

  Research has also suggested that meditation may help protect the brain against aging. A study by a team from UCLA found that people who meditate have less age-related atrophy in the brain’s white matter. A follow-up study found that meditation also appears to help preserve the brain’s gray matter, the tissue that contains neurons and is connected by the white matter.

  For the study, the same researchers compared the brains of 50 people who had meditated regularly over the course of 20 years with the brains of those who didn’t. Individuals in both groups showed a loss of gray brain matter as they aged, but for those who meditated, it declined less.

• Brain-boosting vitamins and supplements

  Supplementation can help give your brain boost that it needs to fire on all cylinders, bio-active Nutrition has been shown to greatly support cognitive health and overall brain wellbeing, and there’s a number of suitable supplements on the market to choose from. Just remember, do your research and make sure these product claim are back by real scientific studies.

• Resveratrol

  Resveratrol is an antioxidant that occurs naturally in the skin of purple and red fruits like grapes, raspberries and blueberries. It’s also found in red wine, chocolate and peanuts.

  It’s been suggested that taking resveratrol supplements could prevent the deterioration of the hippocampus, an important part of the brain associated with memory. This treatment could slow down the decline in brain function you experience as you get older .

  Studies have also shown that resveratrol can improve memory and brain function. Additionally, one study on a small group of healthy older adults found that taking 200 mg of resveratrol per day for 26 weeks improved memory.

• Alpha GPC, or alpha glycerylphosphoryl choline.

  Is a molecule that serves as a source of choline. It’s a fatty acid found in soy lecithin and other plants, and it’s used to make supplements for cognitive health and improved muscle strength.

  Alpha GPC, which is also referred to as choline alfoscerate, is valued for its ability to deliver choline to the brain and help the body to produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is responsible for many of choline’s health benefits. Acetylcholine is involved in learning and memory, plus it’s known to be one of the most important neurotransmitters for muscle contraction.

  A-GPC is able to cross the blood-brain-barrier, unlike choline bitartrate, another popular choline supplement on the market. This is what enables its promising effects on the brain and why it’s used for the treatment of dementia disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

• Lion Mane Mushroom.

  Research suggests that Lion’s mane mushrooms may offer a range of health benefits, including reduced inflammation and improved cognitive and heart health. People can eat them or take them in the form of supplements.

  One noteworthy study of lion’s mane and its effect on the brain, found that lion’s mane mushrooms contain hericenones and erinacines, two compounds that stimulate the growth of brain cells. leading to research into the brain-health benefits of lion’s mane as a promising treatment for dementia. In a study published in June 2020 in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, people with mild Alzheimer’s disease who took three 350 milligrams (mg) capsules of lion’s mane daily for 49 weeks saw significant improvements in brain health. Meanwhile, those who took a placebo experienced a decline in several markers of cognitive function.

• Fish Oils

  Fish oil supplements are a rich source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), two types of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have been linked with many health benefits, including improved brain health.

  DHA plays a vital role in maintaining the structure and function of your brain. In fact, it accounts for around 25% of the total fat, and 90% of the omega-3 fat, found in your brain cells. The other omega-3 fatty acid in fish oil, EPA, has anti-inflammatory effects that may protect the brain against damage and ageing.

  Taking DHA supplements has been linked with improved thinking skills, memory and reaction times in healthy people who have low DHA intakes. It has also benefitted people experiencing a mild decline in brain function. Unlike DHA, EPA isn’t always linked with improved brain function. However, in people with depression, it has been associated with benefits like improved mood.

  Taking fish oil, which contains both these fats, has been shown to help reduce the decline in brain function associated with ageing.

• Phosphatidylserine

  Phosphatidylserine is a type of fat compound called a phospholipid, which can be found in your brain. It’s been suggested that taking phosphatidylserine supplements could be helpful for preserving brain health.

  Studies have shown that taking 100 mg of phosphatidylserine three times per day could help reduce age-related decline in brain function. Additionally, healthy people who take phosphatidylserine supplements of up to 400 mg per day have been shown to have improved thinking skills and memory.

• Acetyl-L-Carnitine

  Acetyl-L-carnitine is an amino acid produced naturally in your body. It plays an important role in your metabolism, particularly in energy production. Taking acetyl-L-carnitine supplements has been claimed to make you feel more alert, improve memory and slow down age-related memory loss.

  In humans, studies have found that it may be a useful supplement for slowing the decline in brain function due to age. It may also be useful for improving brain function in people with mild dementia or Alzheimer’s

• Creatine

  Creatine is a natural substance that plays an important role in energy metabolism. It’s found naturally in the body, mostly in muscles and in smaller amounts in the brain. Although it’s a popular supplement, you can find it in some foods, namely animal products like meat, fish and eggs.

  Interestingly, Creatine supplementation can improve cognition and memory, especially in older adults or during times of metabolic stress (i.e., sleep deprivation). Creatine supplementation improves aspects of recovery from traumatic brain injury and has the potential to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

“Brain exercises can be as simple as actively engaging the brain in everyday tasks. Others are targeted workouts for the brain, specifically designed to enhance memory, cognition, or creativity.
People are likely to differ in terms of the brain exercises they find most enjoyable. It may be a good idea to try a range of brain-training activities at first and to stick with those that provide the most enjoyment or reward.”