We don’t just lose muscle over time — our brains can atrophy too. But just as weight workouts add lean muscle to your body and help you retain more muscle in your later years, researchers now believe that following a brain-healthy lifestyle and performing regular, targeted brain exercises can also increase your brain's cognitive reserve.

In one of the most detailed studies on the connection between lifestyle and dementia risk to date, researchers found that people who participate in multiple healthy behaviors significantly reduce their risk for dementia. The 2013 study, in PLOS ONE, looked at 2,235 men for 30 years and measured their participation in five healthy lifestyle behaviors: non-smoking, optimal BMI (Body Mass Index), high fruit and vegetable intake, regular physical activity, and low to moderate alcohol intake. The study participants who followed four or all five of the behaviors were about 60 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment and dementia.

Experts say good brain health behaviors include a well-balanced diet low in fat, low in cholesterol and high in antioxidants, regular exercise -- which promotes vascular health to help protect brain tissue, and avoiding ruts and boredom is also critical. "The brain wants to learn new things," says Dr. Bender, medical director of the Johnny Orr Memory Center and Healthy Aging Institute in Des Moines, Iowa. "When the brain is passive, it has a tendency to atrophy," he adds.

On top of a healthy diet and regular exercise, there are ways to give your brain its own workout routine. Experts recommend sticking to brain training that involves real-world activities. The exercises to strengthen brain function should offer novelty and challenge. For example, drive home via a different route; brush your teeth with your opposite hand. The brain works through associations [which is why it's easier to memorize lyrics to a song than it is to try and remember the same words without music], so the more senses you involve the better. Games like Sudoku and word games are good brain exercises, as well as the comic strips where you find things that are not the same from one picture to the next.

In addition to word games, the following is noted to sharpen your mental skills:

• 1. Test your recall. Make a list — of grocery items, things to do, or anything else that comes to mind — and memorize it. An hour or so later, see how many items you can recall. Make items on the list as challenging as possible for the greatest mental stimulation.

  2. Let the music play. Learn to play a musical instrument or join a choir. Studies show that learning something new and complex over a longer period of time is ideal for the aging mind.

  3. Do math in your head. Figure out problems without the aid of pencil, paper, or computer; you can make this more difficult — and athletic — by walking at the same time.

  4. Take a cooking class. Learn how to cook a new cuisine. Cooking uses a number of senses: smell, touch, sight, and taste, which all involve different parts of the brain.

  5. Learn a foreign language. The listening and hearing involved stimulates the brain. What’s more, a rich vocabulary has been linked to a reduced risk for cognitive decline.

  6. Create word pictures. Visualize the spelling of a word in your head, then try and think of any other words that begin (or end) with the same two letters.

  7. Draw a map from memory. After returning home from visiting a new place, try to draw a map of the area; repeat this exercise each time you visit a new location.

  8. Challenge your taste buds. When eating, try to identify individual ingredients in your meal, including subtle herbs and spices.

  9. Refine your hand-eye abilities. Take up a new hobby that involves fine-motor skills, such as knitting, drawing, painting, assembling a puzzle, etc.

  10. Learn a new sport. Start doing an athletic exercise that utilizes both mind and body, such as yoga, golf, or tennis.

From: https://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/mental-fitness/brain-exercises-for-memory.aspx

Discussion questions:

• 1. What do you find interesting or new from this article?

  2. What lifestyle behaviors or exercises are you currently doing to help strengthen memory?

  3. What lifestyle behaviors or exercises will you add to your health practice now that you have read this article?

  4. What are some other suggestions you have to sharpen your memory?