Resilience, a measure of an individuals ability to tolerate and respond while under stress, plays an important role in prevention and lessening of symptoms of cognative decline and dementia. One of the defining features of people with high levels of resilience is having a large cognative reserve. While many factors involved in cognative reserve are determined by early-life factors, such as educational attainment, there are many things that you can do to improve your resilience even later in life! Here are some simple ways you can build resilience:

1. Maintain contact with friends and family.

As we age, it is easy to become disconnected from those around us. Make an extra effort to stay in communication or reconnect with your family and friends. You can do this by calling a different friend or family member every week and going to get coffee or lunch, or even just talking to them on the phone. By doing this, you not only help yourself, you help the person you call build resilience themselves!

2. Remain involved in meaningful activities.

It is important for us to stay involved in activities which contribute to others in a way which is important to us. Whether this is by being involved in religious activities, work, or a valued hobby, it is critical to maintain a sense of meaning. If you think about the activities of last week, do you see any that jump out to you as being very meaningful? If you do, that is great! Continue to be involved in these activities regularly. If you don't, think about what matters to you in life. Write these values down and then think about what you can do right now to become more involved in these values in your community. Try to start off with just one activity of value a week. This could be volunteering at the local animal shelter, participating in small group studies at your church, or even simply spending quality time with those you value most.

3. Examine your coping skills.

Coping with stress and trauma is important, both for building resilience and for life in general. When encountering a major trauma or stress, it is important to have several strategies to deal with it. Fortunately, there are many ways to effectively deal with stress. Some common healthy options are approach-based. First, you should try to deal with what is making you stressed by planning the best you can to deal with the issue. Try to view the stressful event as a learning experience which you can handle and will grow through. If you are unable to deal with the stressor this way, try to cope by being involved in healthy activities which take your mind off the stressor. Examples of healthy activities which can help you relax include meditation, reading an interesting book, walking outside, or artistic activities. Finally, it is important keep up your health while in stressful experiences. This will help you cope with the stressor more effectively by keeping your reserves up. Make sure you are sleeping enough each night and eating three meals a day. Stress is something we all have to deal with from time to time, but by coping with it well, we will be able to deal the situation and come out stronger and healthier than before.