Mind Your Mind: How to Keep Your Brain Strong as You Age

Maintaining a healthy brain can help you stay independent and live your best life as you get older.

By Leah Golden

Age changes your brain, but you can slow the decline. According to the Alzheimer's Association, 37% of dementia cases in the United States are associated with factors that are within your control. Maintaining a healthy brain can help you stay independent and live your best life as you get older.

Body-Mind Connection

The brain accounts for 2% of body weight but uses 20% of the body's oxygen and energy. So, what is good for your heart and blood vessels, which transport oxygen and energy to the brain, is also good for your mind. Three simple actions can have an outsized impact on your brain health:

• There's no such thing as "mindless exercise": Multiple studies have connected physical activity with better heart and brain health. Regular exercise can also help you avoid falls, which are another risk factor for dementia.

• A heart-healthy diet is a brain-healthy diet: Following a heart-healthy diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables and whole grains can help control health factors that can affect your brain, such as obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol.

• Sleep lets your brain clean house: During sleep, your brain removes beta-amyloid and other toxic substances implicated in Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. In addition to limiting screen time before bed, addressing sleep apnea and other health issues can help you get better sleep.
  
  

Maintenance of You

Beyond the basics of physical activity, healthy eating and adequate sleep, there are more things you can do to maintain your brain as you age:

• Engage with others: Whether you take a class at your community college, join an exercise group, or regularly chat with friends and family, finding ways to connect with other people strengthens your social support network and combats loneliness, both controllable risk factors for dementia.

• Check your hearing: Hearing loss makes it difficult to engage with the world around you, limiting social interaction and your ability to communicate.

• Control chronic conditions: Uncontrolled high blood sugar and other chronic conditions take a toll on your body and, therefore, your brain health.

• Support your mental health: Depression, anxiety and other mental health issues not only impact your quality of life, but they can also be risk factors for dementia if they go untreated.

• Quit smoking: Smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which can, in turn, put you at a higher risk for dementia.

Sources: Alzheimer's Association, National Institute on Aging, National Council on Aging

Well-being