Research suggests that small, consistent habits can make a big difference in how well your brain ages.
They embrace daily mental challenges
Maintaining a keen mind means exercising the brain beyond its comfort zone daily. Activities like watching TV or performing habitual tasks do not challenge your brain to create new neuropathways, but mentally taxing activities cause your brain to adapt by creating new ones.
People with a high mental age in their 80s routinely force themselves to do intellectually challenging activities daily. Some examples can be reading stimulating books, learning how to play a new instrument, learning a new language, or learning a new difficult skill.
They prioritize continuous physical movement
Exercise is one of the best ways to maintain brain health throughout life. Exercise improves cardiovascular health and circulation, sending more blood to your brain each day. Increased blood flow prompts the release of important proteins that help neurons survive and promote the development of new brain cells.
Whether it’s a 30-minute walk each day, gardening, swimming, or light weightlifting, moving your body each day sends oxygen and nutrients straight to your memory centers.
They nurture active social connections
Chronic loneliness causes brain function to decline nearly as fast as smoking and obesity. Healthy eighty-year-olds stay socially engaged with others each day.
Having lively group discussions exercises your whole brain. You have to read others’ body language, recall words quickly and shift ideas on the fly to stay in the conversation.
They guard their sleep hygiene
When we’re in deep sleep, our brain’s own waste clearance system kicks in to clear out metabolic byproducts and proteins linked to forgetting.
Mentally resilient older adults prioritize getting consistent sleep. They strive for seven to eight hours of good quality sleep every night. They make sleep non-negotiable by creating an evening routine where their bedroom is dark and quiet.
They live with a clear sense of purpose
A reason to get out of bed each morning is associated with decreased risk of mental decline and increased happiness.
It can be community service, grandkids, spending time with a spouse or driving yourself to paint a masterpiece. Mentally active eighty-year-olds have direction in life.
They nourish their brain with nutrient-dense foods
Almost everything that benefits the heart helps the brain. Active and mentally sharp seniors consume diets high in green leafy vegetables, fresh berries, nuts, olive oil and omega-3-rich fatty fish.
They limit refined sugars and highly processed foods, which can promote chronic inflammation and vascular damage.
They actively manage chronic stress
Chronically experiencing stressful emotions can overwhelm your body with cortisol. Over time, high levels of cortisol can decrease the size of your hippocampus and make it harder for you to form short-term memories.
Mentally healthy seniors incorporate stress-relieving practices into their daily routines to maintain a calm nervous system. Mindfulness, meditation, silence, spending time in nature, and having a flexible attitude help them roll with life’s punches.
They protect their hearing and vision
Processing signals from fuzzy visions or unclear sounds can take up valuable brainpower that can otherwise be used for memory or full understanding.
Smart seniors make sure they stay on top of their vision and hearing by getting regular checkups and wearing hearing or vision devices when necessary. This allows your brain to stay engaged with the world around you.
They remain genuinely curious and adaptable
Psychologically speaking, open-mindedness is another characteristic of people who age mentally youthful. They don’t cocoon themselves in old routines and scoff at the new.
Instead, mentally active older adults wonder about the changing world. They ask questions, try new technology, explore unfamiliar concepts, and believe learning is a lifelong journey, not something that stops at youth.
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