Given the prevalence of dementia and the fact that a lot of us are growing older, it is crucially important for us to try and preserve our cognitive function. There is so much that is trying to keep us away from preserving our minds such as the constant rushing and stress. These factors have a tremendous strain on the brain.
It is not always easy to change our lifestyle. However, we can change how we react to our lifestyle and we can choose to take steps to live a good quality of life that is healthy and happy.
In this article, I outline seven ways that you can take concrete steps to preserve your cognitive function. Also, in the process, I will remove certain barriers to any of the common misunderstandings about cognitive function.
Here are the seven ways to preserve your cognitive function.
1. Realize that playing brain games is almost nearly a waste of time. It has no real benefits over the long term. It is far better that you do other more difficult brain functions.
2. Keep varying how you activate your brain. Demand multiple kinds of brain activities, especially ones that require eye-hand coordination such as playing tennis or playing some video games, or eye-ear-body coordination such as dancing to music. This will help your mind stay quite agile.
3. Continue to read and write, and if you haven’t read and written a lot in your life start. You can choose to read a book a week or a month if you never read a book. If you never wrote anything, start a journal. All of these things can make your mind much sharper.
4. Don’t allow your brain to tune out by watching a lot of TV. Watching TV is usually a passive activity that does not stimulate the brain. Also, don’t do a passive activity such as text all the time or surf the internet. These activities don’t help your brain become sharper but do the opposite.
5. Remain socially engaged. Make sure you have good friends who care about you and vice versa and connect with them frequently. Feeling a sense of deep connection with others is so important for health and well-being and effective cognitive function.
6. Keep physically active. Go for walks if you can, and if you enjoy swimming, it is a great way to stay cool while working out. It is also a great way to commune with nature. And this is so important to feel whole and connected both to the world and yourself in it.
7. Do not get discouraged and give up if you have an occasional memory lapse. Just keep at it. Memory lapses are a normal part of brain functioning. We all seem to freak out when we are forgetful. But because stress is so much a part of our lives, being forgetful is so much a part of our life.
By taking these steps, you will be taking steps towards keeping your brain from slipping more into dementia. And this is so important for overall quality of life. This is because without an effectively functioning mind, you cannot have a good quality of life.
Source | by Irene Roth