Everyone will one day be involved in cognitive decline. Whether it is due to age or a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s or related senile dementia, the question is when. But we now know that it is possible to reduce risks and delay the decline of cognitive function in our next example, a healthy balanced diet, practicing regular physical activity, but also by stimulating your brain.
Why should the brain be in form?
We understand why you have to do physical exercise to stay healthy and good about yourself, as we age. Like the body, the brain may lose its sharpness with time. And in some cases, brain deterioration can become a disorder called “dementia,” which is the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease. As brain cells die, people with dementia slowly lose the ability to thinking and memory and no longer able to care for themselves.
Brain stimulation seeks to optimize our capabilities by exploring different brain areas:
- The occipital lobe (at the back of the brain), involved in vision
- The parietal lobe (middle part), head of the touch, and orientation in space
- The temporal lobe (lateral) for the hearing, taste, and memory
- The frontal lobe (the anterior third of the brain) responsible for our movement or our behavior
By practicing exercises to stimulate his memory, it can store more attention, more dynamic memory, and a better ability to locate in time and space. The lifestyle is also important; the use of toxic products, alcohol, and drug use can permanently damage the brain.
Do not draw a cross on your brain plasticity!
By submitting memory games, logic, or calculation, it is possible to maintain the flexibility of neural networks. To make the most efficient when it comes to learn or remember something important. Of course, children show neuronal flexibility, which gives them learning capabilities often higher than those of their elders. However, even if this plasticity tends to stiffen with age, it is never too late to exercise a little.
Do not be afraid to sweat
If we had one more reason to push a gym, it’s this: maintain fitness is the most effective way to keep the brain in the long term alert. “What is good for the heart is also good for the brain, that physical exercise is better than any other strategy to keep the gray matter at its best.”
The benefit of regular exercise is that it helps to reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s or slow its progression if you already suffer. We recommend aerobic exercise at least five times per week for 30 minutes each time. “You should blow and gasp, he added, to raise your heart rate.
Add some strength training to your workout
Again, what is good for the heart is also good for the brain. A resistance exercise added to your routine will help your thinking ability to excel. Whatever your fitness level, twice a week, can make a lasting difference to brain health. We advise to work alternating arms and legs: for example, a biceps curl with weights and a leg raised with ankle weights for more work. This exercise can be performed while sitting.
Increase your knowledge
The research results show that the more time you spend studying, the more you can keep dementia at bay. ‘Formal studies could well provide the basis for a better brain for life, or it could be that educated people naturally seek novelty or intellectual stimuli. “Ultimately, learning is the primary function of the brain, and the more you learn, the more you take advantage. “The neurochemical components that contribute to the conservation of new memories also help protect older.
