Manufacturers have been pitching products ranging from exotic fruits to expensive computer games as ways to boost brain function. While those things probably won’t hurt, there are five relatively simple things you can do to improve your mind: Eat well, exercise your body, exercise your mind with games and tasks, socialize and get enough sleep. Practicing all these can help you process information faster, remember more, improve visual-spatial skills and possibly improve symptoms of mild depression and anxiety, experts say.
“We’re living in exciting times from a brain perspective,” says Dr. Larry McCleary, former director of neuroscience at Children’s Hospital in Denver and author of “The Brain Trust Program” (Perigee Press, 2007). He says research “conclusively demonstrates” human brains continuously form as many as 30,000 new cells every day (a process called neurogenesis) and the brain rewires itself by continuously forming new connections between neurons (called neuroplasticity). And the kicker? McCleary says neurogenesis and neuroplasticity are “directly under our control.”
Food for (better) thought
Maybe dinner made Plato, Socrates and their ancient Greek buddies smart.
“There’s some evidence a Mediterranean diet may be beneficial, says Kerry Hildreth, a physician specializing in geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital.
This diet includes fruits, vegetables, cereals, nuts and beans, fish and poultry, along with a glass of red wine to wash it all down.
Mary Schreiner, a public health educator who teaches classes on brain fitness for Colorado Free University, recommends eating:
• Berries, especially blueberries, to improve short-term memory, clear arteries and improve blood flow to the brain.
• Darker versions of fruits and vegetables (spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, eggplant, prunes, plums, all berries, oranges, red grapes and cherries) which include antioxidants, and which may reverse oxidation and inflammation accompanying diseases.
• Turmeric, a spice used in casseroles, stews and soups, which defends the brain from oxidation and prevents plaque.
• Dark chocolate, red wine and coffee, as they contain antioxidants and enhance blood flow, when used in moderation.
• Nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts), a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which fight inflammation, lower cholesterol levels and may prevent plaque build-up in the brain.
• Salmon and other fatty fish, their oils, flaxseed and its oil, olives and olive oil, avocados and fresh nuts, which also have omega-3 fatty acids.
The heart-brain link
Yet another reason to hit the gym: “The same things we recommend to prevent heart disease are good for the brain,” Hildreth says. “So control cholesterol and blood sugar levels and maintain a healthy weight.”
That means exercise. Studies have shown both aerobic and strength training improve cognition, reduce the incidence of dementia and lower rates of cognitive decline, Hildreth says.
Schreiner recommends activities that require thinking: tennis, ping-pong, dancing, tai chi, yoga, Pilates, jumping rope, walking a balance beam and skiing.
McCleary adds that resistance training with balance and agility exercises “turns the brain on even more.” He recommends 30 to 45 minutes of aerobics three to five times a week.
And for those who don’t like gyms, Schreiner suggests Wii Fit, the Nintendo game played on TV that puts users through strength, aerobic and balance workouts.
Push-ups (for the mind)
In addition to working the body, pros say to focus on the mind. “The key to exercising your brain is novelty, variety and challenge,” McCleary says. “You don’t want the brain to get bored.
“Bridge is good, but mix it up with other card games if you like cards. Read books and then think about them and discuss them. Do common things but in a way that forces the brain to think outside the box like using the computer mouse with the opposite hand.”
He even recommends computer software tools such as Vigorous Mind, Intelligym, Happy Neuron or Posit Science. Posit Science, a program for auditory processing, includes six listening exercises. Another one, MindFit, creates training regimens for different levels of cognitive skill.
Schreiner says that puzzles help maintain brain functions, while learning something new helps to create brain cells. “Learn a foreign language, take a class in a topic you know little about, learn a new computer program, teach a class on a favorite topic or hobby.”
Mix and mingle
Simply hanging out with family and friends helps mental health and wards off dementia.
McCleary says recent studies have shown social interaction has a positive effect on memory and cognitive function.
A report out last summer in the American Journal of Public Health revealed older women with large social networks reduced their risk of dementia and delayed or prevented cognitive impairment. Researchers tracked the size and closeness of the social networks of more than 2,000 women over four years and found that those with more social contact were 26 percent less likely to develop dementia than those with smaller circles of friends. And women who met daily with friends and family cut their risk of dementia by almost half.
Experts say one possible reason for this finding: social networks yield healthy behaviors such as exercise like joining a tennis group or bowling team.
Nighty night
After all that eating, exercising and socializing, getting sound sleep puts the (night) cap on a full day of getting smarter.
McCleary says lack of sleep causes elevated levels of a stress hormone called cortisol. And a lot of it can shrink the hippocampus, the area of the brain where memory occurs. Not only that, but cortisol can keep brain cells from generating energy.
He cites a study of healthy young men who slept four hours a night for a few days and had increased cortisol levels. But when they slept for nine hours, the levels dropped.
What’s more, sleep can reverse damage to the hippocampus. “The findings show the importance of adequate sleep not only for cognition, but also to prevent neuronal changes seen in severe memory loss.”
“So, it looks like our mothers and grandmothers were right when they told us to eat our vegetables, that fish was brain food, to go outside and play and get our rest,” Schreiner says.
