“Improving your memory is one of the most important steps you can take to safeguard your long-term health and quality of life. A strong memory is necessary for the recall of important dates, events, and details. Modern medicine has not yet found a way to prevent the cognitive decline that occurs with old age or Alzheimer’s. However, there are many things that you can do to help ward off memory impairment as you age. Research shows that the more positive and stress-free activities that you engage in throughout life, the better your ability to remember things and maintain overall brain health will be. “
Scientists have already discovered that stimulating different parts of the brain, whether artificially or through cognitive exercises and mental activities, can help people stimulate brain activity in different regions of their brain. For most of us, this will translate to a sharpening of our memories and cognitive functions. Increasing physical activity, eating fewer processed foods, sleeping more, and socializing more are easy ways to keep your brain fit so you can remember where you put the car keys when you’re aging.
Below are provided some of the main points to keep your memory sharp:
🥗 Dietary Choices.
In general, the ingredients that show to improve memory and cognitive function, include blueberries, eggs, kale, spinach, walnuts, avocado, peppermint, and cocoa.
🏃 Physical Health.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Charles Emery and his colleagues from the University of Cincinnati, subjects that had exercised 30 minutes per day over a six-month period had improved memory function compared to their sedentary peers. Another encouraging discovery from the study was that these results are cumulative, meaning greater levels of exercise led to even better memory skills later in life.
😴 Sleeping Habits.
The consequences of sleep deprivation can go beyond the problems that may manifest themselves in day-to-day life, but can also have serious medical impacts. Getting proper sleep each night is an important part of maintaining both mental and physical health.
🧠 Cognitive Exercises.
Brain games are a great option for any senior that wants to keep their brain in shape, which can actually be beneficial in many aspects of their life. Whether it’s simple memory rejuvenation or something more serious like Alzheimer’s, there are plenty of positive effects that can be achieved by cognitive exercises. From our experience, you don’t necessarily have to play some overly-complicated puzzle game to keep your mind and body healthy. Just finding activities such as simple puzzles, rubrics cubes, and even Tetris may not seem mentally stimulating at first but actually can help with your overall brain health in a long run.
🗣️ Human-To-Human Interaction.
Whether helping one another out with daily chores or simply enjoying friendly conversation, it is clear that being around other people is an important key to maintaining brain health as we age. There are endless opportunities for everyone to share their experience and knowledge, even within a nursing home environment. So the next time you wish to help your grandparents or parents maintain some semblance of independence, take them out and be sure they regularly dine with friends, attend social events like card clubs or book clubs, or enjoy the company of others in a senior living facility can provide plenty of recreational activities for them to participate in.
All the mentioned above activities and more are provided at the state-of-the-art ECC Nursing & Rehab facility. Our professional medical team is trained specifically to meet the demands of geriatric populations and those recovering from illness. Contact us today to see how we can improve the lives of our adults and senior citizens!