Three Tips to Avoid Memory Loss
Raise your brain’s resiliency. Before I say anything more, let me be clear: Exercise is the most critical thing you can do to enhance your brain function and resiliency. A 2018 review conducted by the American Academy of Neurology looked at eight medications to slow mild cognitive impairment. No medicine appeared to be as effective as regular physical activity.
Today, I want to share some helpful observations from a recent publication by the neurosurgeon and CNN’s Emmy Award–winning chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. In his recently released book Keep Sharp: How To Build a Better Brain at Any Age — As Seen in The Daily Mail, he offers science-based tips to protecting your mind from decline.
What I like most about the book is its insistence that you can always become a better you tomorrow. Gupta’s analogy resonates with me: The aging brain is like a historical building. Without maintenance, the building falls apart. The lifestyle changes he orders is not dissimilar from the regular maintenance and renovations we must do for an ancient structure.
Gupta implores us to focus less on genetic risks for cognitive decline and more on lifestyle and environment. He reminds us that we can build brain resiliency. Resiliency is what separates a brain the breaks down in the face of trauma, disease, or injury and one that repairs itself. My focus will be on the factors — often modifiable — that may matter as much (or more, in Gupta’s estimation) than that with which we are born.
Raise your brain’s resiliency: The miracle of movement and more.
1. Don’t be sedentary.
Physical inactivity is hazardous. Many of us sit more than eight hours each day. This can be deadly. Stay still, and blood circulation takes a hit. You regulate your blood sugar and fats less well, and your hunger-driving hormones become unhinged.
Moreover, inactivity puts your muscles into a dormant state, risking muscle loss or atrophy. Also, we don’t break down fat as well. How dangerous is not moving? Being sedentary is about twice as deadly as obesity alone. On the positive side, even a few minutes of activity (I recommend moving at least every 45 minutes) can help keep these dangers away.
So how does exercise benefit your brain? There are two main mechanisms: First, our bodies use blood sugar more effectively. In turn, this lowers inflammation and stimulates the growth and maintenance of nerve cells and blood vessels in our brains. Secondly, exercise reduces our levels of stress and anxiety. This improvement helps us to build better brain resilience (which can help with problem-solving and creativity).
The stress hormone cortisol is associated with chronic brain changes, including mood disorders and mental problems. If you have elevated cortisol stress hormone levels over time, you can shrink your hippocampus (our memory hub).
Finally, exercise can reduce your chances of getting diseases that are risk factors for cognitive problems. Move, and you can lower your chances of getting type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, and high blood pressure. Here’s what you should do:
- Make exercise a non-negotiable priority.
- Aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise every week (for example, 30 minutes/5 days per week). Many of my patients start with simply walking. Try to find activities you enjoy.
- Schedule in a combination of aerobic cardio exercise (running, swimming, biking, etc.), strength training (resistance brands; weight lifting; bodyweight exercises), and flexibility training (yoga, pilates, stretching).
- Avoid being utterly sedentary on your days off. Take a walk or do yoga to keep moving.
2. Find purpose
Step #2 to building brain resiliency or cognitive reserve is to stay engaged in life through social and stimulating activities.
Three Tips To Avoid Memory Loss. Raise your brain’s resiliency: The miracle of movement, finding purpose, and more. Please go here to learn more:
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