Wellness Wednesday: Brain Health

I coordinated a lecture about the aging brain at work recently and learned a few tips to share about keeping your brain healthy. My mom and her friend were also in the audience and I was glad to hear that my mom already practices many of the suggestions listed below.

The speaker suggested doing the following:

• Eat right!--this includes dark chocolate and a glass of wine on occasion. The Mediterranean diet is often mentioned as being beneficial. 
• Exercise--this is the most beneficial thing you can do! Make sure you get 30 minutes of exercise each day.

• Social interaction--people who actively engage in social situations are likely to live seven years longer than others.
• Memory workout--do things with your non-dominant hand, perform tasks with your eyes closed, take a different route on your commute, play word games, move framed photos you have up in your house around from time to time so your brain doesn't "get used" to them being in the same spot. She also suggested sites like Lumosity.com
• My favorite word game, SpellTower. 

She also mentioned traveling (even locally, like going to a town you've never been to before); learning different languages; challenging your assumptions; keep doing different things, etc.

Are you concerned about your brain health? Even though I pride myself in having a really good memory now and do many of the things listed above, I still worry about Alzheimer's affecting me someday.