| It is generally agreed by medical professionals that | | | | 3. Try a wide variety of mental games such as |
| aging leads to progressive loss of memory and | | | | Sudoku,crossword puzzles,mathematical |
| brain power. This loss begins as we enter middle | | | | calculations or even computer games of various |
| age in our forties, and steadily increases as we | | | | kinds. These stimulate the brain and cause new |
| get older. It is not noticeable early on, but by the | | | | neural connections to form. This fortifies our |
| time we reach our late sixties--and in some | | | | brains against dementia and memory loss. Don,t |
| individual cases much earlier--we can ourselves tell | | | | just continue to do one thing you can do well. You |
| that our memory is not as sharp as it once was, | | | | must do a variety of things, including some you |
| and brain fog, or slowness in thinking processes is | | | | find not so easy, in order for this to work. |
| advancing. This is very much an individual thing of | | | | 4. Continually challenge your memory by |
| course, and the degree of memory loss varies | | | | memorising names,phone numbers,lists of all kinds |
| greatly in different cases. Some remain as sharp | | | | and even things which are not terribly significant |
| in their seventies as they ever were, whilst | | | | that will test your memory, and keep the new |
| others are slow and befuddled at this stage. | | | | neural connections forming in your brain. |
| Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia, | | | | Remember that your memory is one of the |
| which rob us of memory and brain power, | | | | most important functions of your brain and if you |
| become more common as age advances, and are | | | | don,t use it you will indeed lose it very soon. |
| very common once the age of eighty is reached. | | | | 5. Continue to work as long as possible. Early |
| Is there anything we can do to lessen the extent | | | | retirement might seem like a good thing, but |
| to which these memory problems affect us? Yes | | | | studies have shown a strong correlation between |
| there definitely is I am glad to say. A Mayo clinic | | | | early retirement and earlier development of |
| study carried out in 2009 found that people who | | | | dementia and Alzheimers. |
| took part in activities which challenged them | | | | 6. Engage in social activities, or at least don,t live |
| mentally, while in their fifties and early sixties, | | | | like a hermit, completely alone. If you are not |
| were 40% less likely to develop serious memory | | | | married and living alone in your fifties you are |
| loss than those who did not. There are a number | | | | twice as likely to develop dementia in your early |
| of things we can do to help us stay mentally | | | | seventies as is someone living with a partner. |
| sharp as we get older. | | | | 7. Continually develop your language skills. Most of |
| 1. Shut off the TV. Studies have found that those | | | | us have a fairly limited vocabulary. Take the time |
| who watch only a minimum amount of TV are | | | | to learn a new word daily, and to add it to our |
| 50% less likely to develop Alzheimers disease. | | | | vocabulary. This makes use of the brains |
| Yes that,s right. Shut off the tube and cut your | | | | memory power, language center and frontal lobe. |
| chance of being an Alzheimers victim by half. | | | | It is magnificent exercise for the brain. |
| 2. Develop manual skills. Try a new hobby (or job) | | | | Someone who is prepared to institute all or as |
| which involves skills such as | | | | many as possible of these ideas will delay, or |
| carpentry,sewing,model making,painting,playing a | | | | completely avoid, dementia and Alzheimers in their |
| musical instrument etc. This develops new neural | | | | lifetime. They will also have a more interesting, |
| connections in your brain as well as improving | | | | and productive life and what can be better than |
| manual dexterity and strength. | | | | that? |