Maintaining brain power and memory are linked with a higher quality of life. Loss of brain power and memory is not synonymous with aging, nor is it inevitable. Here are a few things to begin doing now, so as to ensure the longevity of brain and memory.

Ways to Boost your Brain & Memory

1. Perform a weekly memory enhancement test. Read an online article pertaining to a subject outside your field of interest. Then attempt to paraphrase the article in simplest terms to yourself or someone else.

A few days later, try it again. This time, recall the same article before reading a new one. Then attempt to recall/explain the new article after reading it as well. College kids do this with new material to facilitate deep learning, and it works great for increasing memory power.

2. Boost your brain & memory with fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to comprise most of the fatty tissue in the human brain. Also, evidence indicates omega-3 fatty acids may prevent the encroachment of brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s.

3. Improve memory with visual recognition/memory games, available for free online. These games get your neurons firing and speed up one’s ability to recall old information.

4. Enhance memory and brain power with exercise. Exercise increases neural activity, the fountain of mental youth. Consistent neural stimulation and oxygenated blood keeps the brain in top form and ready to confront any mental challenge. It may also prevent such terminal illnesses as dementia, and senility.

5. Feed your brain. Your brain loves fats and carbs, but especially protein foods. Protein yields the amino acids your brain then uses to create neurotransmitters. These are the very chemicals that allow your brain to send vital messages to your body, and with which it recovers itself after strenuous exertion. Brain youth is all about protein.

6. Other brain foods. Soy lecithin may also assist brain function. It contains phosphatidylserine, a fatty acid type of substance that blocks the ill effects of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. Keeping cortisol at bay is key to maintaining a healthy, relaxed, fully functional brain.

7. Learn something new. Giving your brain newer challenges as you age will strengthen it and even provoke the creation of new neural pathways. Called neuroplasticity, it is when your brain literally evolves for the better as a result of having to assimilate new information. People have even raised their IQ in the process.

8. Rest. Your brain repairs and strengthens itself while you’re asleep. Don’t undo all your hard brain training with bad sleep patterns. Schedule rest like any other important activity, and show up for your brain when its time to turn in.