From making decisions and remembering to organizing and planning, our brain controls most of our cognitive abilities which helps us in performing every day activities. However, many contributing factors can lead to cognitive decline and poor brain health such as lifestyle factors, genetics, and aging. You must know aging brings various cognitive changes that lead to a significant decrease in brain functioning. Contacting a neurologist in Siliguri can help you know some effective lifestyle modifications that you can adopt to sustain brain health.
You must note that despite the cognitive changes, older adults can still maintain their brain health and do many things to enjoy their lives. Remember that age-related cognitive decline doesn’t stop you from making new memories, learning new skills, and improving your learning skills. By involving your brain in new activities and tasks can eventually help you improve brain, sensory, cognitive, motor, and emotional functions that may have been impacted by advanced age.
Know about the significant brain changes as people age
As you get older, various changes start happening throughout your body which also include your brain. Your brain undergoes major changes among older adults as certain parts of the brain start shrinking. This shrinkage in brain areas can lead to various problems in performing complex tasks or learning new things. You must also note that aging has also been associated with decreased blood flow inside the brain which can also interfere with normal brain health.
Additionally, the neurons leading to effective communication can also become affected as you age. You should note that these changes not only just affect older adults suffering from physical or mental issues but even healthy people are naturally exposed to these changes. To maintain your brain's ability to think, adapt, and learn effectively, you need to follow certain tips recommended by neurologists.
Effective tips for older adults to maintain brain health
- Stay physically active
One of the main measures that you must follow to maintain brain health is to stay physically active. Regular exercise not only improves your strength, balance, or flexibility but it can also have a significant role in reducing depression and boosting a happy mood. This is why it is recommended for older adults to indulge in moderate exercise every day to reduce cognitive decline, increase brain size, boost spatial memory, and decrease the likelihood of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Control high blood pressure and cholesterol
If you’re suffering from cholesterol or high blood pressure then without any delay you must visit the best neuro hospital in Siliguri. This is a vital step to follow because these chronic conditions can impact your brain health so it is important to evaluate and continuously monitor your brain functioning. Herein, you must also take the hypertension and cholesterol medications as prescribed to reduce their impact on your brain. Changes in your diet, annual monitoring, and exercise are also pivotal to controlling the mentioned physical problems while stopping cognitive impairment.
- Maintain proper physical health
Your physical health is directly related to cognitive health. Henceforth, to take care of your brain functioning you must maintain proper physical health. Managing chronic health issues and scheduling routine health check-ups can be some effective measures to sustain physical well-being. You also must be mindful about your sleeping schedule and diet as these factors can worsen both physical and mental well-being. Additionally, you can limit alcohol intake and prevent any form of falls or brain injuries to ensure brain health.
- Engage your mind
Another effective way you can stop the deterioration in brain health as you age is by engaging your mind. There are various cognitive training techniques that can ensure cognitive health among older adults by targeting and improving certain cognitive skills. Speed of processing, memory, and reasoning are some of the areas that you must focus on while mind engagement training can help you perform everyday activities independently. You must note indulging in meaningful activities as you grow older can work wonders for your cognitive health.
- Indulge in a healthy diet
While contacting a neurologist in Siliguri, you will always be directed to follow a nutritious and balanced diet. Remember that diet is not only pivotal for maintaining your physical health but is also important for your brain health. This is because eating healthy foods can keep serious health issues such as diabetes and heart disease at bay while preserving your cognitive function. A healthy diet for older adults must include whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean protein, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
- Be engaged in social activities
Many brain issues during old age develop due to loneliness and isolation. To ward off these issues and ensure proper brain health, you must consider engaging in social activities. Communicating with your friends and families or joining a community group has been found to be extremely beneficial in ensuring better cognitive health with reducing risks of social isolation. Herein, you can also boost social engagement by taking a short walk in the neighborhood or continuously indulging in volunteer work.
- Keep mental and physical health conditions under control
There are various physical and mental health conditions that can pose certain risks to brain and cognitive function. This is why it is important to contact a doctor immediately if you experience any abnormal symptoms. Some conditions that you must always keep in control are delirium, dementia, and depression. These are the common geriatric health conditions that are associated with cognitive impairment, attention problems, blood vessel damage in the brain, and confusion.
- Stop drinking alcohol and smoking
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or smoking can increase the risk of suffering from dementia. This is why it is always advised to quit drinking and smoking to preserve your brain health. You should note that people who are indulged in regular alcohol consumption have high levels of brain iron which is associated with worsened cognitive function. To prevent this issue, you must always consider limiting or quitting alcohol for better cognitive health.
- Manage your medications
Old age can lead to various health problems which are often managed through various medications. However, you must regularly review the side effects of the prescribed medications as there are some medications that can interfere with your brain health. In some cases, certain combinations of medications with other substances or supplements can cause memory loss, confusion, and delusion among older adults. This is why you must always be aware before taking antipsychotics, antihistamines, urinary continence medications, or certain sleep aids.
- Consider playing brain games
To overcome age-related brain problems and preserve brain health, you can consider playing memory or brain games. It is true that these games cannot stop brain changes but can definitely play a role in making your brain healthy. Solving puzzles, training your memory, and other computerized cognitive games can specifically exercise your problem-solving abilities, memory, speed, attention, and flexibility which can lead to various brain benefits. You can also consider playing with your friends and family to ensure an active social life.
Lifestyle modifications, a healthy diet, and exercise recommended by a renowned neurologist in Siliguri can improve your brain health but cannot reverse the brain changes due to aging. However, getting older doesn’t mean your brain will stop working so you can contribute to training your brain to work effectively so that the memory-related issues can be reduced.
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