Keep Your Brain Young: Sharpen Your Spokane Memory With These Healthy Habits

You’re never to young to start preventing memory loss. And the more you stimulate your brain, the better you’ll fare. Adopt these healthy habits in your daily life to keep your brain fit:

· Feast on fruits and veggies. In a study of 1,836 elderly men and women, those who drank fruit or vegetable juice at least three times a week had a 75% lover risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those who juiced up less than once a week. Another study found that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may protect against cognitive decline.

· Stay close to friends and family. In a study of 2,513 men, those with the least contact with friends and family in late life were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than those with the most social activity. Falling out of touch with friends increased risk even more.

· Get enough sleep. Connections between neurons (nerve cells that make up the brain) strengthen while you sleep, solidifying memories.

· Exercise regularly. Physical activity (even brisk walking counts) helps neurons function better and preserves the health of the blood vessels that supply oxygen nutrients to the brain.

· Ward off stress. When you’re under significant stress, the brain releases cortisol, a hormone that, over time, can damage cells in the hippocampus, the section of the brain that’s responsible for short-term memory.

· Challenge yourself. Learning new things-how to speak Spanish, how to knit, how to solve puzzles—strengthens the neural connections in your brain. Stronger connections help you store and retrieve information with increasing efficiency.