Keeping Your Mind Sharp

Normal, cognitive changes as you age are completely normal. This may include mild cognitive impairment, which is quite common in humans after midlife. Usually this "dulling of the mind" starts around middle age. Since the average person lives to about 80 years old, this means that if you’re 40, you are middle age. Even if you are nowhere near 40 right now, this age comes sooner than you think because time passes very fast while you’re living it. Working on keeping your mind sharp as you age can and should start from a young age. The younger you start, the better. However, even if you’re over middle age right now, and even if you feel as if you have less mental dexterity than when you were younger, you can still implement what you will read in the pages that follow. If you do, you may avoid suffering too much decline, keeping your mind as sharp as possible and even improving where you can. The Importance of Keeping Your Mind Sharp as You Age It’s normal to experience changes in your brain throughout your life. As you go through middle age and beyond, your brain will slowly shrink. This is all completely normal and while it sounds frightening, you don’t have to be scared. With the right plan, you can - if you work on it - actually grow your brain even if it’s already started shrinking. Keep Your Independence Longer If you can take care of yourself and remember to pay your bills, turn off the stove, and that type of thing, you will be able to be independent a lot longer than if you can’t do those things. Working on improving your memory and brain function now, even if you have no mental or cognitive decline at all, will ensure that you will put it off even longer.

Ward off Dementia Even though a large percentage of people over 70 have some form of dementia, you can certainly lessen the effects by working on your mental and physical health. Eating right, keeping your mind sharp by reading, doing new things, and living an active life is your best defense against any illness and costs less than medical intervention.