HuffPost: Dementia Experts Reveal 7 Rules You Should Follow to Keep Your Mind Sharp
HuffPost recently interviewed Zaldy Tan, MD, MPH, director of the Maxine and Bernard Platzer Lynn Family Memory and Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai, about keeping the brain sharp in older age, especially as cases of dementia climb worldwide.
Dementia is a neurological disease that causes memory loss, cognitive decline and psychological changes that can impair daily life.
Tan, also medical director of the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders, told HuffPost that good brain health “allows a person to adequately perform important day-to-day functions such as purposeful movements, communication, thinking and learning.”
To keep the brain healthy, experts recommend a variety of tactics, including consistent exercise.
“Physical exercise is important to ensure healthy arteries and adequate blood flow to the brain, and [it] also reduces the risk for falls, which can lead to head trauma,” said Tan, who holds the Carmen and Louis Warschaw Chair in Neurology.
Tan told HuffPost that downtime also is important.
“Just like our muscles and joints need to recover after a strenuous workout, our brains need a period of rest after a stressful and busy day of work or night of socialization,” he said, adding examples such as “taking short naps during the day or even just closing your eyes and meditating.”
Tan told HuffPost that staying active socially also is important for healthy cognitive function.
“As social beings, the human brain thrives on interacting with others,” he said. “When this does not happen, our memory and cognition can decline over time. It is important to keep engaged and connected with others.”
Click here to read the complete article in HuffPost.