How to help your brain get stronger

Many of us don't really realise when our memory starts fading. Shockingly, it can happen as early as even in your 20s. Your brain is one part of your body that you need to keep fit besides your regular workout for physical fitness. Here is how:

1. Get your heart pumping
Exercising moderately and regularly stimulates brain regions involved in memory function. Experts say that when you move around you use more brain cells. Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity exercise and raising your heart rate to maximum 70 per cent for five days a week could be good enough. Brisk-walking, swimming, jogging, anything else that gets your blood moving would be ideal.

2. Eat smart
Experts advise loading your diet with antioxidant-rich foods such as bright colored fruits and vegetables, plus omega-3 fatty acids from fish and olive oil helps a good deal.

3. Get your seven to eight hours of sleep
Sleep is critical to learning and memory. Research says that sleep is necessary for memory consolidation because when you are sleep deprived, your brain can't operate at full capacity. Creativity, problem-solving abilities and thinking skills get affected if you don't get enough sleep.

4. Laugh and play
Laughter is the best medicine and that holds true for the brain as well as the body. It is said that laughter helps people think more broadly and associate more freely. Also, everyday activities such as reading and writing can help you preserve your memory. A study says that people who participated in mentally stimulating activities both early and late in life, had a slower rate of decline in memory.

5. Challenge your brain
Instead of sticking to well-worn paths and not stimulating your brain enough, you have to shake things up from time to time. Try taking a new route home or visit new places at the weekend. The more you work out your brain, the better you will be able to process and remember information.

6. Network
We cannot survive in isolation. Relationships stimulate our brains and interacting with others may be the best kind of brain exercise. A study suggests that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline. Attend concerts, go for plays, make new friends and see the results.

6. Relax and meditate
Stress can be called as one of the brain's worst enemies. Meditation can help you relax. It helps improve many different types of conditions, including depression, anxiety, pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

Description: How to help your brain get stronger
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