Mind Games

Let’s Play a Few Mind Games, Shall We…

mentalfloss.jpgSeveral decades ago, a fitness movement exploded enticing generations of people of all ages to exchange a sedentary lifestyle for a more active one.  We jogged, aerobicized, golfed, walked — anything to enhance and maintain our physical health.   The resulting benefits seen in those “active adults” choosing to include routine physical activities within their busy agendas are now enjoying long-term health positives:  Life expectancy has increased in recent years and chronic illnesses often associated with aging have experienced a decline.

As increasing portions of the world’s population approaches seniorhood,  attention is being focussed on developing and maintaining our cognitive as well as our physical health.    Similar attention previously devoted to attaining well-defined abs and biceps is now directing some of that attention toward the most complex and least understood of all muscles:  the brain. 

Genetics certainly has some say in how well our minds will adapt to aging and whether certain maladies of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, loom in our future.  While science is vigorously working toward treatment and cure for those unwelcomed mental diseases, there is medical evidence now that certain deliberate steps can be adopted to not only delay possible mental decline but to actually increase brain function.  Some lifestyle choices that might be beneficial to a healthy mind include:

  • Regular exercise.  Consistently maintaining an exercise regimen is known to encourage the growth of new brain cells and promote good, oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain.     
  • Maintain a healthy diet.  Eat foods high in dietary fiber, rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, and limit alcohol intake and foods high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and cholesterol.
  • Lose weight if overweight and quit smoking if you are a smoker.
  • Take a load off.  Relax.  Meditate, pray, do what you can to reduce the harmful effects of stress.  Seek professional help if you suffer from depression or anxiety.
  • Protect your brain from trauma.  Buckle up, wear a helmet for active sports such as cycling or skiing.  Make modifications to your home, if necessary, such as in the kitchen or bathroom, where the possibility of a fall could occur.  Aesthetically pleasing alternatives to sharp counter edges or slippery flooring make it possible to make your environment safe as well as attractive. 
  • Remain active socially.  Become active in the church, join a book club, volunteer, start a new career, nurture friendships. 
  • Exercise your brain — both sides.  Strengthen and increase the number of brain cells and set in motion those healthful synaptic sparks.  Go back to school, visit a planetarium or museum, read, write, take up a new hobby, solve a crossword or sudoku puzzle, learn something new.   If you are left-handed, try using your right; if you are logically inclined, try your hand at painting.

Recognizing the value of mental exercise, many companies have begun to introduce “mind games,” if you will, and many communities catering to seniors have begun to include these type of programs to their growing list of amenities.  While some of these programs are a bit pricey for individual purchase, for the most part, consensus as to their merit has been positive.  In time, as with most new technology, prices should begin to come down and a wider selection of these types of games should become available.

According to the opinion of Andrew Carle, a George Mason University professor, the best “Brain Games” currently available are:

Have a look see at what science is doing on the front of maintaining and adding new wrinkles to the most important of greying matter:  our brain.     
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