How to exercise your brain?

By Joy Miller
Like the rest of the body, the brain requires exercise and maintenance to maintain good health. In the new year, evaluate how to accomplish these five activities for a healthy you.
Socialize
Socializing encourages communication, creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression. It can also play a role in boosting personal meaning and identity. Stay in touch with family and friends, get involved in your community, and get to know your neighbors.
Mental Stimulation
The same way going to the gym is important for your physical health, exercising your brain through mental stimulation is equally important. Playing games and solving puzzles, reading and writing, participating in education and lifelong learning, engaging in hobbies, and exposing oneself to new environments are all examples of mental stimulation.
Exercises like neurobics work parts of the brain that aren’t regularly used. Our brain can easily run on autopilot and do things out of habit. Changing your routine, such as brushing your teeth with your opposite hand or taking a new route while driving or walking, can stimulate and challenge your brain.
Physical Activity
You can give your brain a big boost by engaging in physical activity. Movements that are healthy for your heart are also healthy for your brain. Every week, aim for 150 minutes of aerobic activity.
Nutrition
A brain-healthy diet is a heart-healthy diet. Incorporate Mediterranean, DASH, or MIND dietary guidelines into your daily diet. A meal plan should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts for antioxidants, salmon, tuna, walnuts and flax seeds for omega-3 fatty acids.
Catch your Zzzzzs
Through memory consolidation, sleep helps commit new information to memory. Sleeping seven to nine hours per night is recommended for adults. Limit daytime naps, avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol 3 to 4 hours before bedtime, and wake up at the same time every morning.
Aging is inevitable, but you can approach it positively by embracing a healthy lifestyle. What steps can you begin taking today to improve your brain health?
Joy Miller is the family and community wellness agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.