Age catches up with people in many ways and a decline in cognitive capabilities or memory loss, or even Alzheimer’s disease etc. is possible. Hence, it is always advisable to keep oneself, not just physically, but also mentally active. Also, it is important to have a good 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day. Recent research on this topic has proved that sleep helps in de-cluttering the brain and delaying diseases like Alzheimer’s. There are a few other activities that you can do on a daily basis to ensure that the mind is sharp.
Sometimes using good old pen and paper is like bliss. And if you work on some puzzles daily, it will really help your brain, to stay alert. There are many books available for the same, and a few examples are crosswords, patterns, Sudoku, etc. Many newspapers also run these on a daily basis, so you may even choose to work on it and complete the same. Researchers have suggested that doing such activities will indeed prevent or delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Each of us will have some hobby or the other. It may be writing, reading, painting, sculpting, arts and crafts, playing some musical instrument, singing, etc. It is essential to hold on to these and practice these on a daily basis to stay alert. Hobbies will require you to stay focused on that, and for the whole duration of the activity, the brain remains active and thus healthy.
Gardening
Gardening has a few benefits like spending some time outside in the sun to get enough Vitamin D, a little bit of exercise tending to plants, and it gives a lot of satisfaction. The gardening activity calms your mind and keeps you in a good mood, and that keeps your brain healthy. Even the Vitamin D helps the brain in balancing its hormones. Hence, gardening may be looked at as a wholesome activity that helps seniors in their wellbeing.
Physical exercise
If you are wondering how physical exercise is useful in staying mentally alert, then you may be surprised to know the answer. Physical exercise is said to be integral for the reinforcement of memory of people of all ages. It has been found that people who exercise regularly can grasp things better, are more focused, and also recall information better. Hence, regular physical activity in the form of walks, jogs, stretches, yoga or aerobics may be adopted in the quest to stay mentally fit. Of course, there are many physiological benefits of the same as well in staying healthy.
Board Games
One good way to keep yourself mentally fit is to play board games. You may choose to play it with your family and friends or even your grandchildren. There are many board games that you can choose from like scrabble, or other such word games, Ludo, snake and ladder, and even better is the chess. Chess is anyway a mind game that requires you to use your mind to apply strategy to win or keep yourself in the game. Chess can really sharpen your mind.
Computer or video games
There are very many computer and video games that you can play either on the smartphone, laptop or even on TVs. Many of these games need you to stay mentally fit and react fast to overcome obstacles, move forward, achieve success and stay in the game. Hence, they hone your mental skills and can help you stay mentally fit. However, the downside of this is that you can get addicted and play for hours, missing out on other activities. Hence, it is important to restrict the timings for this activity to not more than half an hour.
Learning
Being aged does not in any way mean that you need to stop learning. You could easily pick up something like new hobbies, or a new language and start learning. This learning activity can also keep our brains sharp and help it to remain healthy.
Travel
Travel is another activity that can help seniors, to stay mentally alert. Right from planning, to actually making the trip, there are a lot of things involved. You need to plan, pack, and ensure safety and things like that. Also, it means you will meet people, talk, socialise, see new places and learn about them, you may learn photography or blogging to tell others about your trips etc. All these help in staying mentally fit and fine.
