Maintaining your brain

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It’s brain awareness week. Most people don’t think about brain health until they retire, but maintaining your brain in your early twenties can make all the difference as you age.

When you’re young, it’s hard to picture a day when your brain will start to drain. Most people’s brain cells and pathways start to slowly diminish between 25 and 30. That’s why neuropsychologist, Elena Ballantyne, urges everyone to maintain their brains from a young age. “It’s sort of like putting money into a savings account. And so if you want to think of it that way, you can start saving now and you might be able to use whatever you’ve saved later on.”

Staying active physically, socially and mentally are all important to brain health. Learning new things is one of the best ways to boost your brain. Try solving a crossword puzzle, learning a new language, or playing an instrument.

Research has shown it doesn’t take long to form new connections in the brain. One study asked participants who’d never juggled before to practise for just one week. And after those seven days, there were already visible changes in their brains.
“You learning is making new connections or new roads in the brain that weren’t there before after very little amount of time” explains Dr. Ballantyne.

It’s best to start young, but it’s never too late to build your brain. Even older brains respond to exercise and unfamiliar tasks by building stronger connections between cells. New research even suggests seniors can grow new cells in their brain’s memory centre.
Challenging your brain doesn’t require anything drastic. Dr. Ballantyne says it’s about switching up your routine. If you already do the crossword puzzle, try Sudoku for a month instead.