“Where are my glasses?”
“I just had my glasses and now I can’t find them!”
“Did you move my glasses?”
“No, Mom, they’re on your head.”

Whether with our grandparents, parents, co-workers or friends, we’ve all had the above conversation in some form. Misplacing glasses that are actually on your face, losing keys only to later locate the fugitive keys in the freezer or hearing a story three times because the story-teller forgot the last two times they already told it. As people get older, their brain power seems to decrease. But is this a necessary part of aging? The following are ways in which you can prevent the aging of your brain and retain acuity.

1. Take two baby aspirin a day. Aspirin’s non-steroidal anti-inflammatory properties help to keep arteries young. Blood vessels stay normal and blood clots are prevented. Also, if a blood clot does happen to form, aspirin has been shown to help create additional blood vessels, helping to transport clots more easily so arteries do not clog. Dementia and Alzheimer’s can be avoided with a regular aspirin regimen. Be sure not to take both aspirin and ibuprofen together. The two combing to negate beneficial effects.

2. Learn something new. If you don’t use it you will lose. Of course, you are using your brain every day. But if every day is the same routine, you are only using the same parts every day. Hire a personal trainer and they’ll never let you dedicate an entire week, let alone
a year, to just one body part. This is the same for your brain. Learning new skills will force your brain to work different way. So if you stay in your comfort zone too long, you’ll start losing brain cells because they have no reason to hang around. Join a book club, learn how to knit or take scuba diving certification classes. You’ll be learning new things and keeping your brain strong.

3. Eat smart. Cheese fries won’t stop at just weakening your heart. If a food is bad for one organ, it will impact all the others as well. Fried, processed foods weaken the arteries leading to your brain, which can cause strokes. Eating heart healthy foods will usually prove to be beneficial for your brain as well. Pass on the doughnut and choose a portion of the following: nuts, fish, soybean, tomato sauce, olive oil, avocados and dark chocolate.

4. De-stress your life. You can’t hope to eliminate all stress. In fact, some stress is good stress. You were born with the flight or flight response-ability in order to survive. If you were a caveman and someone tried to steal your freshly killed mammoth (this may be chronologically inaccurate or completely in possible, but let’s just ignore that for the sake of example), you would need to fight to maintain your food. However, if a saber tooth tiger (again, unsure of the accuracy) wanted you to be its food, you would need to run (flight). The stress that can wear on your body and your brain over time is the stress of major events or generalized anxiety. Meditation is an ideal way to seek relief from toxic stress. If you are unsure or new to meditation, many guided meditation CD’s may be helpful.