INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
Find activities that will make your brain work to its full capacity. The goal is to take on new activities, thereby causing your brain to be used in nonroutine ways. This stretching process will help create stronger memories that will stick and also provide for clearer thinking overall.
Adopt daily hobbies like crossword puzzles, card games, reading, Sudoku number puzzles, art projects or volunteering. Even planning a vacation to a new destination, taking a class or researching a foreign culture will require your brain to process, manage and apply new information.
Make the tasks more challenging to push the brain even harder. For example, learning a new computer program, mastering a foreign language or playing a musical instrument will help keep your memory sharp and enrich your life.
Look into books and memory games available that will give you a true mental workout. The key is to have differing levels of intensity and difficulty to keep your mind engaged. If the games are varied, challenging and interesting, then you will get the most from your brain exercise.
Finally, get moving. A brisk walk, an exercise class or a trip to the gym is essential for the brain as well as the body. Research shows that aerobic exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and will activate the repair formation and promote the growth of new brain cells.
And it’s never too late to begin exercising. If you have trouble committing to a consistent workout program, then partner up with a spouse, family member or friend. You will be more apt to stick with a program if there is another person counting on you.The bottom line is that regular exercise is one of the best activities for helping to maintain and improve brain function.
So the next time you think of a workout, remember to include your brain. The overall goal is to stay physically healthy and mentally alert for as long as possible so that your quality of life is at its best.
Lorne S. Label, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.N
Neurologist, Los Robles Hospital
