BOOST YOUR AGING BRAIN,

It’s never too early—or too late!—to whip your brain into shape and fight cognitive decline.

We’re having a brainhealth revolution,” says Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., founder of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. “What we’ve known about improving cognitive function has lagged a generation behind what we know about our hearts—until now.”

“In the ’80s, we believed you were born with all the neurons you had,” says Lisa McGuire, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Now we know that new neurons and neural connections can develop all through life, she says.

In fact, it’s possible to turn back the clock on cognitive aging, even in retirees or people with mild cognitive impairment, says neurologist Richard Isaacson, M.D., of Weill Cornell Medicine and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation.

When Weill Cornell Alzheimer’s-prevention researchers tested lifestyle interventions, they found that people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) improved significantly on tests of judgment, planning and processing speed, abilities that tend to decline with age. (People with MCI are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.) The most compliant improved by almost three years after 18 months. For the 13 percent of the population expected to develop Alzheimer’s, the findings are remarkable.

For the other 87 percent of us? There’s evidence that, with

effort, it’s possible to delay or avoid “senior moments” and “age-related memory loss.”

The following simple strategies are all good for your brain, whatever your age.

Drink more water

The brain is 80 percent water, says neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi, Ph.D., author of Brain Food. Even mild dehydration can affect brain function.

Practice mindfulness

A 2014 review of studies suggested that meditation may actually help offset cognitive decline. Even simple phone meditation apps help.

Get a brain “physical”

“We need to change what happens in the doctor’s office. Brain changes related to Alzheimer’s start decades before symptoms,” says Molly French, Alzheimer’s Association director of public health. Imagine if your doctor tracked a total picture of what your brain needs, beyond simple dementia tests like drawing a clock face and knowing who’s president. Among benchmarks researchers hope to standardize: biometrics (what blood tests or brain imaging reveal), cognitive measures (like tests for attention and reasoning) and gauges of mental well-being and everyday functioning.

Get your heart thumping

Interval training—short bursts of heart-pumping activity—produces BDNF, a protein former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, author of 30 Days to a Better Brain, calls “Miracle-Gro for the brain.” Exercise also releases the brain-protective hormone irisin. Even a 10-minute walk or bike ride changes how parts of the brain connect and perform.

Feed your head

Eat more plant foods, healthy fats and omega-3s and less saturated fats and processed foods. To reduce inflammation, eat within a 12-hour window, says Michael Crupain, M.D., coauthor of What to Eat When.

Seek help for sleep problems

During rest, the recently discovered glymphatic system flushes toxins. If you’re not falling asleep fast, getting seven to eight hours and rising refreshed, there may be an issue, like sleep apnea (now strongly linked with dementia), you need to address.

Consider cognitive training

Programs that teach strategies for improving specific cognitive abilities, like UTDallas’ Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART), can sharpen attention, reasoning and innovative thinking.

Mind your blood pressure

Maintaining it in middle age helps prevent dementia later, says CDC’s McGuire. In a 2018 trial, keeping systolic pressure under 120 best protected the brain.

The brain you have is the brain you build.