Fun secrets for a sharper memory

Great news from Cleveland Clinic scientists: Unwinding each day can cut your risk of scattered thinking and memory lapses by as much as 75%, helping your brain function as if it’s 15 years younger, plus cut your risk of Alzheimer’s disease in half! Daily doses of calm quash the production of a brain-aging hormone, cortisol. It’s easy!

Play Tetris

Sure, you can soothe your nerves by meditating. But British researchers say playing fun digital games like Tetris or Candy Crush for 20 minutes daily can tamp down stress and improve memory, focus and concentration just as effectively! Turns out smartphone games— as long as they’re cheery and low-stress— create a state of focused calm, shutting off the brain’s worry mechanism and tamping down cortisol release.

Pair wine + cheese

Sipping a glass of wine each night alongside a few ounces of cheese can cut your risk of edginess, anxiety and memory lapses by 67%, six recent studies show. Thanks goes to wine’s alcohol and grape skin compounds, plus the dairy fat and protein in cheese, which calm your brain’s anxiety center and reduce the release of stress hormones.

Gaze at plants

Surround yourself with greenery by putting a potted plant in each room of your home. “It’s as soothing as nature,” says Austin Perlmutter, M.D., co-author of Brain Wash. Indeed, UCLA researchers say regularly glancing at indoor plants cuts cortisol release, plus sharpens brain function, memory and focus for 85% of women studied.

Try a tea compound

Taking 200 mg. of an amino acid found in black and green tea (L-theanine) eases anxiety more effectively than Xanax, recent research reveals. Plus, it sharpens focus and memory, often in three hours. Note: Check with a doctor before supplementing.