Take Your Brain for a 20-Minute Workout Daily

“If older adults can maintain their cognitive ability, they will require less care and possibly delay or even eliminate the need to go to a nursing home. Cognitively stimulating activities may also postpone symptoms of dementia, which could also delay the need for more intensive care.”  This is an excerpt from an article Dr. Rob Winningham wrote in the Journal of Mental Health and Aging. 

Sudoku is just one of the many things you can do to improve your memory. In last week's blog post, you received a couple 6 square puzzles (read it here if you missed it). Now you can download the answers here to make sure you were correct.

What are some other cognitively stimulating things you can do to help improve your memory?  Following is a list of 20 things according to Dr. Winningham in his book, “Train Your Brain: How to Maximize Memory Ability in Older Adulthood"

    •    Read a book
    •    Order a subscription to a newspaper
    •    Do crossword puzzles
    •    Join a club or other organization
    •    Visit with friends
    •    Take a class at a local community college
    •    Go to a sporting event
    •    Try to develop a new hobby
    •    Take different routes to frequent destinations
    •    Go to a different grocery store
    •    Take a trip to a new place
    •    Go dancing or take a dancing class
    •    Volunteer
    •    Join a book club
    •    Try learning a foreign language
    •    Get a part time job
    •    Gardening— consider becoming a master gardener
    •    Read new magazines
    •    Listen to music
    •    Play new board games

Studies have shown that the more stimulating mental activities people are involved in each day, the slower the rate of decline in their memory. So make it a habit to increase your mental fitness by taking your brain for a 20 minute workout each day!