Incorporate these eight healthy habits and activities into your daily life to help you optimize brain health and stay sharp in the years ahead.

Get Moving

Physical activity is good for your health at every age. Studies show being active is associated with a lower risk of brain issues. Whether it’s nightly walks, playing with the grandkids or taking your favorite yoga class, find an activity that meets your needs and gets your heart pumping for at least 30 minutes every day.

Eat to Thrive

The antioxidants in nutrient-dense foods like berries, broccoli and legumes, including some fats such as olive oil, may lower some risks to your brain. Try eating a healthy, low-fat, low-cholesterol diet with lots of vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice.

Know Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can have serious effects on your brain health. If your blood pressure is high, get it under control. It may help reduce some risks to your brain.

Drink Moderately

How the body handles alcohol can change with age. Some older adults can feel “high” without increasing the amount of alcohol they drink. This can make them more likely to become confused or have accidents. So limit the amount of alcohol you drink – or don’t drink it at all.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Poor sleep, or inadequate sleep, due to issues such as insomnia or sleep apnea, doesn’t just leave you feeling tired. It can have serious physical effects and can impact memory and thinking, too. Get comfy and go to bed. Seven to eight hours is a good night’s rest.

Discover a New Talent

When you learn new things, you engage your brain. Try something you haven’t done before – learning French, ballroom dancing or carpentry, for example. Challenging your brain on a regular basis is fun and beneficial.

Stay Connected

Science has shown that regular engagement in social activities can help reduce some risks to your brain. Stay connected and invite family or friends over for a healthy meal, go on a hike together or just hang out.

Talk to Your Doctor

As you age, some changes in brain function, including short-term memory, happen more frequently than when you were younger. If you have questions or are concerned, ask your doctor at your next appointment.

For more tips on keeping your brain healthy and thriving, visit BrainHealth.gov.

*FF

The post 8 Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy and Sharp appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

VP Senior Care, Care.com

When my mother was a young child, her mother died unexpectedly. “There were so many things I wished I could have asked, but I will never have the chance,” my mother laments. So, when Mom turned 85, she encouraged me to ask away.

For a moment, I was speechless. What did I want to know?

We spend so much of our development pushing away from our mothers, separating and individuating, casting off motherly advice with a roll of the eyes and an audible harrumph. I gingerly approach my 20-year-old daughter, testing the waters with the bare hint of motherly guidance, and then awkwardly throwing out advice as if it were an afterthought. Typically, my daughter turns to me with raised eyebrows and pursed lips, uttering the oft-repeated words: “Mom, you just don’t get it!”

At what point do we begin to think our mothers do get it? When we have our own children? When our mothers grow old and need our help? When we ourselves mature and realize we are a lot like our mothers, and that is not all bad? So, when I recently asked Mom what it was like to be 85 – the good and the bad – and here are some of the highlights of what she said:

“The tough stuff is real and staring you in the face. I lost my beloved husband of over sixty years. I lost close friends and family members. I suffered a bad fall and have been in a wheelchair for six months. I am scared of getting sick, not being able to drive and being alone. And I am afraid of dying, even more than of death itself.

But there are many positives that I never would have anticipated. While I live alone, I have never felt less alone. My life is rich with friends, children and grandchildren who are loving and caring. For the past few months, I’ve needed caregivers to tend to most of my personal needs. As a result, I am less self-conscious than I ever have been.

While I still experience my down times, I have also learned to simplify things, to care less about small annoyances and focus on silver linings. My time spent confined to a wheelchair, while enormously limiting, has also been a gift. It has allowed me to spend time with people I love and to deepen our relationships. I am unencumbered by the day-to-day struggles of building a life, like choosing a career, finding the right guy or raising children. In some ways I am more content than I have ever been. I embrace the beauty of my life and accept its limitations. That is the secret of life that takes a lifetime to learn.”

As I listened to my mother, I know that her story is part of my story. No longer do I discount my mother’s perspective, but instead, try to learn from her remarkable ability to cope with adversity and come out triumphant. And, I hope that one day my daughter will realize that I do get it, that I understand her pain, that I appreciate her strength and that she has much to learn from her mother, as I have learned from mine.

So if you have an aging family member, I hope you’ll take time today, this week or this month and ask them some questions. Here are some you could start with:

• What have you enjoyed about aging?
• What are the biggest challenges of growing old?
• What has surprised you the most in your years?
• What has brought you the most joy?
• What would you do differently?
• What words of advice do you have for my generation, as we try to grow closer to – and guide –our children?

The post Ask Questions This Mother’s Day appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.