The process of aging affects us physically and mentally. Forgetfulness is a normal aspect of aging, but in some individuals may progress to a more advanced disorder known as dementia. Dementia is a neurological disorder that affects the ability to speak, reason, remember, and move.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia and as it progresses may affect language, reasoning and understanding. The first sign of Alzheimer’s Disease is usually forgetfulness. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, but affects about 10 percent of the population over age 65 and half of those age 85 and over.

Keeping your mind healthy is an important part of delaying the aging process. A healthy mind is important for performing

normal activities of daily living, balancing your checkbook, calculating the tip at a favorite restaurant, and communicating with friends and family.

Exercise has been shown to be beneficial for the mind as well as the body. Exercise decreases stress, anxiety, and depression. Exercise will improve blood flow to the brain and other organs. This will improve memory, creativity, problems solving skills and overall conditioning of your body. Relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation have also been found to be beneficial to the brain.

There are different techniques and exercise that have been found to be beneficial to optimizing brain power. Over-learning is one such technique in which a topic is repeatedly studied more than would be normally required to

assist in learning. An example would be repeating the names of people you meet. Another method is the short story or linking method. This can be used by making up a short story or linking together items you want to remember. Utilizing the aforementioned strategies can help combat age related changes such as dementia.

The following tips should be useful to help slow down the aging of your mind and improve the quality of your life as you age:

1. Stay involved in daily activities and learning new things.
2. Encourage attendance of lectures, plays, meetings.
3. Play games that require thought.
4. Work crosswords or other puzzles.
5. Continue to obtain further education of any

kind.
6. Practice memory exercises, routinely.

Maintaining a healthy diet and supplementing your diet with the following vitamins,
may also be beneficial.

Vitamin E- functions as an anti-oxidant. Found in almonds, green leafy leafy vegetables and whole grain flour.
Vitamin B- preserves brain function and sharpness. Declining memory and trouble focusing have been linked to low folic acid and B12 levels.
Vitamin C- eating broccoli, legumes, oranges, potatoes and strawberries will help keep your brain healthy.
Magnesium- taking approximately 300 milligrams one to three times per day will help protect the brain from some substances that can cause nerve damage.

You can slow down the aging of your brain and improve the quality of your life

starting today. Follow simple steps to exercising your brain and supplementing a balanced diet with the appropriate vitamins.

Dr. Curtis E. McElroy is an internal medicine physician. He also has an interest in the research and writing of health and wellness, self improvement, and motivational articles.