1. Eat Brain Healthy Food
Certain foods improve your brain's function: foods like leafy green vegetables, fruits and vegetables with antioxidants, soy, and whole wheat provide nutrients that help with brain development and maintenance. Even foods like cacao beans and coffee beans contain vitamins and nutrients that are good for your brain—just skip all the excess sugar.
2. Reduce Your Cholesterol
According to research by Kaiser Permanente, high levels of cholesterol increases a person's risk of developing dementia. Women with a cholesterol value of 240 and over have a 66 percent increased chance of developing Alzheimer's disease, and a 25 percent increased chance when cholesterol levels are between 200 and 239.
3. Use Omega-3 Supplements
Besides omega-3 fatty acids found in food, supplements can also be used. DHA, or decosahexaenoic acid, has been added in food for infants and pregnant women. Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be made by the human body, so eating as many omega-3 rich foods and supplements is necessary for optimal brain health.
4. Try Memory Techniques
Using certain memory techniques, like chunking, can increase your memory. Chunking is used for working memory, a form of short-term memory. When remembering items, group them together meaningfully. For example, instead of remembering one number at a time, remember the numbers as double digit or triple digit numbers.
5. Increase Your Vocabulary
Women have a a greater ability with language compared to men. Increasing your vocabulary not only helps with verbal skills, but it exercises both your language skills and memory.
6. Take Time to Relax
Many times, concentration problems are due to stress. Take some time to relax: mediate, listen to calming music, or do something for yourself.
7. Study a New Language
Besides new vocabulary, women can use their language abilities to learn a foreign language. Foreign languages have different grammatical structuring, so it will challenge your brain to reorganize sentences.
8. Sleep Eight Hours a Night
Often, memory and learning problems are due to a lack of sleep. While you sleep, your brain converts short-term memories into long-term memories—one reason why it is important to get a good night sleep before a test and not stay up late cramming. Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep a night.
9. Learn More Efficiently
Every person learns differently; for example, some people learn verbally and other people learn visually. Take your learning method and use it to your advantage: verbal learners can use a tape recorder and visual learners can use notes.
10. Do Mental Activities
Keeping your mind active is key to keeping your brain healthy. Mental activities can range from doing puzzles, like Sudoku, or reading.
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Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch received her bachelor’s of science degree in neuroscience from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in May 2009. She is the Hartford Women's Health Examiner.