Age-Proofing Your Brain – Mental Exercise, 2

Edison though that the human brain was so important that he said the body’s chief task is to carry the brain around. It is important to have a healthy body so it can carry your brain around. It is important to have a healthy brain or the body ight not be very excited about carrying the brain around anywhere! Lifestyle choices may play an even bigger role than people realize, particularly in terms of memory. Contributory factors range from sleep and nutritional factors to daily brain aerobic exercises. Brain-function studies are beginning to validate the full impact of what can be achieved through challenging brain stimulation. One way to obtain mental exercise is to read aloud for at least ten minutes every day. “How does that stimulate the brain?” you may ask. When you read silently, you stimulate the brain functions related to recognizing letters, words, and what they mean. When you read aloud, however, you also stimulate the brain’s control of your teeth, tongue, mouth, and lips. In addition, you stimulate the auditory cortex as you listen to yourself reading, the sounds of which are decoded in a different part of the brain. Ten minutes a day! This does not require a doctor’s visit or a prescription. It just requires that you do it. More tomorrow.