Our brain acuity depends on many factors, and at earlier age we are not concern about it, unless a disease happens. The older we get though, the more proactive we are about maintaining good brain health. What we eat matters, and what we do matters. Genetic factors are a concern – but what science knows now about genetics, it can be re-written by our behaviour and environment. What do YOU do to maintain a sharp brain?

Activities may change depending on our circumstances. If we have grandkids – teaching them language, math and everything else, combined with following along with doing homework, reading to them, doing puzzles, recognizing plants and trees on a walk, participating in most of physical movements, will prolong years of a great sharpness of brain.
Without children in our environment, we need to forgo hours of passive consumption of tv and quiet sweet do-nothings, and get our brain to work. Sudoku, math games, crosswords, puzzles, quizzes, cards, reading books, extensive research on any of our interests, part-time business, troubleshooting and repairing household devices, learning a new language and signing for a new course are all good and necessary.

Social aspects are very important. Staying in a company of people, talking to neighbours, going out to any events, listening to music, karaoke, learning line dancing, public speaking, youtube guided solo dancing practice, board games with friends, meetups with old school friends, any competition, Nature tours, city tours, travels – all prolong good brain health. Just google Lonely people die first.
Happiness, up-beat mood or inquisitive mind, expanding vocabulary, interests and simple curiosity, serving other people or running some committee – all spur growing new neurons that healthy mind needs.

Diet. For older people this is the time of many hard revisions. Although brain is fed by glucose, and takes at any time about 20% of all energy our body has, our diet has to tip-toe a fine equilibrium between keeping down fatty protein deposits that scientist regard as base for dementia and getting enough protein to stave off irreversible muscles wasting. People will argue endlessly what food we should and should not eat, however real-life analysis will point out to three categories of people who live to be centenarians in good brain health: People in blue zones, who ate chemical-free, mostly sea-related food, happy disposition social people who ate ‘everything’ their heart desired, without any attention to food guides, but also no addictions, and rich people who have access to the best medical advances, extraordinary care, regular rare tests, keeping up with model exercise-relax-climate-diet balance, not allowing any minor ailment to get by without timely healing.

We know that dementia takes out short term memory, but mysteriously keeps, or even enhances long term memories. Recently my 94yo mother is reciting long poems she learned in her elementary school! The fact is that she did not read them for at least last 85 years. How could she recall them so well?!