Showing posts with label brain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brain. Show all posts

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Brain Health: Do These 4 Things Every Day

Photo: Ashley Productions

According to an article in ARRP magazine (April, 2020) about Brain Health, there are 4 things we all should do every day to keep our brains functioning and healthy:

1) Spend time with friends and family, involving our brains by discussing current events and new ideas.

Go here to see this book.
2) Read or write.

3) Exercise. It could simply be brisk walking.

4) Practice a new skill, especially one that involves working with your hands. This could be gardening, playing an instrument, or fly-tying.

What stumped me was the last suggested activity: Fly-tying. I had no idea what it was. It is the process of making artificial flies used for fly fishing. There are books and kits you can buy to help you learn to do it!

Moreover, the article says myths abound involving the aging of our brains. The worst thing you can do is stagnate. The best thing you can do is keep stimulating and challenging your brain at every decade of your life. "Each of us may be wired in our own unique way, though with a healthy brain, we all have the capacity to learn, remember, and make sense of the complex world around us." And yes, we may slow down some as we age, but our intellect and understanding continues, and older people are not doomed to forget things. 

As it turns out, 
what we learn imprints on our memories which sometimes changes how we remember them. Straight from the article, memories "can easily be contaminated or forgotten."  They constantly change "to reinforce a person's life narrative and to create an identity in the world.'' They are ''not an accurate, objective record of the past," but morph as we take in more experience and information.

Learn something new every day! I just did, but will pass on the fly-tying. My brain and hands will find other interests!🙂


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