6 neuroscience-based tools to keep your brain in top shape

Every day, we are bombarded with information, tasks, and to-dos for our brains. With so much demand on our mental functioning, it's normal at times to find ourselves struggling to recall something or keep our focus on a given task. The desire to maintain a sharp, resilient memory is universal, cutting across all ages and walks of life.

Surprisingly simple exercises and activities have been identified that can kindle your brain's vitality and help preserve its agility, even with advancing age. With all this exciting promise awaiting us, let's delve into these memory-boosting strategies.

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Neuroscience hacks to improve your brain health

1) Building Mental Maps

Create mental maps (Image via Unsplash/ Startae Team)

Drawing mental maps can be quite helpful to boost your memory, as shown by studies involving London's cab drivers. An interesting requirement for obtaining a driving license in London is to memorize nearly 25,000 streets and around 20,000 landmarks. Not just creating a mental atlas, the cabbies were found to have larger hippocampi, the region in the brain responsible for memorizing.

Remembering your commute, arranging your neighborhood in your mind, or picturing any familiar location could help increase the size of your hippocampus - and that's a win for memory!

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2) Flashcards Can Work Wonders

Try memory recall instead of jotting it down (Image via Unsplash/ Kelly S)

While technology seems to rule every part of our lives today, old-school pen and paper can do wonders for memory. Jot down a list of tasks, groceries to buy, or any items on a piece of paper, and later test yourself to remember them all. It doesn’t matter what's on the list — what matters is the act of remembering.

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3) Keep the Math Alive

Trying different math equations (Image via Unsplash/ Antoine Dautry)

Many of us wave goodbye to our arithmetic books after high school, but doing math can become a valuable ally for our brain health. Simple arithmetic problems done daily can help delay cognitive decline.

What's more challenging? Solve those problems in your head while you are multitasking, like when you're cooking or walking!

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4) Savor Your Tastes

Eating the right food for your brain (Image via Unsplash/ Louis Hansel)

Eating and cooking food can stimulate brain regions tied to your senses. When you eat mindfully, distinguishing individual flavors, you benefit gets two-fold: by treating yourself to an intricate gustatory experience and improving your memory by stimulating recall.

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5) Breaking a Sweat

Daily workout is essential (Image via Unsplash/ Kelly Sikkema)

Physical and mental stimulation go hand in hand. Sports like yoga, golf, or tennis that require both physical prowess and mental alacrity have shown a positive impact on brain function. So, playing a new sport can be a novel way of keeping memory sharp.

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6) Keep it Visual

Make it all visual (Image via Unsplash/ Patrick Perkins)

And finally, simple visual cues can jog your memory. These could be sticky note reminders, a string around your finger, or alarms on your phone.

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Aging is an inescapable aspect of life, but cognitive decline isn't necessarily so. Seemingly ordinary activities and habits can pack an extraordinary punch in safeguarding our mental agility. So next time you're cooking or jogging, picking up a pencil or knitting needles, or scribbling a shopping list, remember - you're not just passing time. You're actively boosting your memory and spending valuable currency on long-term brain health.

Though these exercises are backed by science, it's essential to recognize that they are not a cure-all. Severe memory problems require professional medical attention. Moreover, integrating these exercises into your life should be done under the advice and guidance of a healthcare provider.