Traveling and partaking in other novel activities might help preserve the brain’s capacity for memory, while diet and exercise that promotes cardiovascular health might also promote cerebral health, a Taipei-based neurologist said.
In an article published in the Cathay General Hospital Journal, Liao Pin-wen (廖品雯), a neurologist at the hospital, wrote that taking medication or nutritional supplement alone cannot help to protect memory-related functions.
However, partaking in novel activities that change daily routines — such as traveling or taking different routes to familiar locations — can help people to practice learning and recall new information, Liao said.
For example, making travel plans — arranging itineraries and learning about a destination’s attractions, geography and history — is believed to improve cognitive functions involved in the calculation and integration of spatial and temporal information, Liao said.
Stress-relieving activities are also important to maintaining cerebral functions, because accumulated stress is known to impede concentration, which leads to losses in cognitive-processing speed and memory, Liao said.
Regular exercise contributes to both cardiovascular and cerebral health, because cardiovascular function is what keeps the brain supplied with blood and exercise is known to stimulate brain-cell production, Liao said.
A diet that contains a variety of fruits and vegetables, with low quantities of red meats and deep-fried foods, but a high quantity of fish has a positive impact on blood sugar and lipid levels, which also contribute to a healthier brain, Liao said.
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