Sep 02

Memory begins to decline in your 30s: How to keep your brain sharp

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Taking care of our mind and body is crucial for living a happy and fulfilling life. So, on this International Mind-Body Wellness Day, let’s commit to prioritising our health and making self-care a daily habit. It happens to adults of all ages at one point or another: You leave work after a busy day and forget where you parked your car. Or you get up to grab an item from another room and can’t remember what it was once you get there. Is it the start of memory troubles? Could Alzheimer’s disease be looming in the future? Memory does naturally start to decline earlier than we think — when people are in their 30s — but such incidents are common and illustrate perfectly normal forgetting, said Dr. Richard Restak, a clinical professor of neurology and rehabilitation medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “These are things that people needlessly worry about,” Restak, author of the book “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind,” told. In the case of the person unable to remember why they came into a room, “it sounds like a serious matter, but most of the time the person is […]
Aug 30

Should you stretch before exercise? Or after? These tips on stretching could be beneficial

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Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. Resistance training can be an effective form of stretching too   For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise. It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion. Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:   Warm up first It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of “The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching.” He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes. Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which […]
Aug 27

5 Exercises That Can Keep Your Brain Sharp

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Physical activity can boost memory, improve thinking, even lower dementia risks — and it’s not too late to start   We’ve known for some time that what’s good for your heart is good for your brain. This is especially true when it comes to exercise. Studies show that regular physical activity can help lower the risk of dementia, and recent research offers some clues about why. A 2022 study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia found that older adults who remain active have higher levels of brain proteins that enhance connections between neurons, which in turn improves their memory and boosts cognition. This protective impact was found in everyone, even in people showing signs of dementia. One reason may be that physical activity promotes healthy synapses, the small pockets of space between neurons that allow them to communicate. “They are really where the magic happens when it comes to cognition,” explains study coauthor Kaitlin Casaletto, an assistant professor of neuropsychology at the University of California, San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. The good news, she stresses, is that the brains of participants — who on average were in their 70s — were able to reap the benefits of exercise even into […]
Aug 24

8 fitness tips to keep in mind in 2024

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The month of January is when we make health and fitness resolutions that tend to fizzle out after a few weeks or months. Staying motivated and making lasting changes requires more than just a fleeting resolution. For this reason, we reached out to leading health experts and nutritionists to learn more about the most simple ways to stay on track this year. Here’s what they had to say:   Start small and sustainable Don’t overwhelm yourself with big fitness goals. Start with achievable goals and gradually increase difficulty as you get fitter. “In 2024, set realistic fitness goals. Set achievable and measurable goals that align with your abilities, lifestyle, and commitment level. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, start with 1-2 pounds a week. If you have never strength trained, begin strength training two times a week. If 10,000 steps daily are impossible to achieve, start at 6,000 and level up gradually. Establish achievable, short-term goals, celebrate your progress, and be flexible in adapting your goals as needed. Avoid the all-in or all-out approach with regard to your fitness and enjoy the journey,” says fitness trainer Nyela Kapadia.   Make it fun Exercise shouldn’t feel like a […]
Aug 21

Maintain Your Brain With These 6 Mental Fitness Tips

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We often only focus on exercising our bodies, but we can’t forget our brains. Try integrating these strategies into your lifestyle to keep up your cognition as you age. From eating for heart health to deciding which exercises to focus on or improving vision, most people know that maintaining many aspects of physical health is crucial for longevity. But keeping your mind fit may be the most important component to graceful aging. Cognition declines over time due to several factors, such as age-related structure changes, brain injuries or excess stress hormones. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in nine American adults over 65 reports cognitive decline. “The parts of our brain that help with learning information and remembering can become smaller, and the brain can weigh less as we age,” said Colleen Marshall, chief clinical officer for Two Chairs. While we will all experience health changes as we age, cognitive decline doesn’t happen at the same rate for everyone. By prioritizing brain fitness now, you can help slow the change and keep your mind sharp as you age.   How to start nourishing your brain for healthy aging   1) Solve puzzles We’ll start with the […]
Aug 18

How To Fall Asleep Fast

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Here’s how to start snoozing more quickly at night   When you’re busy and on the go, you’ll naturally start getting tired as the day wears on. That’s perfectly normal — in fact, that’s how our bodies work. “We have a sleep drive that builds up the longer we’re awake,” says sleep medicine expert Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM. “By the end of the day, that sleep drive — or pressure for sleep — is high.” However, each of us has what’s called an “internal sleep rhythm,” or circadian rhythm. This rhythm varies from person to person, and represents the time when our body and mind start relaxing and winding down for the day. “This internal rhythm influences when we start to feel sleepy,” says Dr. Drerup. “Some people might identify more as night owls, meaning they don’t get sleepy until much later. Other people are more early birds.”   How long should it take you to fall asleep? You won’t typically fall asleep right away, even a couple of minutes after your head hits the pillow. And if you do conk out quickly, that’s a sign you’re probably sleep-deprived and not snoozing enough at night. “If they don’t have any […]
Aug 13

5 Beginner Meditations To Help You Relax & Sleep Better

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To-do lists, fears and anxieties, and general discomforts have an annoying way of showing up in our lives right when it’s time for bed. Thankfully, there are plenty of holistic remedies that can help counteract racing thoughts that just get faster when the lights go out. When relaxation is your end goal, breath becomes your most important ally. Simply taking deeper, more controlled breaths can be enough to lower your cortisol levels, since breathing into the diaphragm can stimulate the vagus nerve, which kickstarts your body’s parasympathetic response. This is known as the relaxation response, and it’s been studied pretty extensively. A 2008 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that older people with chronically high blood pressure were able to lower their SBP by an average of 9.4 points over eight weeks using mind-body relaxation techniques that employed the breath. Another in Psychoneuroendocrinology found that just 25 minutes of mindful meditation over a three-day span regulated participants’ cortisol response and reduced self-reported psychological stress. Below, an introduction to five meditation exercises that can help you use the power of the breath to relax and fall asleep more easily.   1. Use a guided meditation app If […]
Aug 10

5 Simple Ways Dance can Improve Mind, Body, and Soul

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“Little Mermaid” co-choreographer Tara Nicole Hughes helps you find your own rhythm. As we approach the end of May, also known as Mental Awareness Month, how much time have you really devoted to finding your own rhythm in the past few weeks? If you still haven’t got those endorphins flowing by taking up running, like you promised that you would, or felt the exhilaration of hitting a PR in the gym because “life” keeps taking over, then Tara Nicole Hughes may have the perfect solution for restoring harmony between your mind, body, and soul: Dance M&F Hers sat down with the co-choreographer of Disney’s new live action spectacular, “The Little Mermaid” to find out how those of us with two left feet should begin, and what benefits we can expect to receive from letting loose on the floor. We soon learned that whether it’s on the big screen, or in a safe space at home, dance is truly a gift.   Dance Is for Everyone In the same way that we take up any other form of exercise, every individual starts their dance journey from a different starting position. “I was born with pigeon toed legs,” says Hughes, who is […]
Aug 07

I meditated for 10 minutes before exercise every day for a week — here’s what happened to my mind and body

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Just 10 minutes to boost your wellbeing   At the start of this year, I decided to make consistent meditation one of my wellness goals. And since incorporating it into my nightly routine, I’ve noticed that my muscle tension has diminished and I’m a lot more in tune with my body. Seeing all of these positive physical changes made me wonder if I could also use meditation as a warm-up before my daily workouts. Would the same practice that’s been shown to relieve stress and improve focus better prepare me for vigorous exercise? I downloaded Headspace (one of the best relaxation apps there is), searched for an appropriate guided meditation, laced up my sneakers, and closed my eyes for a few focused minutes before hitting the gym. Here’s how meditating before my workouts impacted my performance.   What are the benefits of meditating before a workout? Meditation has long been heralded as a way to manage anxiety and enhance mood, but its advantages extend far beyond emotional wellbeing. According to a study from the journal Neural Plasticity, meditation was found to positively affect endurance and cognitive function in college athletes. But you don’t have to be training for the big […]
Aug 04

Exercise is good for your body and your mind, study says

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The benefits of exercise are widely known: it helps you live longer and lowers risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. A new study published Wednesday in The Lancet Psychiatry journal suggests that when done in moderation, it leads to better mental health as well. The researchers analyzed responses from 1.2 million adults in the United States taken from a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey given in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The average number of days of poor mental health per person in the past month was around 3.4, according to the study. Those who reported exercising had about 1.5, or 43%, fewer days of “bad self-reported mental health” in the past month compared to those who did not exercise. Poor mental health was reported in the study as stress, depression and trouble with emotions. “I think in comparison to all other treatments, when a patient successfully exercises at the right dose, there is a sense of self-efficacy and confidence that the patient develops that is absolutely also a remarkably positive thing,” said Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, Director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical […]
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