Learn About Your Personal Brain Health

By Sarah Lenz Lock—

Did you know that ninety-three percent of Americans polled said that brain health is vitally important to them, yet were not certain what they could do to support it? In recent years, making the most of your brain as you age is a subject that’s become increasingly relevant—and many aren’t aware that tips to keeping your brain happy are right under our noses.

A ton of advice on brain health is out there, some of which are false claims, unsupported by science and not backed by experts. It’s important to make sure that when taking action to better your brain health—you’re paying attention to the facts.

The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), an independent collaborative of scientists, doctors, scholars and policy experts convened by AARP, provides the best thinking on what people can do to maintain and improve brain health. They suggest a range of tips; spanning five categories that can help keep your brain healthy and potentially reduce your risk of cognitive decline. The GCBH’s work provides the foundation for Staying Sharp, a brain-health platform designed by AARP to help improve and maintain your brain health in a holistic way. All content on the platform, including various articles, recipes, activities and games, are aligned with, and evolve with, their latest recommendations.

The five pillars of brain health that are suggested by GCBH and reflected on the Staying Sharp platform include:

• Nourish – Eating right and incorporating brain-healthy foods into your diet
• Relax – Activities that manage stress and encourage restorative sleep
• Discover – Learning new things and enhancing your mind
• Connect – Being social and expanding your personal interactions
• Move – Keeping fit through exercise and activities that promote physical movement 

In addition to the GCBH showing you how different lifestyle factors can impact peoples brain health, Staying Sharp  provides you the opportunity to take a personalized assessment that gives you detailed insights into how your brain functions compared to others of your age and similar background.  Based on the results of your cognitive assessment and lifestyle questionnaire, Staying Sharp shows you how you can change your lifestyle to support your optimal cognitive function. The Staying Sharp platform gives you the tools that can help you adopt andincorporate a healthy lifestyle as a way to better brain health.

People who have a greater sense of mental well-being as they go through life are those who engage in the most number of healthy behaviors. Exercising, socialization, managing stress, learning new things, and eating right are key factors to keeping your brain sharp, healthy and thriving. It’s essential to spend time learning these facts and most importantly—your facts. After all, we now know there are things you can do to help maintain your brain health as you age and what’s more important than a healthy brain to live your most vital, healthy life?

Sarah Lenz Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy in AARP’s Policy, Research and International Affairs and Executive Director of the Global Council on Brain Health leads AARP’s policy initiatives on brain health and works to improve care for people living with dementia.