5 Ways to Stay Mentally Fit

Just as it is important to keep your body fit, it is also important to stay mentally fit. Keeping your brain agile can fight off Alzheimer's and slow the disease's progression. As a person ages it becomes more important that they stay mentally fit. It's never too early, or too late, to start doing mental exercises. There are many mental exercises that you can try. Here are the top five suggestions:

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1. Exercise — It releases many beneficial neurotransmitters into your body and can increase your general feeling of well-being. Changing up your exercise routine or walking route also keeps you from falling into a rut, and carves out new patterns in your brain. It also helps relieve stress, and releases protective hormones in your brain.

2. Doing puzzles or playing games — Doing things like logic puzzles, crosswords, or word searches helps improve memory, sharpen language or reasoning skills, and can open new pathways in your brain. Doing jigsaw puzzles will accomplish the same thing.

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3. Change up your routine — Brush your teeth or hair with the other hand, drive a new route home, or try new foods. To stay mentally fit, you need to build new patterns in your brain.

4. Learn something new — Another way to stay mentally fit is to learn something new. Take a cooking class, try a new hobby, or learn a new language. Challenging your body when you are exercising strengthens your body. Challenging your brain by doing something completely new strengthens your brain and makes it more agile.

5. Socialize — This is no less important than any of the other exercises. When you are discussing things with friends, you are learning and exercising your brain. Being out with friends keeps you from feeling isolated, which also keeps you mentally fit.

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The brain is plastic, which means that it can continue to grow and build new connections. The new connections are what give you mental agility, and a feeling of well-being. Using these tips will allow you to stay mentally fit at any age. That mental agility will allow you to gain more enjoyment from your life.