Your activity should require some level of constant practice, but the goal is not to strive for vast improvements. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

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Shining light on night blindness. Can watching sports be bad for your health? Beyond the usual suspects for healthy resolutions. February 15, Practicing a new and challenging activity is a good bet for building and maintaining cognitive skills.

I slightly disagree. I believe these programs do have a risk because they add more sedentary screen time to a person's day. This additional time spent on a mobile device or computer takes away from time that people could spend breaking a sweat, exploring the world, interacting with friends and family, making art, playing a musical instrument, writing, reading a novel, daydreaming, practicing mindfulness meditation , etc.

I did a meta-analysis of recent neuroscience studies to compile a list of habits that can improve cognitive function for people in every generation. These habits can improve cognitive function and protect against cognitive decline for a lifespan. Last December, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine discovered more evidence that physical activity is beneficial for brain health and cognition.

The study found that certain hormones , which are increased during exercise, may help improve memory. The researchers were able to correlate blood hormone levels from aerobic fitness and identify positive effects on memory function linked to exercise.

In , researchers at Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School released a study showing a specific molecule released during endurance exercise that improves cognition and protects the brain against degeneration.

See " Scientists Discover Why Exercise Makes You Smarter. In their breakthrough discovery, scientists honed in on a specific molecule called irisin that is produced in the brain during endurance exercise through a chain reaction. Irisin is believed to have neuroprotective effects.

Researchers were also able to artificially increase the levels of irisin in the blood which activated genes involved in learning and memory. A study of children in Finland investigated the link between cardiovascular fitness, motor skills, and academic test scores.

The researchers found that first-graders with poor motor skills also had poorer reading and arithmetic test scores. Across the board, children with better performance in fitness and motor skills had higher cognitive function and scored better on reading and arithmetic tests.

A study , "The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The Synapse Project," found that learning new and demanding skills while maintaining an engaged social network is key to staying sharp as we age.

The findings reveal that less-demanding activities, such as listening to classical music or simply completing word puzzles, probably don't provide noticeable benefits to an aging mind and brain. Older adults have long been encouraged to stay active and to flex their memory and learning like any muscle that you have to "use or lose.

When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone. Another study, from , found that a training program designed to boost cognition in older adults also increased their openness to new experiences, demonstrating for the first time that a non-drug intervention in older adults can change a personality trait once thought to be fixed throughout a person's lifespan.

A study from Michigan State found that childhood participation in arts and crafts leads to innovation , patents, and increases the odds of starting a business as an adult. The researchers found that people who own businesses or patents received up to eight times more exposure to the arts as children than the general public.

And that was something we were surprised to discover. Last year, neuroscientists discovered multiple ways that musical training improves the function and connectivity of different brain regions and improves cognitive function.

Practicing a musical instrument increases brain volume and strengthens communication between brain areas. Playing an instrument changes how the brain interprets and integrates a wide range of sensory information, especially for those who start before age seven. The findings were presented at the Neuroscience conference in San Diego.

In a press briefing, Gottfried Schlaug of Harvard Medical School summarized the new research from three different presentations at the conference. He said, "These insights suggest potential new roles for musical training including fostering plasticity in the brain; have strong implications for using musical training as a tool in education ; and for treating a range of learning disabilities.

Another study found that reading books, writing, and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. Neuroscientists discovered that reading a novel can improve brain function on a variety of levels.

This study of the brain benefits of reading fiction was conducted at Emory University and published in the journal Brain Connectivity. Older adults are at higher risk of falls, car accidents, and other accidents that can cause brain injury.

Alcohol and certain medicines can affect a person's ability to drive safely and also increase the risk for accidents and brain injury. Learn about risks for falls and participate in fall prevention programs. Wear helmets and seat belts to help prevent head injuries as well.

Overcoming this fear can help you stay active, maintain your physical health, and prevent future falls. Some drugs and combinations of medicines can affect a person's thinking and the way the brain works.

For example, certain ones can cause confusion, memory loss, hallucinations, and delusions in older adults. Medicines can also interact with food, dietary supplements, alcohol, and other substances. Some of these interactions can affect how your brain functions.

Drugs that can harm older adults' cognition include:. Lack of exercise and other physical activity may increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, depression, and stroke — all of which can harm the brain.

In some studies, physical activity has been linked to improved cognitive performance and reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease. In general, staying active is known to lower the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and symptoms of depression, all of which in turn can improve cognitive health.

A number of studies link eating certain foods with keeping the brain healthy and suggest that other foods can increase health risk. For example, high-fat and high-sodium foods can lead to health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, that can harm the brain. Smoking is harmful to your body and your brain.

It raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and lung disease. Quitting smoking at any age can improve your health. Drinking too much alcohol affects the brain by slowing or impairing communication among brain cells.

This can lead to slurred speech, fuzzy memory, drowsiness, and dizziness. Long-term effects may include changes in balance, memory, emotions, coordination, and body temperature. Staying away from alcohol can reverse some of these changes.

As people age, they may become more sensitive to alcohol's effects. The same amount of alcohol can have a greater effect on an older person than on someone who is younger.

Also, some medicines can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

At any age, getting a good night's sleep supports brain health. Sleep problems — not getting enough sleep, sleeping poorly, and sleep disorders — can lead to trouble with memory, concentration, and other cognitive functions. Social isolation and feeling lonely may be bad for brain health.

Loneliness has been linked to higher risk for dementia, and less social activity has been linked to poorer cognitive function. gov www. ADEAR Center staff answer telephone, email, and written requests and make referrals to local and national resources.

Alzheimer's Association TTY info alz. org www. This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging NIA. NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date. Content reviewed: October 01, An official website of the National Institutes of Health.

Home Health Topics A-Z Brain health Cognitive Health and Older Adults Share: Print page Facebook share Linkedin share X social media share. Cognitive Health and Older Adults.

Physical exercise also stimulates the release of neurotransmitters that are involved in regulating mood and attention. Increased levels of norepinephrine and dopamine may be responsible for enhanced concentration and learning observed in the hours immediately after exercise.

Increased levels of serotonin, endorphins and anandamide may be responsible for enhanced mood and reduce anxiety observed after exercise. Many students and professionals have learned to position exercise before periods of cognitive demand to optimize their performance and may sprinkle additional brief walks or calisthenics throughout their day to maintain performance.

Many studies have documented the impact of aerobic exercise on brain health and performance. A growing line of evidence suggests that strength training has benefits for mental health and cognitive function as well that may be somewhat unique, and perhaps complimentary, to the effects of aerobic exercise.

There may be additional social and cognitive benefits from team sports and group activities or participating in an event such as a race.

Implementing lifestyle changes can help to develop many aspects of our cognition. Engaging in consistent and diverse stimulation is a powerful tool in developing our brain function. As our brains continue to mature during our lifetime, these techniques may help to positively enhance our performance:.

Cognitively stimulating leisure activities, such as word games, puzzles, gardening or writing calligraphy, can produce similar results to cognitive training programs and have a significant effect on the delay and reduction of cognitive decline.

If we keep our furry friends engaged, and introduce new stimuli continuously, their knowledge can flourish. By implementing lifestyle changes that expose ourselves to a variety of cognitively stimulating activities and ideas as well as regular physical activity, our neural network will respond with new connections and increased function.

Through collaboration, a healthcare professional can work with individuals to determine physical and mental activities that complement areas of their cognitive function they may want to enhance.

Cognitive Enhancement. The Impact of Exercise on Brain Health and Preservation November 29, Stress Management Resources October 3, How Yoga Affects the Brain and Body to Reduce Stress October 3, Enhancing Memory Through the Power of Aerobic Exercise August 4, Can Lifestyle Reverse Your Biological Age?

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book.

Cognitive training is an approach that seeks to sharpen or maintain brain functions through the use of regular mental activities. These mental activities are intended to help cognitive abilities such as working memory, executive function, and problem-solving abilities. There is a long-standing notion that playing brain games, such as puzzles and memorization activities, can help stave off the negative effects of aging.

But is the old "use it or lose it" adage really true? Do these cognitive games really have any sort of impact on mental functioning? This training may be beneficial for helping people to maintain and even improve some aspects of cognition.

With a large population of aging adults, such improvements could have a significant impact on the mental health and functioning of older adults. The goal of cognitive training is to sharpen the mind and help people hold on to their mental abilities as they age by playing games, solving jigsaw puzzles, or completing memory tasks.

But does it really work? Training improves skills on some tasks, but it's still uncertain if those results transfer to everyday life. However, there's certainly no harm in using cognitive training to stay engaged, focused, and mentally active. So what can you do to boost your brain fitness?

Learning to play an instrument, learning a new language, staying socially engaged, and getting regular exercise are just a few strategies that can help.

Also known as brain training, cognitive training is a non-pharmacological approach that involves following a series of regular mental activities designed to help maintain or even increase a person's cognitive thinking abilities.

Some of the mental abilities that are often targeted by cognitive training include:. In addition to this specific brain training, there are also more general forms of mental training that can help retain or improve mental fitness and cognitive functioning.

This more general mental training focuses on keeping the brain "fit," much the way exercise improves and maintains physical health. General types of mental training can take a variety of forms, including physical exercise, playing video games, staying socially engaged, and participating in creative pursuits.

The focus of these activities is to help people become better at things like learning, solving problems, and reasoning. Some of these brain training activities focus on doing things like helping people remember more or improving their ability to focus and pay attention.

Such abilities have obvious uses in daily life. Being able to pay attention may help you focus on a class lecture or complete tasks without getting distracted.

Being able to remember more might help you learn new things efficiently or recall the names of new people you meet. Research has also found that these abilities are strongly linked to things such as intelligence , school achievement, and overall success in life. Given the importance of these skills, it is perhaps not surprising that researchers have long been interested in knowing if such abilities are malleable.

There are a number of reasons why people might want to try cognitive training. These include:. Mental abilities that tend to decrease with age include processing speed, reaction time, decision making , short-term memory , and planning skills.

Brain training may help sharpen these abilities, and it may help reduce the risks of some age-related memory problems. One study, for example, found that training focused on improving processing speed reduced the risk for developing dementia a decade later.

There is also hope that some types of brain training may be useful for addressing certain types of impairments or problems. For example, in , the FDA approved a brain training game designed to help treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD.

The treatment is delivered via a video game that has been shown in several clinical trials to improve attention in children with ADHD. These effects also translated into meaningful improvement in daily functioning after a month of treatment. Such results show the potential that brain training may have.

Researchers have been studying the impact of brain training for decades. However, there continues to be surprisingly little consensus on the effectiveness of cognitive training. While there is research that supports the idea that specific brain training exercises can improve specific cognitive skills, there are other studies that have arrived at different conclusions.

Despite this lack of agreement in the research, an entire industry of apps, games, and other tools has emerged based on the idea that playing these brain games can improve your mental abilities. And while there is some support for brain training, researchers have also questioned whether the skills gained during these training exercises transfer to real-world activities.

There is some research that supports the use of brain training and its transferability to daily life and functioning.

In one large-scale study, mental training was found to improve the cognitive function of older adults that led to lasting real-world improvements such as recalling when to take their medications.

The potential for such lasting benefits could help older adults maintain their mental abilities and independence as they age. It's not just aging brains that stand to benefit from cognitive training. Research also suggests that brain training games can help improve executive functions such as working memory and processing speed in younger adults as well.

The question, then, is why have some studies supported the positive effects of cognitive training while others have not found such effects? There may be a few factors at work. If you are interested in using brain training, there are a few different things you can do.

Cognitive training exercises often involve such things as pattern detection, using a touch screen program to increase thinking speed, and memorizing lists. Such activities can often be found online or by using mobile apps.

There are some things you should remember before trying these websites, games, or apps, however:. Some of these brain training companies were actually fined by the Federal Trade Commission FTC for making misleading claims about the benefits of their games.

A study compared the effects of the brain-training tool Lumosity to regular video games. The results found that both groups showed improvements in cognitive abilities—but so did other participants who didn't play any games at all.

The reality is that cognitive training may or may not work, but engaging in mentally stimulating activities is always a good thing. Finding ways to challenge your brain may help you feel sharper now and protect your brain as you age.

If you want to try more general mental training designed to improve overall brain fitness, you might want to focus on doing mental exercises on your own. Some brain-boosting activities that might be helpful include:. In addition to such cognitive training, there are other things that you can do to help take care of your brain.

Activities that can improve your brain health include getting regular exercise , being socially active , and meditating. Cognitive training may have a number of potential benefits, but it is also important to understand the limitations.

It may sharpen your skills and help you retain more information, but you shouldn't expect miraculous improvements. Such skills may or may not translate to the real world. If nothing else, these brain games can be a fun, challenging way to put your cognitive skills to the test.

Rather than focusing on training for a specific mental ability such as working memory, you might be better off focusing on things that promote long-term brain health and fitness.

These include staying physically active, managing your stress , getting plenty of sleep, and maintaining social connections. Yates LA, Ziser S, Spector A, Orrell M. Cognitive leisure activities and future risk of cognitive impairment and dementia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.