What really works to help an aging brain. It’s not going to function like it did in your 20s, but there are things you can do.

One of the most powerful ways to keep your mind healthy is with exercise.

Physical activity has been shown to promote neurogenesis — the formation of new neurons — and so it’s not surprising that exercise would help keep your mind sharp. In 2012, Zelinski published a meta analysis on methods to improve cognition in older adults.

An analysis from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging found that moderate exercise in mid or late life was linked to a reduced chance of developing mild cognitive impairment. 

Just as you can train your body, you can also train your brain. “Cognitive training is very much like taking your brain to the gym,” says Amit Lampit, a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The idea is to use highly structured exercises to practice cognitive processes so you can improve and maintain cognitive performance.