Adopting specific lifestyle behaviors can have a tangible effect on how well you age: activities like learning a new language, playing a musical instrument, taking part in aerobic exercise, and developing meaningful social relationships, can do wonders for your brain.

Lifestyle choices influence how you age

As time passes, there is a build-up of toxins in the brain that correlate to the aging process of cognitive decline. Although this is a natural part of growing older, many factors can exacerbate it. Stress, neurotoxins such as alcohol and lack of (quality and quantity) sleep can speed up the process.

Aging process and cognitive decline

The key to resilient aging is improving neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons. This activity occurs in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that lays down memories. And we respond to and store new experiences every day, and cement them during sleep. The more we can experience new activities, people, places, and emotions, the more likely we are to encourage neurogenesis.

Neuroplasticity

<ol><li>Get your heart rate up: Aim to do aerobic exercise for 150 minutes per week;</li><li>Change your eating patterns: Evidence shows that calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, and time-restricted eating are beneficial for the brain;</li><li>Prioritize sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours, and nap if it suits you. Our need for sleep decreases as we age.</li></ol>

To avoid cognitive decline

You might think that the impact of aging on the brain is something you can't do much about. After all, isn't it an inevitability? To an extent, as we may not be able to rewind the clock and change our levels of higher education or intelligence (both factors that delay the onset of symptoms of aging).

To avoid cognitive decline

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