How can I exercise my brain and keep it sharp?

Keeping the brain active daily seems to increase its vitality.  Best brain exercise advice: read, do crossword puzzles, stay socially and physically active and have fun. Watch this video to learn more.

Try these exercises, appearing on Franklin Institute's website: http://www.fi.edu/brain/exercise.html

Switch hands:  Use the opposite hand for, say, writing your name or brushing your teeth. Does it feel weird? Awkward? It should. Your brain is learning something new and getting stronger with it.

Think about it: You can think about exercising a part of your body and help your brain improve its ability to signal muscles to act.

Experience something new: Do something you've never done before, such as learning to play chess or enrolling in a yoga class. It gives the brain a good workout.

Travel: Getting away from your usual routine and experiencing new places can help stimulate your brain.   

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that certain types of dance, particularly with routines to learn and remember, may help prevent age-onset memory loss and diseases like Alzheimer’s. “…. cognitive activity may stave off dementia by increasing a person's "cognitive reserve."

And a study conducted at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, says activities that combined mental and social as well as physical stimulation offered the greatest protection against dementia.                                                     

Activity is the active word. Be physically active, mentally active and socially active, preferably all at once. Taking a cardio dance class or getting together with friends to do a cardio dance DVD is a good place to start. And to this day, when I start my cardio dance class I say,

“It’s time to workout our hearts and minds!”