Exercise is the single most important lifestyle choice we can choose to do as we age to stay sharp mentally and physically. I’m not saying it’s the only thing you should do, but it’s probably the most important one. Now lets go over some other brain healthy activities and or habits. Reducing stress can have a huge impact on our overall well being and mental acuteness. Studies have shown that stress can cause forgetfulness, unorganized thoughts, and the reduction of mental capacities. According to a University of California professor, eating a balanced diet or brain healthy foods with omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, wal-nuts, and kiwi fruits can increase memory, learning, and protect against mood disorders. Challenge yourself with moderately hard mental activities such as crossword puzzles, reading a novel, trivia games, or creative writing. Trivia games are especially good with keeping your brain sharp with respect to memory retrieval speed. It’s a natural consequence of aging that our cognitive processing slows down, but we can limit the extent to which it does slow down. Jeopardy is another trivia or knowledge based game that comes to mind which can help improve memory retrieval speed and overall cognitive speed. Last but not least, get a good night’s sleep. There is nothing like a good night’s sleep that can energize your brain to be at the top of its game. Sleeping with a regular schedule is the best way to stay sharp, not erratic sleeping.