Prevention Brain Games

YOUR BRAIN IS A LOT MORE THAN TH E KEEPER OF YOUR BRILLIANCE: It controls your ability to breathe, enjoy music, and give someone a hug—all without your being aware that it’s involved. These things happen when chemical messengers are passed from cell to cell in a superfast chain reaction. If anything disrupts that communication, there goes your ability to engage with the world—and even potentially the oxygen you need to live. Read on to learn how to preserve your brainpower for as long as possible. Whether you’re making coffee or answering a text, your brain takes in information from multiple sources, then deciphers the data in an instant so you can act. Meet Your Brain Think of this organ as your operating system, a miracle of efficiency with billions of…

“TWO-THIRDS OF WHAT DETERMINES HOW WELL WE AGE COMES FROM NONGENETIC FACTORS—AS IN, OUR EVERYDAY BEHAVIORS,” says Gary Small, the director of the UCLA Longevity Center at the Semel Institute and the author of 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain. In Small’s poll of more than 18,000 people across the country, those with healthier habits—a balanced diet, regular exercise—reported fewer memory complaints. And he has found that when people learn and use memory techniques on top of that, magnetic resonance imaging and positron-emission tomography brain images reveal changed neural circuitry and a measurable boost in memory. Which strategies are best for your brain? Take this quiz to find out. Lifting weights does what to your brain? A. Damages brain cells B. Improves your memory C. Nothing B. Strength training for…

Oh, how familiar it is: You put your phone down, and a few minutes later you’re looking for it everywhere…in the kitchen, in your purse, on the floor—Did I leave it in the car? Or you run into a neighbor and while you chat about their dog’s cuteness, you’re frantically searching your brain for their name. Or you head to the store to pick up just five simple items and wander the aisles trying to remember three of them. When this happens, you might wonder whether it’s the start of a brain decline that’s going to cascade into dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The reassuring news is that there are many reasons—everyday, non-scary reasons—why we forget things. And there are tips and tricks, as well as solid lifestyle changes, that can help…

Create a Few Stopping Points Stress is known to decrease amounts of klotho, a hormone that keeps toxins in the brain in check. But research shows that coloring mandala-like designs—like the ones on the following pages—reduces stress and can induce a near meditative state. The feeling of accomplishment can’t hurt either. Calm your mind and break out your creativity by filling in these designs. PHONE FUN What type of business might want the phone number 933-7263? COUNTDOWN WHAT BELONGS IN THE MISSING SPOT IN THIS SEQUENCE? WORDPLAY CHART For each of the words below, can you fill in the chart with an anagram, a rhyme, and a new word that changes the final letter? We’ve given you an example. EYEBALL GUESSTIMATE Start by simply looking at each figure. Which would…