Below is a fantastic article by renowned Neurosurgeon & Author, Dr. Russell Blaylock. In my think-well workshops we learn about Neuroplasticity and how it can literally change your thinking, attitude, overall health & even your abilities. I highly recommend that you exercise your brain on LUMOSITY.COM, a great website based on the science of Neuroplasticity + it’s FREE!
Stimulate Your Brain to Prevent Dementia (from Dr. Russell Blaylock)
One of the important observations about the progressive form of mild cognitive impairment is that it tends to affect people who have a lot of things wrong with them. Simply put, overall health plays a big part in one’s risk of dementia.Many studies have shown that people who regularly engage in complex thinking tasks such as doing puzzles, learning a new language, or solvingmind-challenging exercises are less likely to suffer from dementia.We call this process developing “brain reserve” or “brain plasticity.”
Modern research has shown that intense mental exercises can actually grow new brain connections, as well as new brain cells (from stem cells). There are a number of programs available online that are designed to stimulate different parts of the brain.
I have found that as people get older, brain-related functions related to daily habits don’t really stimulate new ways of thinking or force the brain to deal with new, complex ideas.That is why the best brain exercises involve doing something you have never done before, or learning a new subject.