Improving your memory guides? “Approaches to brain health include a well-balanced diet low in fat, low in cholesterol, and high in antioxidants,” says Robert Bender, MD, section chief of the Geriatric and Memory Center at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to good nutrition, regular exercise can promote vascular health to help protect brain tissue. Avoiding ruts and boredom is also critical. “The brain wants to learn new things,” says Dr. Bender, noting that some researchers believe that people are more vulnerable to dementia when they pay less attention to the things around them. “When the brain is passive, it has a tendency to atrophy,” he adds, so sedentary and relatively passive activities, such as sitting in front of a TV for hours a day, can be detrimental to brain health over time.

Keep challenging yourself to learn new things. By doing this, you will gain more knowledge about things around you, and you will learn how to utilize things in a better way. Don’t let yourself get stuck in one place, either mentally or physically. Be proactive, curious, conscious, and informed about the world. Exercising your brain means using it more. Generally, the brain takes part in everything we do, but there are some types of activities which can specifically exercise our brains. Activities like doing puzzles, playing games like Chess or Scrabble, solving numerical problems, studying difficult topics, and challenging your dexterity, spatial reasoning, and logic. Doing these mental exercises daily can sharpen your mind, and it can be an excellent way to strengthens neural links in your brain.

Interacting face-to-face with other people engages all senses and requires attentiveness to both visual and auditory cues. Recent studies show that active social lives lead to lower risk of dementia. Dialogue is often unpredictable and requires active listening and response. Actively challenging your peripheral vision improves brain performance and helps you navigate the world safely. Recent studies shows that drivers stay on the road longer and have fewer accidents after actively training their useful field of view.

The above practices may seem challenging at first, but they will be well worth it in time. When the moment comes, my phone is no substitute for accurate recall. I more often find that I can remember the information as soon as I need it — a skill that has helped secure my relationships and, in turn, my business and my job. Further, on an interpersonal level, if we’ve learned anything from this crisis, it’s that we need connection — not just as leaders, but as human beings. If nothing else, know that the ability to remember is the ability to show people that they matter, and alone, that is something rare and invaluable. Find extra details on Neuroscientia.

Speed of Information Processing refers to how quickly a learner can process incoming information. Some scientists consider speed of information processing a central aspect of IQ. Many children with attention problems often are unable to keep up with the lesson plan presented by the teacher. Cognitive Flexibility is the ability to change what you are thinking about, how you are thinking about it and even what you think about it – in other words, the ability to change your mind. Cognitive flexibility is required in multiple ways throughout the school day.