9 ms·

The real way to change your brain for the better (or at least slow its decline) is to sleep (5) and eat right (3) at regular intervals (7), avoid inactivity (1)

The real way to change your brain for the better (or at least slow its decline) is to sleep (5) and eat right (3) at regular intervals (7), avoid inactivity (1) (6), get regular sunlight (2) and exercise (4), be moderately (eu)stressed (challenge yourself mentally (9) and physically), avoid chronic excessive stress (10), fast (or just skip meals) occasionally (8) and have a rich social life (1). Sources: (1) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karin_Volkers/publication/51145989_Impoverished_environment_cognition_aging_and_dementia/links/02e7e5285dcc50181f000000.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karin_Volkers/publicati... and http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v13/n3/full/nrn3151.html http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v13/n3/full/nrn3151.html (2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448747/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448747/ (3) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.23944/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.23944/pdf (4) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2010.02281.x/full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2010.... (5) http://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Abstract/2014/11000/Impact_of_sleep_on_the_risk_of_cognitive_decline.17.aspx http://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Abstract/2014/11000/Im... (6) http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc3915771 http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc3915771 (7) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kelly_Baron2/publication/262811353_Circadian_misalignment_and_health/links/542c06c10cf27e39fa92047e.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kelly_Baron2/publicatio... and http://www.pnas.org/content/111/47/16647.long http://www.pnas.org/content/111/47/16647.long (8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3206295/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3206295/ (9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4227476/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4227476/ and http://mggu-sh.ru/ipgit/Kupriyanov_Eustres.pdf http://mggu-sh.ru/ipgit/Kupriyanov_Eustres.pdf (10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410434/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410434/ (edit to match points to sources)

xiaoma 11y ago
I'm surprised you left out language learning and video games, given the research that's been accumulating over the past decade.
- thelettere 11y ago
  I'm not familiar with any body of research backing up video games - I've found some actually that indicated the opposite. But I'd love if you shared!
  - _nedR 11y ago
    Here's one (behind paywall unfortunately) by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development that "found significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum in the training group" that was trained for 2 months for at least 30 min per day with a platformer game:- http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/pdf/mp2013120a.pdf http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/pdf/mp2013120a.pdf But it seems brain training games don't seem to provide any conclusive benifit:- http://longevity3.stanford.edu/blog/2014/10/15/the-consensus-on-the-brain-training-industry-from-the-scientific-community/ http://longevity3.stanford.edu/blog/2014/10/15/the-consensus...
    - bgilroy26 11y ago
      What did the control group do instead? It seems that video games would be a great replacement/complement to the crossword puzzles people do in their elder years. While you have a career or if you have a hobby, I suspect any new skill that you practiced would lead to similar mental simulation.
- aklemm 11y ago
  That falls under "challenge yourself mentally" I would think.
mhb 11y ago
Today on leg strength vs. brain health: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10594516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10594516

xiaoma 11y ago

I'm surprised you left out language learning and video games, given the research that's been accumulating over the past decade.

thelettere 11y ago
I'm not familiar with any body of research backing up video games - I've found some actually that indicated the opposite. But I'd love if you shared!
- _nedR 11y ago
  Here's one (behind paywall unfortunately) by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development that "found significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum in the training group" that was trained for 2 months for at least 30 min per day with a platformer game:- http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/pdf/mp2013120a.pdf http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/pdf/mp2013120a.pdf But it seems brain training games don't seem to provide any conclusive benifit:- http://longevity3.stanford.edu/blog/2014/10/15/the-consensus-on-the-brain-training-industry-from-the-scientific-community/ http://longevity3.stanford.edu/blog/2014/10/15/the-consensus...
  - bgilroy26 11y ago
    What did the control group do instead? It seems that video games would be a great replacement/complement to the crossword puzzles people do in their elder years. While you have a career or if you have a hobby, I suspect any new skill that you practiced would lead to similar mental simulation.
aklemm 11y ago
That falls under "challenge yourself mentally" I would think.

mhb 11y ago

Today on leg strength vs. brain health: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10594516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10594516