Science has uncovered the most important muscle in your body…

Just like any muscle, if it’s not active it can atrophy and wither. The well known adage of ‘retiring today, dying tomorrow’ has an element of truth associated with this research.

The brain is an organ and, as such, it requires oxygen and exercise, just like the heart and lungs.

Feed your mind and you’ll feel emotionally and physically invigorated. It may be too soon to succumb to middle-aged worries about “using it or losing it,” or to start fretting about Alzheimer’s and other degenerative disease. Nonetheless, it’s still important to focus on keeping your brain in shape.

You can do this by regularly engaging in the right activities, you can increase your memory, improve your problem-solving skills and boost your creativity.

Here are some tips on how to keep your mind active:

• read a book
• crosswords
• Sudoku
• learn a language
• learn an instrument
• higher education
• online “Brain train” apps.

Keeping your brain stimulated doesn’t necessarily mean doing ‘paid’ work, it can also be a hobby, volunteering, or a new business venture or partnership. Why not try Yoga or playing golf or as listed above learning a new language or an instrument?

Keep your mental faculties in tip-top shape by giving yourself plenty of opportunities for mental stimulation. Use your cognitive skills, test your powers of recall, improve your memory, and challenge yourself to be more creative in your thinking. You’ll reap great brain-boosting benefits by keeping your mind active.

This applies to everything, whether you’re listening, thinking or reading. Make an effort to take notes or acknowledge that you’ve heard what the other person has told you. When we’re passive, our minds drift away. If you work hard at being active, your brain will register what is being said and you’ll remember it more easily.

Start paying attention to detail. We hear an overwhelming quantity of information each day, but we only remember what is important to us. Broaden what you deem significant and you will remember more.
A trick is to imagine that everything is vital information. You can go to the extent to imagine that you’re an investigator and that every aspect of what’s going on around you is vital to national security!
It is also crucially important to have Purpose and Meaning a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

What activities do you do to keep your brain active?

The Retirement Advice Centre is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Millennium3 Financial Services Pty Ltd ABN 61 094 529 987. Australian Financial Services Licensee Number 244252. Unit 7, 50 Borthwick Avenue Murarrie Qld 4172

The information contained in this document is general in nature and may not be relevant to your individual circumstances. You should refrain from doing anything in reliance on this information without first obtaining suitable professional advice. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author; they are not reflective or indicative of Millennium3 Financial Service’s position, and are not to be attributed to Millennium3. They cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.