2 simple ways to strengthen the brain

Solving crosswords is not the only way to improve memory.
Activities involving emotions and senses are much better.

• Taking care of the dog

  “There is a reason why dogs are called our best friends: they not only offer unsurpassed company, but more and more research shows that they improve our health,” says Dr. Elizabeth Pegg Frates, a clinical assistant at Harvard Medical School.
  In a survey of Italian women from the 1980s conducted in 2011. Women who spent 90 minutes a week on stroking, caring, walking or playing with a dog, obtained significantly higher mental test results than women who did not have the interaction of dogs. If you do not want to live with a dog companion, consider volunteering at an animal shelter.

• Play with your child

  If you are a grandmother, you already know many advantages of having a granddaughter. The cognitive benefit was confirmed in the 2014 report from the Women’s Healthy Aging project, which is under way in Australia. Of the 186 women who were assessed using several standard psychiatric tests, those who spent one day a week with their grandson had the highest cognitive performance in most tests. However, the researchers also found that looking after grandchildren for five days a week was associated with lower cognitive performance, perhaps because of the stress of being the main caregiver.

If you do not have a grandson, you can consider sitting in a child’s neighborhood or volunteering in a kindergarten or extra-curricular activities program one day a week. You can also try to walk the dog or have fun with your young companion!

Developed on the basis of research by Harvard Medical School