Tips to maintain your brain health post retirement
This is how you can ensure good brain health after retirement and lead a healthy life
Congratulations, you have successfully retired now but life after retirement will not be that easy as there are a host of health problems that strike you while you age and one such is diminishing cognitive health. You have heard it right! Memory problems are commonly seen in senior citizens but sweat not as we help you with some of the vital tips to improve your brain health post-retirement.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Pavan Pai, Consultant Interventional Neurologist at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mumbai's Mira Road, shared, “Life after retirement that is post 60 will not be easy. It is believed that when people retire their minds also retire. Cognitive decline in late adulthood to the reduction, inability in social engagements, and volunteering leads to poor mental well-being. A large number of people become forgetful as they become older. It’s completely normal to experience memory loss, sensory changes, and even trouble with problem-solving and decision-making. But those can also be the red flags of Alzheimer’s or dementia. It’s essential to consult the doctor if you’re worried about any new cognitive impairments. Furthermore, we help you with some foolproof tricks to maintain good brain health post-retirement.”
According to him, following are the ways you can ensure good brain health after retirement and lead a healthy life -
- Opt for word puzzles: Did you know? Word puzzles (and number puzzles) will be a boon for older people as they will help to improve cognitive health. Newspapers usually have daily puzzles like Crosswords and Sudoku. Moreover, there are many books available with these kinds of puzzles on every page. Crosswords exercise word recall, spelling, and even grammar and reasoning are there which can help you. And Sudoku is a great math game. So, play it and improve your brain health. These things can be fun. Why wait? Start on an immediate basis and you will surely benefit from them.
- Jigsaw Puzzles: It is a known fact that puzzles are great for enhancing your memory. If required, take the help of the family members to solve it but at least try. You will only succeed when you give it a try. There are many, colors, and patterns in the puzzles. So, try to recognise that. It can be a great exercise for the brain. These puzzles can also help with problem-solving and decision-making. You can get these puzzles in any bookstore or can purchase them online. Rubik’s cube is another option to improve memory and analytical thinking.
- Take up any hobby of your choice: Such as pottery, writing, performing or painting, learning a new skill or a language, gardening or baking to improve cognitive health.
- De-stress by doing Yoga and meditation: Stress disrupts overall well-being along with cognitive health. Chronic stress is known to destroy brain cells and damages the region of the brain that forms new memories and retrieves old ones. Retirement and other life changes will steal one's peace of mind. So, social engagement is important. Along with that, volunteer, sleep and eat well, exercise daily, do yoga and meditate and open up about how you feel, spend some quality time with your grandchildren, take regular breaks and go for vacations. Build social connections which can help you to stay active and energetic. These things will help to improve brain health and longevity.