It’s not difficult to observe how your body ages over time. Your skin begins to get some wrinkles. You start to lose your hair or it turns grey. Your joints start to get stiff. Your skin gets a bit saggy in places. Maybe you start to observe some fading of your hearing and eyesight. These indicators are tough to miss.
But the impact aging has on the mind is not always so obvious. You might find that you’re needing to put significant events on the calendar because you’re having difficulty with your memory. Perhaps you find yourself spacing out more and missing significant events. The difficulty is that this kind of mental decline occurs so slowly and gradually that you might never realize it. And that hearing decline can be worsened by the psychological impact.
As you get older, there are, luckily, some exercises you can do to help your brain stay clear. Even better, these exercises can be downright enjoyable!
The link between cognition and hearing
Most people will gradually lose their hearing as they age (for a wide variety of reasons). The risk of cognitive decline will then increase. So, why does loss of hearing increase the danger of mental decline? Research points to several hidden risks of hearing loss.
- There can be atrophy of the portion of the brain that processes sound when somebody has neglected hearing loss. Sometimes, it’s put to other uses, but in general, this isn’t very good for your cognitive health.
- Neglected hearing loss can easily lead to a sense of social separation. As a result of this lack of social connection, you can start to notice cognitive lapses as you disengage from the outside world.
- Untreated hearing loss can also trigger depression and other mental health problems. And having these mental health issues can increase an associated risk of cognitive decline.
So, can hearing loss develop into dementia? Well, indirectly. But mental decline, including dementia, will be more probable for an individual with neglected hearing loss. Those risks, however, can be significantly reduced by getting hearing loss treated. And, enhancing your overall brain health (known medically as “cognition”) can decrease those risks even more. A little preventative management can go a long way.
How to enhance cognitive function
So how do you accomplish giving your brain the workout it needs to improve cognitive function? Well, the good news is that your brain is the same as any other body part: you can always accomplish improvement, it simply requires a little exercise. So here are a few enjoyable ways to exercise your brain and boost your sharpness.
Gardening
Growing your own vegetables and fruits can be very enjoyable all on its own (it’s also a tasty hobby). Your cognition can be improved with this unique combination of hard work and deep thinking. This occurs for several reasons:
- As you’re working, you will have to think about what you’re doing. You have to utilize planning skills, problem solving skills, and examine the situation. This gives your brain a lot of great practice.
- Relief of anxiety and a little bit of serotonin. This can help keep mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety at bay.
- You get a little moderate physical exercise. Improved blood flow is good for your brain and blood flow will be improved by moving buckets around and digging in the soil.
The fact that you get healthy vegetables and fruits out of your garden is an additional bonus. Of course, not all gardens have to be focused on food. You can grow flowers, wild grasses, cacti, or anything your green thumb desires!
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts can be enjoyed by anyone no matter the artistic ability. You can make a simple sculpture out of popsicle sticks. Or maybe you can make a nice clay mug on a pottery wheel. With regard to exercising your brain, the medium matters much less than the process. That’s because arts and crafts (painting, sculpting, building) tap into your imagination, your critical thinking skills, and your sense of aesthetics.
Arts and crafts can be good for your cognition because:
- It requires the use of fine motor skills. And while that may feel automatic, your brain and nervous system are really doing lots of work. That kind of exercise can keep your mental functions healthier over the long run.
- You have to make use of your imagination and process sensory inputs in real time. A lot of brain power is required to achieve that. You can stimulate your imagination by participating in these unique brain exercises.
- You will need to keep your mind engaged in the exercise you’re doing. This type of real time thinking can help keep your mental processes limber and versatile.
Your level of talent doesn’t really make a difference, whether you’re creating a work of art or working on a paint-by-numbers. The most important thing is keeping your brain sharp by stimulating your imagination.
Swimming
Taking a swim can help keep you healthy in a number of ways! Plus, it’s always enjoyable to hop into the pool (particularly when it’s so sweltering hot outside). But swimming isn’t only good for your physical health, it also has cognitive health advantages.
Whenever you’re in the pool, you have to do a lot of thinking about spatial relations when you’re swimming. Obviously, colliding with somebody else in the pool wouldn’t be a good thing.
You also have to think about your rhythms. When will you need to come up for a breath of air when you’re under water? Things like that. Even if this type of thinking is occurring in the background of your mind, it’s still very good mental exercise. Also, physical exercise of any sort can really help get blood to the brain pumping, and that can be good at helping to slow down cognitive decline.
Meditation
Just a little time for you and your mind. Meditation can help calm your thoughts (and calm your sympathetic nervous system at the same time). These “mindfulness” meditation practices are made to help you focus on your thinking. Meditation can help:
- Help you learn better
- Improve your memory
- Improve your attention span
You can become even more conscious of your mental faculties by practicing meditation.
Reading
It’s great for you to read! And it’s also really fun. There’s that old saying: a book can take you anywhere. The floor of the ocean, the ancient past, outer space, you can travel anywhere in a book. Think of all the brain power that goes into generating these imaginary landscapes, keeping up with a story, or visualizing characters. A big part of your brain is involved when you’re reading. Reading isn’t possible without employing your imagination and thinking a great deal.
Consequently, one of the very best ways to improve the mind is by reading. You have to use your memory to keep an eye on the story, your imagination to visualize what’s going on, and you get a nice dose of serotonin when you finish your book!
Spend some time each day to strengthen your brain power by doing some reading, regardless of whether it’s fiction, science fiction, non-fiction, or whatever you enjoy. Audiobooks, for the record, work just as well!
Improve your cognition by getting your hearing loss addressed
Even if you do every single thing correctly, neglected hearing loss can keep increasing your risks of mental decline. Which means, even if you garden, swim, and read, you’ll still be struggling uphill, unless you manage your hearing loss.
When you do get your hearing treated (usually thanks to a hearing aid or two), all of these enjoyable brain exercises will help boost your cognition. Improving your memory, your thoughts, and your social skills.
Are you dealing with hearing loss? Reconnect your life by contacting us today for a hearing exam.
