Sample Brain Health Education

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Let's talk about brain health

New research confirms that our daily habits can have a big impact on brain health. Learn more about simple changes that can help keep you sharp as you get older. Plus, find health-focused classes and events right in your community.

6 smart ways to protect thinking and memory

Eating healthy is a smart choice. The MIND diet is an easy plan that helps protect the brain from dementia. It mixes two well-known eating styles (Mediterranean and DASH). The idea is simple: eat more of the “healthy” foods and less of the “unhealthy” foods. There's no calorie counting to worry about.

This diet uses everyday foods: berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, beans, fresh salads and other vegetables, fish, and poultry. These foods give helpful nutrients—folate, omega-3 fats, vitamin E, flavonoids, and carotenoids. These nutrients lower inflammation, protect the brain, and help you think clearly.

You should avoid processed foods, fried foods, very salty foods, and sweets. These can be harmful to heart health and brain health.

Why try the MIND diet?

People who followed it closely were 53% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who did not.
Even following it pretty well (not perfectly) was linked to a 35% lower risk.
Research shows it may slow the buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain (these are linked to Alzheimer’s). People who followed the MIND had fewer plaques and tangles, even if they never had symptoms while alive.
It also helps control high blood pressure, cholesterol, and obesity in midlife, which protects your brain.
You can get started today. Keep meals simple. Build your plate with vegetables, beans or whole grains, and a healthy fat like olive oil. Add fish or poultry sometimes. Enjoy berries often.

Your easy shopping list

Berries (frozen is fine)
Nuts
Extra-virgin olive oil
Whole grains (brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, oats)
Beans
Leafy greens
Other vegetables
Fish
Poultry
Red wine (optional: if you already drink alcohol, choose a small glass of red; if you do not drink, do not start)

With these foods at home, you’ll be able to make brain-healthy meals—and enjoy the benefits.

We all know exercise can help with weight and strength. It also helps your brain work better.

When you exercise, your brain makes new brain cells. This slows as we age and can drop a lot with Alzheimer’s disease. Regular activity helps your brain make more new cells, especially in the part that handles memory and learning. Exercise gives your brain fresh cells to fight age-related decline.

Exercise helps in other ways, too. When your heart beats faster, your body uses more oxygen. Your blood pressure can go down. More blood reaches your brain and brings what it needs to work well. Exercise that gets you breathing faster can also help different parts of the brain “talk” to each other better, which can improve thinking.

Muscles may take months to look different. Your brain can respond sooner. Some people notice brain changes and clearer thinking in as little as two weeks after starting an exercise plan.

How exercise helps your brain:

Makes new brain cells to support memory and learning
Brings more blood and oxygen to the brain
May lower blood pressure
Helps brain areas connect, which can improve thinking

Easy ways to get started:

Take a brisk 15-minute walk.
Choose an activity you enjoy, and do it more often.
Aim to move most days of the week.

You can do this. Every small step helps your brain.

Getting good sleep is very important for your brain, now and in the future. Sleep helps your brain in many ways.

Memory: Each day, you learn new things and meet new people. During sleep—especially deep sleep—your brain decides which memories to keep. It moves them from short-term to long-term storage. When you don’t sleep enough, this process is hurt, and it’s harder to remember later.

Brain cleaning: There is a sticky protein called beta-amyloid that is linked to Alzheimer’s disease. While you sleep, your brain’s cleaning system clears out this protein and other waste. Even one night without sleep can make beta-amyloid levels go up.

Thinking skills: Sleep helps you think clearly, focus, make choices, and do more than one task. Getting fewer than 7 hours a night can make these skills worse. Better sleep habits can also lower your risk of problems with thinking and memory later in life.

Mood: Trouble sleeping (insomnia) and depression are closely connected. Not sleeping enough can cause depression symptoms or make them worse. Keeping a steady sleep schedule may lower your risk of depression. Depression and dementia are also linked, so good sleep matters.

Overall health: Not sleeping enough can raise blood pressure, speed up your heartbeat, and increase stress and thyroid hormones. It is also linked to obesity and diabetes. These health problems can raise the risk of thinking and memory problems.

Sleep experts suggest using “sleep hygiene,” which means healthy sleep habits. Try these simple steps:

Make your sleep space calm: dark, quiet, and cool.
Avoid phones, tablets, and TV for at least one hour before bed.
Wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. A regular schedule can improve your sleep and protect your brain from the harm caused by sleep loss.

If sleep is hard for you, you are not alone. Remember, small changes can make a big difference. Try any of these tips tonight.

Social engagement leads to better brain health. Studies show it may guard against Alzheimer’s and dementia. While isolation can damage the brain and lead to depression.

Spending time with others protects the brain from the harm of loneliness. Family, friends, volunteering, and coworkers all help. In fact, social people have big brains. They keep volume in areas tied to memory and thinking.

Being with pals helps in other ways. IL-6 is a protein in your body that’s linked to inflammation. Scientists have found high IL-6 in brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Socializing may reduce it..

Connections can be with people of any age, from grandkids to neighbors. Different links work different parts of the brain. That builds resilience.

Staying connected has other benefits. It fights depression and sleep loss. You may have known those things were harmful, but did you know they could hurt your brain?

So make plans with people you enjoy. It's fun and keeps you healthy.

Stress can harm your memory and thinking, even for a short time. Long-term stress keeps a hormone called cortisol high. This can damage the brain. Studies link high cortisol to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Stress is part of life. Illness, job loss, and family problems happen. Even small daily stress, like traffic, can feel like too much. Over time, stress can build up. Long-term stress can hurt the hippocampus (the brain’s memory center). It can also slow the brain’s ability to grow and change. Then it is harder for the brain to adapt and recover.

You cannot avoid all stress, but you can get better at handling it. Managing stress helps keep cortisol low. That protects your brain over time.

Try these three daily habits to lower stress and help your brain:

Exercise: It is safe, “controlled” stress for your body. It releases endorphins, which lift mood and act like natural pain relievers. Exercise can also increase hippocampus size and improve memory.
Mindfulness: This is a simple meditation. You focus on the present with kindness. It can lower stress, depression, and anxiety. With regular practice, it may lower cortisol and slow age-related memory loss.
Human connection: Spend time with people who make you feel good. This releases oxytocin, a natural stress reliever. Doing things together—walking, watching a movie, or listening to music—can help you relax.

When stress hits, take slow, deep breaths. Then choose one habit and do it. Small steps add up. This can calm you now and protect your brain for the future.

Your brain is like a muscle. When you use it often, it stays strong. When you do not use it, it can slow down. Doing activities that make you think can help your brain stay healthy.

Have you ever thought about what “cognitive health” means? Cognition is your ability to think clearly, learn new things, and remember important information. A healthy brain can do all these tasks well.

Getting older does not always mean your brain will get worse. The brain can adapt, reorganize, and make new connections—this is called neuroplasticity. Keeping your mind busy helps this process.

Research shows that doing thinking activities often is linked to slower memory loss and a lower chance of dementia. Staying mentally active is a strong way to help protect your brain.

Ideas to keep your mind active: