Staying Sharp: Understanding & Maintaining Your Brain

Source: AARP.org | April 10, 2006

Keeping your mind active and your memory sharp is a key part of aging well and enjoying better quality of life as you grow older. The good news is that by challenging and engaging your brain, and by continuing to learn throughout your life, you can help maintain your healthy brain.

In fact, simple activities like attempting (and maybe even finishing!) the daily crossword puzzle, taking on a new hobby, spending time with friends and family, or exploring a new language can make a world of difference.

So don't be afraid of expanding your horizons: research shows that older people learn new things just as well as people who are years younger—it may just take a little more time or effort.

One place you can start learning is right here—on the pages brought to you by the Staying Sharp initiative. Staying Sharp is a joint project of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and NRTA: AARP's Educator Community. Staying Sharp is funded, in part, by the MetLife Foundation. This content was designed to provide you with accessible information in an easy-to-read format.

The materials from Staying Sharp will show you how the human brain affects our health and well being throughout life, with a special focus on learning and the brain. In these pages you'll also find information about how aging affects your brain, brain diseases, and what you can do to maintain brain health and keep your memory sharp as a tack.

For more information on the brain and aging, you can also check out Brain Resources for Seniors on the Dana Alliance Web site.

About the Dana Alliance

The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is a nonprofit organization of more than 250 leading neuroscientists, including ten Nobel laureates. The Dana Alliance is committed to advancing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research, and to disseminating information on the brain in an understandable and accessible fashion. Supported entirely by the Dana Foundation, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives does not fund research or make grants.

The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization with particular interests in brain science, immunology, and arts education.

About NRTA

NRTA: AARP's Educator Community is the division of AARP that focuses specifically on the field of education and learning. NRTA programs address the needs and interests of educators in K-12 and higher education, and explore issues that affect learning and education in society at large. Understanding the working of the human mind is central to understanding how we learn, how we remember, and how we create the new ideas that fuel progress and personal growth.

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on its long-standing tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. The Foundation has supported a variety of aging-related initiatives addressing issues of caregiving, intergenerational activities, mental fitness, health and wellness programs and civic involvement. MetLife Foundation supports health, education, civic and cultural programs thoughout the United States. For more information about the Foundation, visit http://www.metlife.org