Feed your head

Natural Health, Nov, 2005 by Lawrence C. Katz

Here's a secret to keeping your mind sharp and your memory strong: Working your brain in new, challenging ways stimulates the production of neurotrophins, which are nutrients that make brain cells more resistant to the effects of aging. To boost your mental fitness, try these "neurobic" exercises from Duke University neurobiologist Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., co-author of Keep Your Brain Alive.

In the morning: Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, including opening the tube and dispensing the toothpaste. You can adapt this technique to any a.m. activity, such as styling your hair, applying makeup, buttoning clothes, or eating.

In the car: Close your eyes and use only your sense of touch and spatial memory to find your car key on your key chain, unlock the car door, slide into the seat, buckle your seatbelt, insert the key into the ignition, and locate familiar controls like the radio, heater, or windshield wipers. (But open your eyes before you hit the road!)

At work: Scramble the location of familiar objects on your desk that you normally reach for without thinking.

Excerpted from Keep Your Brain Alive by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., & Manning Rubin. Reprinted with permission from Workman Publishing.