When it comes to the brain, a healthy diet, good sleep hygiene and frequent exercise are vital, but so is one other thing, says Dr. Richard Restak, clinical professor of neurology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Restak, 82, is the author of more than 20 books about the brain. In "The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind," he shares science-backed ways to improve your memory and keep your brain sharp.
CNBC Make It asked Restak what he does to keep his own brain healthy.
"I try to avoid boredom. I try to [stay] active," Restak says. "I learn new words, practice memory exercises, and [I] make them fun."
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'Avoid boredom, stay challenged'
He's currently writing a book and has another lined up "if I want to do it."
And every day on his morning walks with his dog, Restak does a memory exercise. On the day we spoke, he came up with a list of 10 words, which he wrote down before he left the house.
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The goal of the exercise is to remember the 10 words and be able to list them, without looking at the paper, by the end of his walk, he says. During our call, Restak recited, from memory, the words he used in that morning's walk.
Here's his method for memorization.
"Our most prominent way of remembering something is to turn it into an image. The more bizarre the image, and the more we follow the story," Restak says.
Storytelling comes naturally to most people, he adds. "We like to hear stories. We like to tell stories. So we'll remember the story."
Restak came up with a short tale and associated each of the words with a mental visualization. One of the words he chose was "yo-yo," and to remember it, he imagined a yo-yo giving a lecture in Chico, Calif., home of the National Yo-Yo Museum.
Memory exercises like these keep Restak entertained on his morning walks and help him to keep his memory sharp. "Avoid boredom, stay challenged," he says.
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