MENTAL HEALTH IS THE BEST WEALTH

“Garbage in, garbage out”

People talk about books that are ‘trash’ or ‘pulp fiction’. By this they mean light, easy reading that does not challenge the mind.

Reading a book like this every now and then does no harm, just as an occasional visit to a burger joint does not affect your health. But a diet of junk food alone is not good for the body, and a diet of undiluted pulp fiction is not good for the mind.

The ‘Good’ Mind

But there is more to mental health and a ‘good’ mind than simply avoiding dementia.

The mind is shaped by all the experiences, ideas and thoughts to which it is exposed. To a certain extent, then, you can choose what you ‘feed’ your mind, just as you can choose what you feed your body.

What you choose to consume for your mind can be described as your ‘mind diet’. Your ‘mind diet’ can make your mind more or less ‘healthy’, and certainly more or less interesting.

Keeping your Mind Active

Diet is therefore important for mental health, but what about keeping your mind busy?

There has been plenty of speculation in the press over many years about useful ways to slow down brain degeneration in ageing and, particularly, how it might be possible to overcome Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

For example, it has been suggested that doing crosswords, and other puzzles or 'brain-training' that keep your brain active, might be helpful. However, neuroscientists are starting to suggest that this may not be the case.

Mens sana in corpore sano (or ‘mens sana in thingummy do-dah’, as Victoria Wood memorably put it) is an old saying meaning that a sound body is likely to lead to a sound mind. In other words, look after your body and your mind will also function well.

There is a certain amount of truth in that.

David Linden, Professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recently suggested in an interview that the most helpful thing that anyone could do for their mind was to take 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day.

He explained that doing puzzles uses only a small part of your brain, and does not do anything for the rest. Aerobic exercise, by contrast, has several effects.

Linden explained that we do not really understand what’s behind the beneficial effects of exercise. However, scientists have observed that exercise causes all the blood vessels in the body, including in your brain, to dilate. This changes the metabolic capacity of the brain. Exercise also makes the brain secrete certain chemicals which help keep neurons healthy and able to change.

All this sounds like a very good thing for the brain and the body.

A good diet is essential for physical health, but does it make much difference to your mind? A growing body of evidence suggests that the answer is yes.

You may be thinking that this is about so-called ‘superfoods’, a term used to describe certain foods with very high quantities of particular nutrients. From the early descriptions, you might almost have thought these foods had magical powers to improve mental and physical health. Most sources now, however, suggest that the term is simply a marketing tool.

The Mental Health Foundation notes that a good diet is important for mental health. It also suggests that diet can play a role in the development, management and prevention of several specific conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer’s disease.

That is not to say that diet can control these conditions, nor that it should be looked upon as a panacea or cure-all, or that other treatments should be stopped in favour of a particular diet.

However, diet may play a role, alongside other treatments, in the management of these conditions.

The Mental Health Foundation also notes that fewer than half of those who report mental health problems consume fresh fruit every day, compared with more than two thirds of those who do not report mental health problems. The issue here may be somewhat ‘chicken and egg’: does a poor diet contribute to the problem, or does the problem cause the lack of interest in eating healthily?

Either way, there is little doubt that feelings of health and well-being are more likely if you consume a balanced diet, with the correct balance of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water for you.

Your 'Mind Diet'

It is worth taking a few moments to consider your ‘mind diet’ every now and then.

Ask yourself:

How good is my mind diet? Is it what I would describe as a ‘balanced diet’, of different types of ideas and subjects? Or do I tend to focus more on one type of input?

In particular, what is the balance between ‘junk’ and ‘healthy’ mind-food?

What effect is this having on me as a person? You might need to ask friends and family to give you an honest assessment if you are concerned about this.

What can and should I do to improve the balance?

If you struggle to construct an ‘ideal’ mind diet, then try thinking about someone whom you admire, and consider what kinds of thoughts, ideas and experiences may have shaped their mind. Think about what that would look like for you.

The Challenge of Maintaining your Mental Health

Of course, just as physical illness can affect anyone, so can mental illness, regardless of lifestyle and, if it does affect you, you should consult a doctor.

Science suggests, however, that there are many things that we can do to keep mind and body as healthy as possible and contribute to improved outcomes in the event of illness.

• Common sense suggests that it is relatively easy to eat a balanced diet, and take exercise, and that the benefits to both mental and physical health would more than outweigh any inconvenience.

Take a daily brain break

When it comes to the brain, the one factor we often neglect is mental stimulation. We are creatures of habit and tend to engage in the same activities and behavior patterns. In fact, the brain "prefers" novelty and unexpected events. When we mentally challenge ourselves on a regular basis, we can maintain good intellectual potential as well as reduce our risk for age-related memory loss. Challenge yourself with our brain games, scientifically developed to give your mind a workout. From Mah Jongg to Sudoku, you won't know which gave is your favorite until you try them all.

Keep family meetings

If you doubt the power of staying connected, consider this: Experts now believe that socializing, like other forms of mental exercise (such as crossword puzzles), may build cognitive reserve—a reservoir of brain function you draw from if and when other areas of your brain begin to decline. "When you interact with other people, it's likely that structures in the frontal lobe that are responsible for 'executive functions'—like planning, decision making, and response control—get fired up," explains Oscar Ybarra, PhD, associate psychology professor at the University of Michigan. Regular socializing also keeps your brain sharp by reducing cortisol, the destructive stress hormone.

Maximize your workouts

Aside from eating a healthy diet, one of the most important ways to preserve your brain health is through regular exercise. "Cardiovascular activity pumps more oxygen-rich blood to the brain, which is like giving a car a shot of gasoline," says Thomas Crook, PhD, an expert on cognitive development and memory disorders. With that blood comes nutrients such as glucose, which fuels every cell in the brain. Daily workouts also have long-term benefits. "Cardio exercise strengthens blood vessels and helps prevent illnesses that impair cognitive function, like stroke," says Crook.

Keep your happy thoughts

Experts know that positive emotions have a beneficial effect on your ability to process information and are linked to better brain health over the long term. In 2007, one study found that people who frequently experience positive emotions were 60% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, while another found that older adults with lower levels of chronic stress scored better on memory tests. If you've had a bad day, simply press "eject" on your mental DVD player and pop in a feel-good memory instead, says Crook. Think about a time in your life when you were utterly happy. Rehearse the scene as though you were reliving it, complete with the dialogue, sights, smells, and feelings. "The memory itself will spark brain changes that can help turn your mood—and your long term health—around," Crook explains. If you're going through a longer rough patch, take heart—new studies show that depression can actually help your mental and emotional health in the long run. 

Don't sweat what you forget

Know what and when to forget. A daily overload of information often makes us think our memory is declining and we have memory loss when in fact it's simply glutted with too much useless data. Most of the information that comes at us every day is, frankly, not worth remembering. A fit brain will efficiently screen out and discard worthless or meaningless data so it can remember what's important. For example, the faster you forget your old PIN or access code, the quicker and more accurately you will recall your new numbers.

Take a nap

• Go ahead, doze off during your lunch break: Napping for as little as 6 minutes can improve your memory, report German researchers. Over the course of 60 minutes, three groups of volunteers stayed awake for the entire hour, got in just 6 minutes of sleep, or took a 30- to 45-minute nap. On a word recall test afterward, all of those who slept outperformed those who didn't —but surprisingly, the 6-minute nappers did just as well on the memory exam as those who snoozed longer.

You can improve memory with some basic good habits

Everyone has the occasional "senior moment." Maybe you've gone into the kitchen and can't remember why, or can't recall a familiar name during a conversation. Memory lapses can occur at any age, but aging alone is generally not a cause of cognitive decline. When significant memory loss occurs among older people, it is generally not due to aging but to organic disorders, brain injury, or neurological illness.

Studies have shown that you can help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia with some basic good health habits:

staying physically active

getting enough sleep

not smoking

having good social connections

limiting alcohol to one drink a day

eating a balanced diet low in saturated and trans fats.

Certain health conditions that can impair cognitive skills include diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, depression, hypothyroidism, and high LDL (bad) cholesterol. If you have any of these health issues, you can help protect your memory by following your doctor's advice carefully.

Memory changes can be frustrating, but the good news is that, thanks to decades of research, you can learn how to get your mind active. There are various strategies we can use to protect and improve memory. Here are several you might try.

Keep learning

A higher level of education is associated with better mental functioning in old age. Experts think that advanced education may help keep memory strong by getting a person into the habit of being mentally active. Challenging your brain with mental exercise is believed to activate processes that help maintain individual brain cells and stimulate communication among them. Many people have jobs that keep them mentally active, but pursuing a hobby, learning a new skill, or volunteering for a project at work that involves a skill you don't usually use can function the same way and help improve memory.

Use all your senses

The more senses you use in learning something, the more of your brain that will be involved in retaining the memory. In one study, adults were shown a series of emotionally neutral images, each presented along with a smell. They were not asked to remember what they saw. Later, they were shown a set of images, this time without odors, and asked to indicate which they'd seen before. They had excellent recall for all odor-paired pictures, and especially for those associated with pleasant smells. Brain imaging indicated that the piriform cortex, the main odor-processing region of the brain, became active when people saw objects originally paired with odors, even though the smells were no longer present and the subjects hadn't tried to remember them. So challenge all your senses as you venture into the unfamiliar.

Believe in yourself

Myths about aging can contribute to a failing memory. Middle-aged and older learners do worse on memory tasks when they're exposed to negative stereotypes about aging and memory, and better when the messages are positive about memory preservation into old age. People who believe that they are not in control of their memory function — joking about "senior moments" too often, perhaps — are less likely to work at maintaining or improving their memory skills and therefore are more likely to experience cognitive decline. If you believe you can improve and you translate that belief into practice, you have a better chance of keeping your mind sharp.

Prioritize your brain use

If you don't need to use mental energy remembering where you laid your keys or the time of your granddaughter's birthday party, you'll be better able to concentrate on learning and remembering new and important things. Take advantage of calendars and planners, maps, shopping lists, file folders, and address books to keep routine information accessible. Designate a place at home for your glasses, purse, keys, and other items you use often.

Repeat what you want to know

When you want to remember something you've just heard, read, or thought about, repeat it out loud or write it down. That way, you reinforce the memory or connection. For example, if you've just been told someone's name, use it when you speak with him or her: "So, John, where did you meet Camille?"

Space it out

Repetition is most potent as a learning tool when it's properly timed. It's best not to repeat something many times in a short period, as if you were cramming for an exam. Instead, re-study the essentials after increasingly longer periods of time — once an hour, then every few hours, then every day. Spacing out periods of study helps improve memory and is particularly valuable when you are trying to master complicated information, such as the details of a new work assignment.

• Every brain changes with age, and mental function changes along with it. Mental decline is common, and it's one of the most feared consequences of aging. But cognitive impairment is not inevitable. Here are 12 ways you can help reduce your risk of age-related memory loss.

1.Get mental stimulation

Through research with mice and humans, doctors suspect that brainy activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological "plasticity" and building up a functional reserve that provides a hedge against future cell loss.

Any mentally stimulating activity should help to build up your brain. Read, take courses, try "mental gymnastics," such as word puzzles or math problems Experiment with things that require manual dexterity as well as mental effort, such as drawing, painting, and other crafts.

2. Get physical exercise

Research shows that using your muscles may also help your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought. Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells ( synapses). This results in brains that are more efficient, plastic, and adaptive, which translates into better performance in aging animals. Exercise also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, fights diabetes, and reduces mental stress, all of which can help your brain as well as your heart.

3. Improve your diet

Good nutrition can help your mind as well as your body. Here are some specifics:

Keep your calories in check. In both animals and humans, a reduced caloric intake has been linked to a lower risk of mental decline in old age.

Eat the right foods. That means reducing your consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol from animal sources and of trans-fatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Remember your Bs. Three B vitamins, folic acid, B6, and B12, can help lower your homocysteine levels, high levels of which have been linked to an increased risk of dementia. Fortified cereal, other grains, and leafy green vegetables are good sources of B vitamins.

4. Improve your blood pressure

High blood pressure in midlife increases the risk of cognitive decline in old age. Use lifestyle modification to keep your pressure as low as possible. Stay lean, exercise regularly, limit your alcohol to two drinks a day, reduce stress, and eat right.

5. Improve your blood sugar

Diabetes is an important risk factor for dementia. You can fight diabetes by eating right, exercising regularly, and staying lean. But if your blood sugar stays high, you'll need medication to achieve good control.

6. Improve your cholesterol

High levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol increase the risk of dementia, as do low levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. Diet, exercise, weight control, and avoiding tobacco will go a long way toward improving your cholesterol levels. But if you need more help, ask your doctor about medication.

7. Consider low-dose aspirin

Observational studies suggest that long-term use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may reduce the risk of dementia by 10%–55%. It's hopeful information, but it's preliminary. Experts are not ready to recommend aspirin specifically for dementia.

8. Avoid tobacco

Avoid tobacco in all its forms.

9. Don't abuse alcohol

Excessive drinking is a major risk factor for dementia. If you choose to drink, limit yourself to two drinks a day. But if you use alcohol responsibly, you may actually reduce your risk of dementia. At least five studies have linked low-dose alcohol with a reduced risk of dementia in older adults.

10. Care for your emotions

People who are anxious, depressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted tend to score poorly on cognitive function tests. Poor scores don't necessarily predict an increased risk of cognitive decline in old age, but good mental health and restful sleep are certainly important goals.

11. Protect your head

You may be surprised to learn that moderate to severe head injuries early in life increase the risk of cognitive impairment in old age. Concussions increase risk by a factor of 10.

12. Build social networks

Strong social ties have been associated with lower blood pressure and longer life expectancies.