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Age Better by Embracing New Challenges

Did you realize that embracing new challenges can help you age better?

Our comfort zones tend to shrink as we get older — but if we can .  It’s easier to sit in the rocking chair, reading a book, or watching some television than to get up and physically do something new.  However, if we keep expanding our comfort zones, we’ll open ourselves up to greater fulfillment and improved well-being as we age.

A 2013 study found that learning new and demanding life skills, while also maintaining a strong social network, can help us stay mentally sharp as we get older.  This is important to keep us out of the hands of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.  We remain more able to look after ourselves and require much less health care.  We are fitter and stronger.  We have more friends, more motivation, and more happiness when we reach out of our comfort zones.

People often thought that the brain couldn’t keep growing after a certain age, but this has been disproved.  People can continue to learn new things all the time, but it is important to learn the things that will keep your brain stimulated.

Lead researcher Denise Park, a psychologist at the University of Texas, told the American Psychological Association. “The three learning groups were pushed very hard to keep learning more and mastering more tasks and skills. Only the groups that were confronted with continuous and prolonged mental challenge improved.”

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I am sure that, like me, you want to continue to live for a long time.  In order to do that, we need to look after ourselves.  We need to eat well, to stay active, and to challenge our brains on an ongoing basis by doing puzzles, taking up photography, or painting, or even sculpting.  Anything that will cause us to use our minds.

To aging better…

Fran Watson

www.franwatson.ca

 

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