Dementia (for reference only)

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Most of us start worrying about dementia after retirement - and that may be toolittle, too late. Experts say that if you really want to ward off dementia, youneed to start taking care of your brain in your 30s and 40s - or even earlier.

"More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important toyour brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuro-psychologist and anadjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine."If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need to startas early as we can."

So what can you do to beef up your brain - and possibly ward off dementia?Nussbaum, who recently gave a speech on the topic for the Winter Park (Fla.)Health Foundation, offers 20 tips that may help.

1. Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers. If you start volunteeringnow, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you retire.

2. Develop a hobby or two. Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because you'retrying something new and complex.

3. Practise writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes everyday. Thiswill exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those neurons.

4. Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regularphysical activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence ofdementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The people who danced three or fourtimes a week showed 76 percent less incidence of dementia than those who dancedonly once a week or not at all.

5. Need a hobby? Start gardening. Researchers in New Zealand found that, of 1,000people, those who gardened regularly were less likely to suffer from dementia!Not only does gardening reduce stress, but gardeners use their brains to plangardens; they use visual and spatial reasoning to lay out a garden.

6. Walking daily can reduce the risk of dementia because cardiovascular health isimportant to maintain blood flow to the brain. Or... buy a pedometer and walk10,000 steps a day.

7. Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas thatprocess and store information. Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates manyareas of the brain as well.

8. Start knitting. Using both hands works both sides of your brain. And it's astress reducer.

9. Learn a new language. Whether it's a foreign language or sign language, you areworking your brain by making it go back and forth between one language and theother. A researcher in England found that being bilingual seemed to delaysymptoms of Alzheimer's disease for four years. And some research suggests thatthe earlier a child learns sign language, the higher his IQ - and people withhigh IQs are less likely to have dementia. So start them early.

10. Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly. Not only are you taxing yourbrain, you're socializing too. Playing solo games, such as solitaire or onlinecomputer brain games can be helpful, but Nussbaum prefers games that encourageyou to socialize too.

11. Take classes throughout your lifetime. Learning produces structural andchemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people livelonger. Brain researchers have found that people with advanced degrees livelonger - and if they do have Alzheimer's, it often becomes apparent only in thevery later stages of the disease.

12. Listen to classical music. A growing volume of research suggests that music mayhard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres. Any kind ofmusic may work, but there's some research that shows positive effects forclassical music, though researchers don't understand why.

13. Learn a musical instrument. It may be harder than it was when you were a kid,but you'll be developing a dormant part of your brain.

14. Travel. When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on adifferent route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a new andcomplex environment. A study of London taxi drivers found experienced drivershad larger brains because they have to store lots of information aboutlocations and how to navigate there.

15. Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system. And people who attend aformal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier lives.

16. Learn to meditate. It's important for your brain that you learn to shut out thestresses of everyday life.

17. Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep anddementia.

18. Eat more foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids: Salmon, sardines, tuna, oceantrout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts (which are higher in omega 3s thansalmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and walnut oil are goodsources too.

19. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables mop upsome of the damage caused by free radicals, one of the leading killers of braincells.

20. Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends. You'll slow down,socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food than if you ate aloneor on the go.

DOING ALL 20 THINGS LISTED ABOVE AND YOU WILL NOT FIND ENOUGH TIME IN YOUR LIFETO FIT IN DEMENTIA AS WELL: IN OTHER WORDS, "CONTINUE TO DO ALL THE THINGSTHAT YOU ALREADY DO AND YOU WILL HAVE COVERED MOST OF THE THINGS LISTED!"