Six healthy lifestyle habits to support your memory

One thing we Ayurvedic people love is lifestyle medicine. We have three pillars of treatment, diet, lifestyle and herbs. So, imagine how thrilled I was to discover a study published in the BMJ that evaluated lifestyle behaviours to support memory. As some of you may have noticed, memory tends to decline as we age. What’s more, each time we get Covid, it ages our brain by about ten years. All of us, young and old, have good reason to adopt six healthy habits to support memory. In fact, these lifestyle interventions can even reverse memory decline.

Habit number one: Yes, healthy diet is the star memory protector. Make sure you eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Elevate your healthy diet with Ayurvedic spices like turmeric, ginger, coriander and fenugreek. Best of all, see your Ayurvedic practitioner and get a nutrition plan tailored to your body type. As we like to say at Alandi, nutritious is delicious. Your colourful plate feeds your body, brain, mind and senses.

Habit number two: Cognitive activity. Use your brain to save your brain. Read complex novels with many characters to remember. I recently got done with Tolstoy’s War and Peace, a real brain workout. Write letters, journal, blog.  Do research on the internet. Play chess or card games. Just keep your brain active. As a literature lover, I was thrilled to find that reading a good book is even better for your brain than a brisk walk. But exercise does come in at number three.

Habit number three: Yes, exercise. Your brain won’t stay healthy if all you do is walk to and from your car. Walk, bike, hike, dig your garden, dance, do yoga, swim, play sports. Pick the types of exercise you enjoy.  Exercise should be fun. From an Ayurvedic viewpoint, exercise should include fresh air and daylight. It’s also important that your exercise is interesting, because that’s building synapses and supporting mental health as well as providing exercise.

Habit number four: Engage with people. Social contact is crucial for brain health. This is a tricky one, since Covid has limited our social contacts. But talking on the phone or meeting online counts. Here at Alandi, where we maintain a Covid-safe space, we meet outside or mask when we are indoors, but we do try to keep up social contacts. At the moment, it’s going mushroom-hunting with friends.

Habit number five: Here come the Don’ts. Don’t smoke. Smoking is bad for your heart, your lungs and also for your brain.

Habit number six: Don’t drink to excess. Never-drinkers fared the best over the ten years of the study.  Next best is to drink very modestly, a half glass of red wine once or twice a week.

You can still enjoy life, because habits one to four are in themselves enjoyable.

Here’s the link to the study: https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-072691

  Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!