Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp

by John Medina

SUMMARY MIND your meals and get moving • Executive function—a suite of cognitive gadgets enabling emotional regulation and cognitive control—tends to fade with age, as the brain’s repair mechanisms break down. • Greater physical activity means greater intellectual vigor (improvements in executive function) regardless of age. • Though it is only 2 percent of your body’s weight, your brain consumes 20 percent of the calories you eat. • Cutting caloric intake has been shown to reduce chemicals associated with age-wrecking inflammation, improve sleep and mood, and boost energy level—all findings associated with longer life. • Diets rich in vegetables, nuts, olive oil, berries, fish, and whole grains (such as the Mediterranean diet or the MIND diet) have been shown to improve working memory and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s.