1.Break Your Routine
Brush your teeth with your left hand (if you're a righty), jog backward, and pursue anything else that forces you to deviate from your daily patterns. "In so doing, you'll stimulate new parts of your brain, encouraging it to make new connections," says Dr. Amen.
2.Hydrate Your Mind
Your brain is 80 percent water, and if it's not hydrated, your neurons can't perform properly," says Dr. Amen. Drink eight six-ounce glasses of water a day and avoid excessive alcohol and caffeine
3.Clock Seven Hours of Shut-eye
"Science shows that people who sleep for seven hours exhibit significantly more brain activity than those who don't," says Dr. Amen. Lack of sleep inhibits learning, concentration, and memory.
4.Make Your Brain Purr
Achieve a calm, clear, stress-free brain through meditative belly breathing: Inhale slowly, allowing your stomach (not your chest) to rise, and then say the word one as you exhale. Repeat for 10 minutes.
5.Dance, Dance, Dance
"Few activities stimulate as wide a variety of brain systems as dancing does," says Dr. Amen. "Dancing requires everything from coordination and organization to planning and judgment.
6.Limit TV Time
Men who watch TV for more than two hours a day have a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's than those who watch less.
7.Join a Reading Group
"Reading is good for your brain only when it involves storing and retrieving information," says Dr. Amen. That's why reading groups are beneficial. "And the social aspect of book groups adds another dynamic that bolsters cognitive functioning."
8.Fight Pain the Smart Way
Men who take ibuprofen are 44 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's than those who do not, according to a recent study. Also beware of acetaminophen, says Dr. Amen. "It disrupts liver function, decreasing the body's production of the antioxidant glutathione, which is important for brain function."
9.Kill the ANTs
"Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) inflame the areas of the brain responsible for anxiety," says Dr. Amen. They also increase the production of stress hormones, which kill brain cells. Whenever an ANT enters your mind, write it down and devise a plan to correct it.
10.Fire Your Staff
Men who make love at least twice a week are 50 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who have sex less often, say scientists. This matters because growing evidence supports a simple fact: What's good for the heart is good for the brain. "Sex also releases feel-good chemicals that fight stress," says Dr. Amen.
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