A new book by neuroscientist Dr Jared Horvath called Stop Talking, Start Influencing outlines 12 scientific principles that explain how we learn and remember. In his book, he debunks conventional thinking with scientific evidence about how we prevent cognitive decline as we age. At age 65 most of us retire and play golf or bowls and do crosswords or Sudoku. The idea of doing crosswords or Sudoku to keep our brains mentally fit has benefit yet mostly only while we are first learning to do it. Once we become familiar and good at doing these brain games, they become predictable to our brains and the benefit is minimal. If we keep learning new things that are unpredictable, like playing an instrument, learning a new sport, playing chess, then backgammon, then learning a language, then try pottery, then woodwork and so on, our brains will come back to normal density from the fun mental challenge. Learning and unpredictability is the secret to keeping the brain fresh and young. Other helpful factors include, exercise, gardening, dancing, eating a Mediterranean diet and connecting with nature.

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