TIME Health Mental Health/Psychology 17 Ways to Age-Proof Your Brain Getty Images Sharpen your memory with these surprising anti-aging tricks

Whats good for your body is good for your brain. That means eating a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies and not much sugar, saturated fat, or alcohol, as well as getting enough exercise and sleeping about eight hours a night. But evidence is accumulating that a whole host of other activities can help keep our brains young even as we advance in chronological age. There is no one magic activity that you need to take on, but trying a handful of the following will help.

Take dance lessons

Seniors who danced three to four times a weekespecially those who ballroom dancedhad a 75% lower risk of dementia compared with people who did not dance at all, found a 2003 landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Why? Dancing is a complex activity, says study lead author Joe Verghese, MD, chief of geriatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. Its aerobic so it improves blood flow to the brain which has been shown to improve brain connections. It also provides mental challenges. While it can be hard to prove cause and effect (people with dementia may cut back on activities), the study enrolled people without dementia and followed them over time.

Play an instrument

Whether its the saxophone, the piano, or a ukulele, researchers found that playing an instrument for 10 or more years was correlated with better memory in advanced age compared to those who played music for less than 10 years (or not at all). Other research shows that even listening to music can help boost your brainpower. A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that listening to baroque music (Vivaldi, Bach) leads to changes in the brain that help with attention and storing events into memory.

Learn a foreign language

Being bilingual may help delay the onset of dementia. Individuals who spoke two languages developed dementia an average of four and a half years later than people who only spoke one language in a 2013 study published in the journal Neurology. Other research shows that people who speak more than one language are better at multitasking and paying attention. Experts say the earlier you learn, the bettergrowing up speaking two languages is optimalbut that its never too late and every little bit of language learning helps.

Play chess

Playing chess, bingo, checkers, and card games may help keep your brain fit. A 2013 French study found a 15% lower risk of dementia among people who played board games versus those who did not. And the effects seemed to last over the studys 20-year follow-up. The idea is that this helps build cognitive reserve, says Dr. Verghese, whose study also found benefits to playing board games like Monopoly. The more these activities buffer against the disease, you may be able to mask the effects of the disease for longer periods of time. It buys you extra time.

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17 Ways to Age-Proof Your Brain