Page 209 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

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local elementary school, nursing home, or hospital. Helping
others will help you. Your self-esteem will increase. You will
have something good to look forward to. Your appetite and
energy level will increase. Those brain connections will fire
right and left. Reaching out to others and feeling needed is a
vital part of our lives. We all want to know we have made a
difference by being here on this planet. You are never too
young or too old to care for others and make that difference.

Those who love deeply never grow old;
they may die of old age,
but they die young.

— Benjamin Franklin

Spiritual
A spiritual belief is linked to a higher satisfaction with life.
Knowing that there is a higher plan for your life, whatever
your official religion, helps you deal with stressful situations.
Spirituality has been linked to successful aging. Adults who
are active in religion tend to exhibit better physical and men-
tal health than those adults who do not participate in religion
as much. Religion often can provide a sense of community
with other like believers who may offer the support of a fam-
ily environment. Social gatherings are often a part of this
sense of community and provide opportunities for you to in-
teract and stay mentally active in a safe, caring environment.
We believe that a sense of humor is a part of your inner
spirit. Perhaps you have noticed humorous jokes and uplift-
ing and jocular quotes throughout this book. Humor and a
positive attitude are strongly associated with our feelings of
being in control of our lives—whether or not we actually
are. A good laugh also helps to keep us young in spirit and
has been shown to be associated with aging well. Buy or
check out joke books. Go out on the Internet and find joke
sites. In addition, in case you’re interested, you can actually
search for “clean” or any other types of jokes in the library