#1 Keep using your brain!
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		Cognitive activity - reading a book, learning a new skill, playing a musical instrument - is a vital part of healthy cognitive aging. Individuals who report more frequent lifelong engagement in intellectual activities tend to exhibit higher levels of cognitive function - better recall, faster perceptual speed, and reduced frequency of dementia. A number of studies have reported that highly educated people who tend to be involved in more cognitively stimulating activities show greater resilience in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. While a lifetime of intellectual stimulation never hurts, animal research suggests that adults of any age can benefit from cognitive activity. Rats exposed to complex and stimulating environments in old age show improved learning ability and an increase in the number of brain cells in areas of the brain relating to memory. Available evidence indicates that similar results might be expected in humans as well.
Further Reading: Bennett, D. A., Wilson, R. S., Schneider, J. A., Evans, D. A., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Arnold, S. E., Barnes, L. L., & Bienias, J. L. (2003). Education modifies the relation of AD pathology to level of cognitive function in older persons. Neurology, 60, 1909-1915. Kempermann, G., Gast, D., & Gage, F. (2002). Neuroplasticity in old age: Sustained fivefold induction of hippocampal neurogenesis by long-term environmental enrichment. Annals of Neurology, 52, 135-143. Kobayashi, S., Ohashi, Y., & Ando, S. (2002). Effects of enriched environments with different durations and starting times on learning capacity during aging in rats assessed by a refined procedure of the Hebb-Williams maze task. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 70, 340-346. Wilson, R. S., Bennett, D. A., Beckett, L. A., Morris, M. C., Gilley, D. W., Bienias, J. L., Scherr, P. A., & Evans, D. A. (1999). Cognitive activity in older persons from a geographically defined population. Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54B, 155-160.