Don't wait for your memory to decline -- you can engage in new activities to prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer's disease right now. Approximately one in eight baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's disease, according to Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator Angela Lunde. Getting involved in daily mental and physical activities that stimulate your brain may help you maintain a sharp and accurate memory in your golden years.
Crossword Puzzles
Doing crossword puzzles once a day may help stimulate your brain and both develop and maintain cognitive associations, according to HelpGuide.org. Do the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper or get a book of crossword puzzles and commit to completing one a day. Find puzzles on a variety of different subjects, like language, science and history, to stimulate memories you may be retaining but haven't thought about in a while.
Plays and Lectures
Attending plays and lectures may help your mind stay active and engaged, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Ideally, the information should excite and stimulate your mind, but try to follow along with the play or lecture even if the subject matter doesn't interest you. Enroll in a class at your local community college in a subject you've always wanted to study but never got the chance to.
Memorization
If you haven't thought about the multiplication tables since grade school, learn them again. HelpGuide.org recommends getting a list of all of the state capitals and memorizing them, one by one. Choose any information, like a list of presidents or a book that you love, and work a little bit each day to memorize it. The next day, review the information you learned, then memorize a little bit more.
Quiz Yourself
A TV news program is an opportunity to quiz yourself. After each segment, write down the person the news report was about, what she was doing, where she was doing it, when the story occurred and why it is important. After the news program, review your notes and recall the new information you just learned. Talk about this information with friends or family members the next day to see if you still remember the details of the news stories you watched.
