Want to Stay Younger? Dance!

I recently revealed a highlight from attending the TIGER 21 annual conference in Arizona, hearing words of wisdom from President Clinton and President Bush. Exciting as that was, it wasn’t the only notable highlight of the conference. Another magic moment came in a session from scientist Marc Milstein, PhD, entitled “Age-Proof Your Brain.”

As an estate planning attorney, my mission is to help clients not only enrich their estates, but also live enriching lives and pass down a meaningful legacy. I learned a lot from Dr. Milstein about how to have a brain that is younger than your age. Here are some tips to have a younger brain and hence a more fruitful life.

1. Optimize your sleep. Sleep in a pitch-dark room and awaken to morning light, spending at least 10 minutes outside in natural light each morning to reset your brain clock. Avoid sleep aids, because those disrupt your natural brain clock. Your brain releases natural melatonin in the dark, then you wake up when your brain detects natural light in the morning.
2. Tackle a new challenge as you age. By forcing your brain to learn new things, it exercises your brain and helps cleanse out brain trash. Develop a new hobby outside of your field of expertise. Take up painting (like President Bush), or learn a musical instrument, a foreign language, or a new sport (maybe join the pickle ball craze!).
3. Keep socially engaged. Resist the temptation to become isolated (a particularly bad side-effect of COVID) and get out. Being in contact with others actually “power washes” your brain. Social engagement fights the impact of our brains shrinking 5% every 10 years, beginning at age 40.
4. Take care of your body and mind. Treat inflammation diseases, brush your teeth (to combat gingivitis/plaque), eat right (avoid processed foods; go for the dark green stuff and a Mediterranean diet), don’t smoke, manage stress (though a moment of stress can actually be good for the brain, just not too much), breathe (mindfulness exercises to keep us in the moment help reduce harmful cortisol levels).
5. Get daily exercise. Take the stairs. As I recently promoted in my post on the benefits of taking a walk, take a walk. Per Dr. Milstein, walk for 30-40 minutes a day, and ideally during that time, increase your heart rate for 6-8 minutes. An especially good time to take a walk is after you eat, so any sugar you consume will be a lot less toxic.

Now here’s the bonus tip: the best exercise of all is… DANCING! Why, you may ask? Because it combines the best of active movement, socialization, and forcing your brain to learn something new. Lee Ann Womack sang “I Hope You Dance,” one of my favorite tunes, so let’s follow this advice from both her and Dr. Milstein.

One more thing: following these tips can also help us ward off dementia. Per Dr. Milstein, 95-99% of Alzheimer’s isn’t genetic; it’s more affected by our lifestyle. I recently read about Vernon Smith, a very busy 97-year-old economist in Dominique Mosbergen’s article “How to Stay Mentally Sharp into Your 80s and Beyond” (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 15, 2024). Smith works eight hours a day, seven days a week, just finished writing a book on Adam Smith, and regularly goes to concerts with his daughter. He’s a poster child for Marc Milstein’s thesis. Per Smith: “Our brain is like a muscle. Use it or lose it. I want to go to at least 106.”

Way to go Vernon Smith! And while you’re at it, I suggest you also “dance like no one is watching.”