Do Something New!
How Novelty Keeps You Younger

You've heard variety is the spice of life, and perhaps you even believe it, but when's the last time you ventured outside of your safety zone and tried something completely new?

If it's been a week, months or (gasp!) years since you've ventured into uncharted territory, it's high-time you did, and here's why.

Doing New Things is Good for Your Mind

When you settle into a daily routine (which most of us do) your mind will also settle into a comfortable pattern, neither challenging itself nor regularly working the areas you need to stay sharp.

Just as we need to exercise our bodies, we need to exercise our brains, and a key way to do this is by trying new things on a regular basis, which means daily or every other day. This gives your brain new ideas to process, new challenges to overcome and keeps all those important brain regions well-stimulated.

To this end, Dr. Gary Small, Director of the UCLA Center on Aging, suggests challenging yourself with something new as a way to combat memory loss associated with aging and even prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

"If you're a writer, try knitting," he says.

"Even reading a new type of book, something outside your normal sphere, is enough to add beneficial stimulation," says Elizabeth Edgerly, Chief Program Officer for the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California.

Trying New Things is Stress Relieving

If you've ever felt bored, dull or tired of the daily monotony, it may be because you need to change things up a bit. Trying new things can be incredibly fulfilling from an emotional standpoint, and is something that will allow you to discover new joys, hobbies, friendships and experiences.

As we age it's easy to take on the attitude that all of the exciting things in our lives have already happened, but if you commit to doing new things as often as possible, you'll have excitement each and every day.

New Things You Can Try Out Today

• Cook a new recipe you've wanted to try.
• Go to a new restaurant and order something you've never had.
• Rearrange your furniture. Even something as slight as changing where you keep your trash can is enough to alter motor pathways in your brain.
• Try The Sedona Method. This simple program will show you how to tap into your intrinsic ability to release negative thoughts and emotions, and accept joy and happiness into your everyday life. It will also help you release any anxiety and fear you may have related to trying things you've never tried before.
• Travel to a new destination. It could be down the street, across the country or around the world -- just as long at you've never been there before.
• Take up a new hobby: crossword puzzles, sculpting, baking, fishing anything different from what you normally do.
• Take a different route to work.
• Try a new hairstyle or style of clothing.
• Read a book in a genre you don t normally read, and read it out loud with your spouse. Reading out loud, along with listening, cause your right and left brain hemispheres to interact and activate pathways in your brain that are seldom used.

Sources:
AARPMagazine.org
CantonRep.com