Expert offers tips to keep your brain in shape

By Lethbridge Herald on November 28, 2025.

Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Maintaining cognitive health—the ability to think clearly, learn, and remember—is essential throughout life, but it becomes especially important in older adulthood, when the risk of cognitive decline and conditions such as dementia increases.

When you think about your brain health, keep three things in mind: use it or lose it, it’s never too late to make progress, and looking at your health as a whole makes the biggest difference.

“Wellness in seniors is an important thing. It’s both holistic and multidimensional, said Dr. Robbin Gibb, an associate professor in the Neuroscience Department at the University of Lethbridge, speaking at the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs Thursday at LSCO.

During her presentation, Gibb talked about the six different domains that are important for wellness in older adults: social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, occupational, and physical wellness.

“So the social piece, that’s your relationships, your ability to maintain and nurture both your relationships in personal relationships, as well as community relationships, contributing and actively organizing things like that. Social situations improve healthy stress that actually optimize your brain function,” she says.

 Gibb says that healthy relationships are vital because loneliness and stress go hand-in-hand. Lifelong learning, mental stimulation, spirituality (your sense of purpose or place in the world), 

contribution, and physical activity all contribute individually to overall cognitive health.

“Our bodies are enjoying more health, but you don’t have the same quality of life if you don’t keep this working properly. So making sure that you’re taking the steps to keeping your brain in good shape will improve your cognitive function,” she says.

Activities like gardening are excellent because gardening especially is not only a very physical activity, but a mental activity as well. Physical wellness also includes proper nutrition, hydration and proper sleep.

For those who have been remiss in proactively taking care of these items, Gibb has some immediate action items. 

“Taking a one-a-day (vitamin)…that’s one of the things. Moving your body…if you’re not a person that moves regularly  just moving your body a bit, starting five minutes a day will make a difference. Go out for walks and go outside. Those are all easy things. If you have mobility issues, find somebody who can take you outside.”

Gibb says that two underutilized tools for maintaining a healthy brain are the power of a smile and the value of humor. Being able to laugh at the world or oneself pays dividends.

As we age, maintaining a healthy brain isn’t rocket science, it does require prioritization as well as consistency.