Maximizing brain health may be more important than you think. Practicing brain-strengthening habits keeps your mind sharp and helps prevent or delay cognition problems such as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Not only is this important in individual's personal lives, but their professional lives as well.

• Better brain health means making healthy lifestyle choices both on and off the job
• Eating well, staying active, sleeping well and exercising your mind can all boost brain health 
• A healthy brain means increased job satisfaction and workplace productivity

Every brain changes with age, and mental function changes along with it. Mental decline is common, and it's one of the most feared consequences of aging. But cognitive impairment is not inevitable. Here are 12 ways you can help maintain brain function.

1. Get mental stimulation

Through research with mice and humans, scientists have found that brainy activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological "plasticity" and building up a functional reserve that provides a hedge against future cell loss.

Any mentally stimulating activity should help to build up your brain. Read, take courses, try "mental gymnastics," such as word puzzles or math problems Experiment with things that require manual dexterity as well as mental effort, such as drawing, painting, and other crafts.

2. Get physical exercise

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Research shows that using your muscles also helps your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought.

Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells (synapses). This results in brains that are more efficient, plastic, and adaptive, which translates into better performance in aging animals.

Exercise also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, helps blood sugar balance and reduces mental stress, all of which can help your brain as well as your heart.

3. Improve your diet

Good nutrition can help your mind as well as your body.

For example, people that eat a Mediterranean style diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, unsaturated oils (olive oil) and plant sources of proteins are less likely to develop cognitive impairment and dementia.

4. Improve your blood pressure

High blood pressure in midlife increases the risk of cognitive decline in old age.

Use lifestyle modification to keep your pressure as low as possible. Stay lean, exercise regularly, limit your alcohol to two drinks a day, reduce stress, and eat right.

5. Improve your blood sugar

Diabetes is an important risk factor for dementia.

You can help prevent diabetes by eating right, exercising regularly, and staying lean. But if your blood sugar stays high, you'll need medication to achieve good control.

6. Improve your cholesterol

High levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol are associated with an increased the risk of dementia. Diet, exercise, weight control, and avoiding tobacco will go a long way toward improving your cholesterol levels. But if you need more help, ask your doctor about medication.

7. Consider low-dose aspirin

Some observational studies suggest that low-dose aspirin may reduce the risk of dementia, especially vascular dementia. Ask your doctor if you are a candidate.

8. Avoid tobacco

Avoid tobacco in all its forms.

9. Don't abuse alcohol

Excessive drinking is a major risk factor for dementia. If you choose to drink, limit yourself to two drinks a day.

10. Care for your emotions

People who are anxious, depressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted tend to score poorly on cognitive function tests.

Poor scores don't necessarily predict an increased risk of cognitive decline in old age, but good mental health and restful sleep are certainly important goals.

11. Protect your head

Moderate to severe head injuries, even without diagnosed concussions, increase the risk of cognitive impairment.

12. Build social networks

Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.

Can lifestyle practices boost brain health?

Definitely.

Exercise has a very positive impact on brain health. Conversely, older adults who do not engage in aerobic activity experience a reduction in the size of the hippocampus (the memory center of the brain) at a rate of 1% atrophy per year.

Other studies are recapitulating the importance of exercise in minimizing, preventing or delaying the onset of memory loss and dementia.

In addition, diet can play a role in brain health.

Is sleep important?

           A critical component of brain health is the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain. If you're not getting enough oxygen while you're sleeping, perhaps because of a health condition , your brain function can be adversely affected.

Studies show that higher quantity and quality of sleep lead to less amyloid (groups of proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease) buildup in the brain  and therefore a decreased risk of cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Are there any other lifestyle factors that affect brain health?

Cognitive stimulation has also been shown to be an effective habit for preventing cognitive degeneration.

Low education is a risk factor for dementia and degenerative disease, so stimulating the brain can be helpful in minimizing the risks of cognitive impairment and degenerative diseases.

Can healthy brain practices affect mood, memory or focus?

All of the above! By engaging in preventative practices like exercise and healthy eating, memory can improve.

Also, we know that when eating healthy and exercising, endorphins are released which can stimulate cognitive functioning and mood improvements.

In addition to the endorphin rush that comes with health habits like exercise, there may be other chemicals involved -- and they are being studied. For example, BDNF (brain-derived nerve growth factor) -- which can help memory, focus and attention -- may increase as a result of physical activity.

How long does it take?

It depends. If you have a lot of vascular risk factors (for example, not exercising or eating healthy), you may need to compensate for quite some time to get to a healthy level before you start receiving benefits.

We know some of the proteins that increase the risk for Alzheimer's can start to deposit in the brain 15-20 years before the onset of symptoms. So, now is the time for prevention.

If you want immediate results, exercise is one habit that tends to produce quick changes in mood and cognition; but in terms of neurodegenerative prevention, we may not see results for a while.

Are there some aspects of brain health that are "fixed" and cannot be changed?

I used to tell patients, "Genetics are genetics and we can't change that." However, some studies now show that exercise can negate risk even if you have a genetic predisposition.

I often don't order the test for genetic predisposition because it's just a risk factor that we can't change, and people misinterpret it as causal. In other words, genetic predisposition doesn't mean that you will get Alzheimer's disease, and negative genetic testing doesn't mean that you won't.

Are some groups of people more at risk for Alzheimer's disease?

Depending on the literature you read, one copy of the gene can increase risk by 2-4 times the risk of the general population, and two copies of the gene may increase risk up to 10 times that of the general population. But that is risk, not cause.

There are also some topics that we haven't studied enough. For example, women have a higher risk of Alzheimer's than do men. Could this just be because women live longer than men? Research, however, is suggesting a more complicated theory: women may have more physiological risks than men.

We also have not adequately studied Alzheimer's disease within specific ethnic groups and races. We need more volunteers to participate in studies.

Where does that leave us?

I think we all need to take care of our brains -- now, regardless of our age or what we were born with or what health problems we may have developed. It is never too late to start changing our lifestyle practices so that we can develop a healthy brain.

We don't have a magic pill or cure for Alzheimer's disease. However, emerging research points to ways we can minimize risk and slow progression. Don't view this disease as being only about older people; rather, take preventative action now, no matter your age.

Avoid tobacco in all its forms.