Introduction: The human brain, like any good machine, needs to be maintained to make sure it runs well. If only there was a maintenance manual to tell us how to adjust its circuitry. Unfortunately, the available advice is often contradictory and confusing, but now BBC Future has filtered out a few useful maintenance methods. 1. Don’t lose faith in your ability Have you ever walked into a room and turned your eyes away and forgotten what you came in for? As people get older, it’s easy to suspect that their memory is slowly fading. But the truth is that young and old alike experience this. We shouldn’t be quick to draw the worst conclusions; after all, doubt can be self-fulfilling prophecy. Over the past decade, Dayna Touron of the University of North Carolina has found that as we get older, it’s easy to lose confidence in our brain’s abilities, even though in general our brains are usually functioning normally. But our reliance on the GPS in our cars or the sticky notes on our phones can accelerate our memory loss. So if you find that you come to a place but do not know what you want to do, just take it as a reminder that you should work harder on your memory. 2, please protect their ears If the brain is isolated from its senses, then it will suffer a lot of torture. Perhaps it puts extra pressure on your attention, blocking our access to useful stimuli, and hearing loss seems to trigger gray matter loss in the brain; one study suggests that hearing loss may increase people’s risk of cognitive impairment by 24 percent within six years. No matter how old you are, it’s important to protect your ears. Listening to just 15 seconds of loud rock music a day is enough to cause damage to your hearing; using a hair dryer for 15 minutes a day is enough to damage the tiny cells that hear sound. If you think you already have a hearing impairment, try to seek medical help to nip the problem in the bud to avoid greater damage. 3, learn a language or a musical instrument than fiddling with a brain training app or playing crossword puzzles, you should probably consider a more ambitious brain exercise program. For example, learn to play the piano or learn a new language. These can exercise your brain on all fronts, helping you become more mentally agile and potentially helping older people. One study last year found that musicians were 60 percent less likely to develop dementia than people who didn’t play an instrument; another showed that learning a language delayed the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years. At the very least, pushing you in this way can give you a better sense of your current abilities. If you find that your job requires you to learn new skills, then thank goodness: a more exciting career is one that will help you preserve your brainpower, although this benefit may not be delayed until you retire. 4, do not eat junk food Obesity can harm your brain in many ways. Cholesterol clots in the arteries can restrict blood flow to the brain, leaving it short of the blood and oxygen it needs to work. More importantly, neurons are very sensitive to the gastrointestinal hormone insulin. Frequent consumption of sweets and high-calorie foods can disrupt this insulin signal, triggering a series of responses that can cause fatal damage to the brain. The good news is that specific nutrients (such as omega3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B12) appear to block age-related brain damage. This may explain why older people who eat a typical Mediterranean diet have the same cognitive abilities as people 7.5 years younger than they are. 5. Exercise We often distinguish between physical strength and mental strength. In fact, physical exercise is one of the most reliable ways to exercise the brain. Exercise not only allows blood to circulate better in the brain, it also triggers a surge in protein levels such as “nerve growth factor,” which helps nerves in the brain grow and maintain connections between them. The benefits seem to apply to everyone: children who walk to school get better grades, and walking allows retirees to focus and exercise their memory. What’s more, all exercises are useful, from gentle cardio to weight training and fitness; just choose what works for you. 6, party like you’re 21 years old If the above suggestions all sound difficult to implement, then one of the best ways to protect your brain is to socialize. Simply put, humans are social animals, and our friends and relatives stimulate us to have new experiences and help us release stress and misfortune. Shockingly, a study of people in their 70s found that most people who were actively socialized experienced a seventy percent reduction in cognitive decline over 12 years compared to those who were less social. Interacting with other people helps people exercise their memory, attention span and brain power. Finally, scientists suspect that there is no silver bullet for brain training. Those who age well usually have a varied diet, vigorous activity and a group of close friends. Have a healthy and happy life, and you’ll have a quick mind.