Everyday Brain: 7 Ways to Keep Your Brain Active
For Me, It All Started After a Stroke.
In 2022, I had a stroke.
My language changed.
My reading changed.
My writing changed.
My balance changed.
I’m not the same person I was before my stroke.
But I’m still me.
During the last four years, I discovered something unexpected.
Recovery isn’t only about therapy.
It’s about a way to keep your brain active.
For me, that happens in ordinary ways.
- Eating real food
- Talking with people
- Learning new things
- Exercising and walking
- Sleeping well
- Getting outside
- Taking care of my hearing
Researchers are learning that brain health isn’t about one miracle supplement or one brain game that you play over and over.
It is about how we live.
As I rebuilt my life after stroke, I slowly discovered these same ideas without realizing it.
Working with my brain instead of fighting against it has made me happier, calmer, and more confident.
Here is what happened:
Eating Real Food
Life is easier, healthier, and cheaper.
I gave up most ultra-processed foods and complicated recipes.
Now my meals are simple. I cook with vegetables, fruit, beans, chicken, chicken sausage, sardines, eggs, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, and whatever is already in the house.
I spend less time worrying about recipes and more time enjoying the food.
Cooking has become easier—and much more fun.
I discovered that eating healthy wasn’t hard. It actually made cooking simpler.
Talking to People
I’m an extrovert. That hasn’t changed.
Today I spend time talking with other people who have aphasia. Most of us meet on Zoom because I haven’t found a local group in Connecticut yet.
None of us speaks perfectly.
Sometimes it takes longer to find the words. Sometimes we help each other. Sometimes we simply wait while someone finishes a sentence.
But we laugh.
We tell stories.
We understand each other.
Those conversations keep my brain active.
Learning New Things
I didn’t stop learning because of aphasia.
In fact, I may be learning more now than I did before my stroke.
I’ve learned how to use AI, cook without relying on recipes, navigate social media, write in a new way, and even play the ukulele.
Some days I feel like a complete beginner.
Then I learn a little more.
I’ve become a beginner again and again.
And I’ve discovered that’s not something to fear.
It’s one of the best ways to keep my brain active.rea
Exercise and Walking
After my stroke in 2022, I had to learn how to walk again.
At first, I held onto Keith almost everywhere we went.
Then I discovered hiking poles.
Suddenly I wasn’t depending on Keith every time we walked. I was becoming independent again.
Today I usually walk about 6,500 steps three times a week. I’m also working with a physical therapist to improve my strength and balance.
I’m still learning.
Every walk gives me a little more confidence.
Sleep
During the last year, I rediscovered the importance of sleep.
For years, I was lucky to get six hours of sleep. In the evening I watched mysteries or listened to podcasts about politics and world events. I thought they helped me relax.
They didn’t.
They kept my brain awake.
Now I do something different.
I still watch television in the evening. But around 9:30, I deliberately switch to something easy on my brain. I spend the last hour before bed watching a familiar comedy like I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, or Friends.
That quiet hour tells my brain it’s time to slow down.
Around 10:15, I listen to a short sleep meditation. If I wake up during the night, I use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to help me fall back to sleep.
It took time to find a routine that works for me.
I’m amazed at how much difference one quiet hour can make.
Getting Outside
Today in Connecticut it is 90 degrees, and smoke from Canadian wildfires fills the sky.
Today isn’t the day to spend time outdoors.
But on most days, Keith and I make a point of getting outside.
We watch hummingbirds, orioles, catbirds, woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, finches, and tufted titmice. Sometimes a hawk sits on the grape arbor, patiently watching for its next meal.
We walk in the woods or simply along our road, enjoying the sunshine, the trees, and the changing seasons.
Getting outside isn’t just exercise.
It reminds me to slow down, notice the world around me, and appreciate where I live.
Hearing
My hearing is still good.
But I watched my mother slowly lose her hearing.
She refused to get hearing aides.
She said it was expensive and inconvenient.
Year by year she became quieter.
Alone. And more isolated.
Watching that changed me.
If my hearing changes, I’ll have it tested. If I need hearing aids, I’ll use them.
I learned from watching someone I love.
I didn’t set out to build a brain-healthy life.
I was simply trying to rebuild my own life after stroke.
Looking back, I realize these ordinary habits became part of my recovery.
They make me happier.
They make me more confident.H
They keep me curious.
And they remind me that even though my brain changed, it is still learning every single day.
Maybe that’s what an Everyday Brain really is.