A sense of purpose and meaning is fundamental to our health and well-being. Interestingly, it appears that it doesn’t really matter what your life purpose is, as long as you have one. For example, someone’s life purpose might be to help a charitable organization or to be a loving and supportive person for their loved ones. For another, it might be to travel or to build custom furniture. The idea is that the life purpose should reflect personal vision, values, beliefs, and goals.
Many factors affect brain health, and research demonstrates that certain activities appear to slow cognitive decline, including exercise, adequate sleep, social interaction, and cognitive engagement (also called cognitive stimulation). One study found that mentally intact individuals in their 70s and 80s were asked how frequently they participated in six activities that required active cognitive engagement—reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing board or card games, engaging in group discussions, and playing music.