How to save your memory

The BBC has an article by David Robson about saving your memory:

Memory loss has to be one of our biggest fears. Names, words, facts and faces; nothing is spared. As the latest video from the Head Squeeze team describes (above), mental deterioration was once thought to be an inevitable consequence of aging, thanks to the steady erosion of our brain matter: we lose about a half percent of our brain volume every year. The hippocampus– the region responsible for memory and learning– was thought to weather particularly badly; by the time we are ninety, many of us have lost around a third of its grey matter.
Fortunately, recent research has shown that the brain is not concrete, but certain regions can adapt and grow. In 2000, a study of London, England taxi drivers, for instance, showed that the four-year training of London’s twenty-five thousand streets showed a remarkable growth in the hippocampus compared to bus drivers who only had to learn a fixed number of routes. The scientists think that, by memorizing the maps of London, the brain had built many more of the “synaptic connections” that allow the brain cells to communicate with each other. In other words, it may be possible to train the brain to compensate for some of the neural decline that accompanies our expanding waistlines and receding hairlines.
Challenging your brain could be one way of preserving your recollections, though the value of commercial brain training apps is debatable; some experiments seem to show that while people may become a whiz at the games on their screen, the improvements fail to transfer to daily life. But other, more traditional activities– like learning a musical instrument or a second language– do seem to have some protective benefits, at least on short-term recall. Ideally, it is probably best to keep your brain active throughout your life, well before you begin to approach your dotage.
Exercise and a healthy diet are also thought to offer some protection against dementia. As can an active social life, since regular contact with other people is also thought to excite our neurons and preserve our synapses. Ensuring that you regularly get a good night's sleep helps too.
Of course, nothing can guarantee health and vitality in old age. But these few simple measures might give you the best possible chances of preserving your wits against the ravages of time.

Rico says his father is dealing with this, and Rico undoubtedly will...