It’s back-to-school season again. And even if you’re not heading to classes this fall, there are still lots of ways you can develop healthy habits that improve your thinking skills.

By finding simple brain training exercises to keep your mind sharp over the years, you’ll not only improve overall brain health, but also prevent cognitive impairment over time. To give you some ideas, here are 10 things that have been proven to improve brain function and cognitive skills.

1. Get plenty of sleep—Perhaps not the first tip you were expecting, but getting enough rest does an awful lot to keep your mind fresh and invigorated. Plus getting seven to nine hours of sleep consistency has been linked to improved brain function and a significant increase of memory functions. On the flipside, frequent sleep deprivation is also linked to cognitive decline in old age. The relationship may not be causal, but it’s definitely something to think about.

2. Journal by hand—Here’s an interesting fact: did you know that handwriting, the kind that involves a pen and paper and no technology whatsoever, has actually been shown to sharpen your mind? Studies have also found that when you take notes by hand, you are exponentially more likely to remember them afterwards. So if you want to give your mind a workout and remember something, write it down the traditional way.

3. Drink lots of water—Yes, yes, I know how tired you are of hearing this one, but staying hydrated really does improve every aspect of your health, including your long-term mental health. Water cleanses your body and your brain tissues, and it also helps boost your energy, increase alertness, and curb hunger too. A study published in 2006 actually discovered that people who stayed well hydrated and also consumed a healthy diet of fruit and vegetable juices had a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Always continue learning—It stands to reason that the best way to keep your brain in tip top shape is to use it, especially for older adults. You don’t have to be in school to keep learning, so look around for opportunities to try new things. Attend a local seminar. Learn some new software at your local library. Take a meditation class at a community college. Reading new books and interesting articles online is my personal favorite way to keep learning, so do whatever you find most interesting.

5. Break your routine—This might be a hard one if you’re a just-so creature of habit like me. But learning a new skill or just altering your day-to-day routine is actually a great way to stimulate different parts of your brain and prevent both your life and your internal chemistry from going stagnant. I fully give you permission to break out of your shell and do something a little crazy that maybe you’ve never tried before.

6. Use all your senses—All five of your senses are linked to separate parts of your brain, so using all of them regularly is a great way to both stimulate your cognitive abilities and invigorate yourself. Looking at beautiful art, browsing a fancy candle store, trying exotic new foods, and attending a live concert are all great options. Plus unique sensory experiences also boost your memory. Did you know you’re much more likely to remember pictures and experiences when they’re paired with specific scents? Food for thought . . . or your nose I guess?

7. Get some regular exercise—Physical exercise is another great refresher for the brain and has actually been proven to reduce the risk of dementia. So get moving. Living a generally active lifestyle and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every other day will do wonders for both your physical health and your mental health. Aerobic exercise is also a great break from technology and a good old-fashioned way of increasing blood flow and lowering your stress levels naturally.

8. Stimulate your brain—If you’ve heard any advice about keeping your mind sharp, it’s probably this one. A brain game is a fantastic way to challenge your brain cells and reduce your risk of age-related memory loss. So give some a try. Sudoku is my personal favorite, but crossword puzzles, Mah Jongg, and brainer teasers like these are great too. Remember the key is to introduce novelty to your brain, plus the feeling of accomplishment when you defeat a particularly tricky puzzle is well worth the effort all on its own.

9. Believe in your healthy brain—There are a lot of myths about memory loss wandering around out there, and it’s actually in your best interest not to believe what you hear. Studies have actually shown that people who feel stress about losing their memory or put too much stock into mental decline stereotypes are much more likely to experience mental decline and memory-loss difficulties. So give your brain power the benefit of the doubt.

10. Don’t be too hard on yourself—Along with believing in your brain, be kind to yourself and take it easy on your memory skills. Everyone has little slip ups and moments of forgetfulness, so don’t beat yourself up for being human. Feel free to invest in a good planner to help you remember things, and keep in mind that forgetfulness is sometimes a sign that you’re packing too much into your brain. So give yourself the freedom to forget the little things that really don’t matter all that much in the long run.

Want to read more healthy living tips? Try this one on seven ways to beat your stress or this one about all the virtues of drinking more water. Some of them might surprise you.

As you’re preparing your application for Social Security Disability, one of the best things you can do to help your case is to list your disability attorney. Every application has a section for relevant contacts that the SSA can ask about your case, and who better to have them call than the person who knows the most about getting you approved?

Keeping an open line of communication between the SSA and your disability attorney is arguably the number one thing that will get your application through on the very first try for all kinds of reasons:

1. Your disability attorney is intimately acquainted with your case. Because of this he or she will be able to answer the SSA’s questions in a way that will accurately and effectively represent you.

2. Your attorney knows the SSA lingo. While your close friends or your family doctor might know an awful lot about your condition, your attorney is the one who will know how to translate your case into terms that will make sense to the SSA—and increase your chances of approval.

3. They’ll know how to handle any obstacles that arise. If your attorney is in regular contact with the SSA, he or she will be right there to resolve objections and stop approval-killing obstacles before they become a reason for your application to be denied.

4. Your attorney knows what NOT to say. There are things that will improve your case and also things that will not improve your case. Since your disability attorney is familiar with the ins and outs of approval, they need to be right on the front lines to help you steer your application to success. Why else would you have hired them?

For even more fantastic benefits of working with a disability lawyer, check out this great blog post.

If you have made it to the hearing stage of the disability appeals process, you should highly consider submitting letters written by friends, family, caretakers or former employers to the judge who will be hearing your case. This and any additional evidence you have will help improve your chances for a favorable decision for SSDI benefits.

The appeal letter should include information about your disability and how it limits your day-to-day activities. Therefore, you should be very selective about who you ask to write a letter in support of your case for Social Security Disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

The person you ask to write a letter should have very intimate knowledge of your condition, and a high understanding of how your disability affects your ability to take care of yourself and work a full-time job. Therefore, it is advisable to ask a caretaker or former employer/co-worker to write the letter. Be sure to give them plenty of time before the hearing date.

A caretaker (or family member, if that is who primarily helps you out) should include information about your limitations when it comes to taking care of yourself, such as clothing, bathing, cooking, shopping, housework, paying bills and any other activities you have trouble doing independently. They should also detail how they help you perform each activity, and any provide any new evidence they may have as it relates to your care.

A former employer or co-worker should discuss how your condition limited your ability to do your job. For example, if you were frequently absent, required additional time to complete tasks or had trouble doing certain assignments, they should definitely mention that in their letter, as it can give the administrative law judge or hearing officer a better understanding of why you are unable to work.

Because the administrative law judge has such a high caseload and a limited amount of time, your letter should focus more on quality than quantity. Request the people writing them to try and keep it to one page or less to avoid an unfavorable decision. They should also consider getting the letter notarized to show it is authentic. Your local Social Security office may be able to recommend a notary if you need help finding one.

You disability lawyer will probably want to review these letters before you submit them to ensure everything is accurate – this is completely normal. They want just want to make sure you are not submitting incorrect information that could have the potential to result in a denial letter.

Don’t have a attorney to help with your disability claim? Click here for a free, no-obligation consultation.