How to keep sharp in old age

Our brains deteriorate with age, I think, mine is on its last legs- is there anyway to rev it up?

NYT has an article from which I get the idea that the brain does not lose its capacity to learn, but only that it is too well set in its ruts, and if you want to keep your brain young and sprightly, what you need to do is find some way of getting it to jump its rails, if you see what I mean.

"Teaching new facts should not be the focus of adult education, she says. Instead, continued brain development and a richer form of learning may require that you “bump up against people and ideas” that are different. In a history class, that might mean reading multiple viewpoints, and then prying open brain networks by reflecting on how what was learned has changed your view of the world.

“There’s a place for information,” Dr. Taylor says. “We need to know stuff. But we need to move beyond that and challenge our perception of the world. If you always hang around with those you agree with and read things that agree with what you already know, you’re not going to wrestle with your established brain connections.”"

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