Keep Your Brain Young
3 Tips for Good Brain Health From Harvard Medical School
As we age, our bodies change, including our mental functions. Cognitive decline is one of the biggest fears of aging, but it’s not inevitable. Though we’re still learning new things about how our brains work, there’s a lot of scientific research that shows how to keep your brain young. If you want to keep your mind sharp throughout your lifetime, then follow this advice from Harvard Medical School. 1. GET A GOOD WORKOUT. Exercising regularly helps all the muscles and organs in your body, even your brain! A good workout can lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels, which help your brain and your heart. Harvard Health Publishing, a website of Harvard Medical School, also notes that “animals who exercise regularly increase the number
of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen- rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought.” 2. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. Poor mental health can lead to impaired cognitive function. Chronic anxiety, depression, and exhaustion tend to cause low scores on cognitive function tests. But test scores aren't necessarily a sign of future cognitive decline, and Harvard Health Publishing urges readers to maintain good mental health and get restful sleep, as they are “certainly important goals” for improving cognitive function and overall well-being. 3. STAY CONNECTED. It’s not enough to focus on yourself. In order to maintain your long-term cognitive health,
you should also focus on your connections with other people. According to Harvard Health Publishing, “Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.” Make new friends, stay in touch with family members, and maintain positive relationships in your life. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is certainly true when it comes to your brain health. Do what you can today to protect your mental functions tomorrow.
Should I Look to Buy New Property Soon? How COVID-19 Has Affected the Boston Housing Market
LASTLY, TALK TO OTHER LANDLORDS/TENANTS. The best way to stay in the know is to (digitally) connect with the community. Several universities are going to provide a hybrid of online and in- person classes, while others haven’t declared whether they will fully open. Over 70,000 foreign students call Boston home, and it’s still uncertain how the pandemic and the school system’s reaction to it will affect them. Hopefully we will have more answers by July, and certainly your friends will too. You’re not alone — a lot of people are looking, even if they aren’t buying. BostonPads.com, a website for Boston apartments, saw an increase of traffic by 56% from April to May. Stay connected, and if you ever have any trouble, give Brooks & Crowley a call.
On March 9, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at the National Association for Realtors, Lawrence Yun, predicted that home sales would be chopped by about 10% due to the pandemic. In Boston, this prediction has yet to prove itself completely true, since the real estate market here was booming pre-pandemic. We were experiencing record lows for apartment availability and vacancy rates. So, what should you consider right now if you’re looking to move out or buy property? FIRST, LAY OUT YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS AND STICK WITH A PLAN. This is the best time to determine exactly how much you want to spend on the whole process and assess your lines of credit. Also, if you aren’t moving in, decide ahead of time whether you’ll make money from rent checks
or long-term appreciation that you can cash out and resell in a couple years. Do not break away from these goals. There’s always the prospect of hidden expenses when buying a new property, so you need to feel prepared. You want to enter the marketplace confident and aligned with your financial expectations. BURDENS ON LANDLORDS AT THE MOMENT. Pre-pandemic, for example, the Boston apartment market had been doing better than ever. However, with evictions prohibited under the state of emergency (which could be lifted by the SECOND, KEEP IN MIND THERE ARE SEVERAL ECONOMIC
time you read this) and tenants staying home more frequently, there’s inherently more risk for landlords. Upkeep may become more of a financial strain.
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