While brain-training apps promise cognitive longevity, the sharpest minds in their 80s and 90s have quietly abandoned six common habits that most of us don't realize are turning our brains into autopilot machines.
My 92-year-old neighbor just beat me at chess again.
When I asked about her secret to staying sharp, she laughed and said, “I haven’t done a crossword puzzle in 20 years.”
This stopped me cold.
Like most people, I’d always assumed brain games were th... [7836 chars]