One of the great findings of the late 20th century in brain research came in the late 1970s and early 80s. Scientists began to discover in fact that the brain did not settle into a nice, shapely block of concrete. Actually, it remained fairly plastic. It could change, and especially in the presence of new information and stimuli, the Medical Daily reported. Thus, the field of neuroplasticity was born.

Armed with this new knowledge, droves of neurobiologists, cognitive scientists, and psychologists went to work, and among their many findings is the fact that certain forces mold your brain, no matter how old you are.

4. Meditation makes you more mindful

Accessing a heightened state of awareness and mindfulness not only puts you at calm, centering you and offering newfound inner peace. It can alter the density of your brain’s gray matter.

A 2010 study showed people who meditated for 30 minutes daily, for eight weeks, had greater gray area activity under MRI scans. People became more adept at learning, processing memory, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective-taking.

3. Exercise boosts brain cell counts

Among the raft of health benefits conferred by exercise is the fact your brain undergoes physical changes when you work out. You not only improve your working memory and release feel-good chemicals, such as endorphins and serotonin, after lifting weights or going for a run; you grow the population of neurons in your brain.

2. Depression shrinks your brain

Joining neurons together are spindly structures called dendrites — narrow branches that transmit information through the brain, like highways between cities. In the presence of depression, largely a chemical imbalance in the brain, these dendrites constrict.

1. Memory is like a muscle

Memory, scientists are increasingly finding, works more like a muscle than anything else. The more we outsource our memories to note pads, daily planners, Post-It notes, and other mindless reminders, the less we need to rely on our built-in data storage centers.