Don't deny yourself the luxury of curling up with that murder mystery, tragic tale, or sci-fi thriller this weekend. Consider it self-defense class for your brain.

Being a bookworm doesn't just make you smart. It makes you mentally tough. It builds so much cognitive reserve that bookworms' brains may be bolstered against bad things like pollution and toxins.

Calling All Reserves
On cognitive tests, book lovers outperform people with lower reading levels. No surprise there. But the big news is that people who read regularly may develop a "cognitive reserve." What's that mean? That they've got extra brainpower to keep the mind rolling when brain cells are under attack. In a study of factory workers, the brains of the big readers functioned just fine on cognitive tasks, despite on-the-job exposure to toxic substances, like lead.

Brain Boosters
In addition to making a trip to your local bookstore, here are other steps you can take to stay sharp:

• Ditch the tobacco. Smoking (and secondhand smoke) kills brain cells. This great quit-smoking program really works.
• Give your mind a mental workout. (Try this challenging word game.)
• Compensate for age-related memory changes. (Take this mental-recall test and get tips on how to improve your score.)
• Get more B vitamins in your diet. (Read how they protect against brain drain.)
• Take a walk! (Here's how regular exercise might boost your mental powers.)

Got a few minutes? Stimulate your synapses with this sudoku puzzle.

Impact of cognitive reserve on the relationship of lead exposure and neurobehavioral performance. Bleecker, M. L., Ford, D. P., Celio, M. A., Vaughan, C. G., Lindgren, K. N., Neurology 2007 Jul 31;69(5):470-476.