TRAIN YOUR BRAIN
Worried about memory and intellect as you age? Give your brain a physical and mental workout!
In the past, we were led to believe that as we age, brain function decreases. This is why we forget to pick up the bread on the way home from work, can't find our car keys, and never are able to answer questions as quickly as our younger colleagues. Our brain cells die as we age, and, well, that's just aging!
Well, just as we are beginning to realize that many physical ailments are not just due to age and that we can do something about them, so we are beginning to realize that a decline in "thinking" is not completely due to age either. It is as much a question of how we treat our brain as the process of
getting older.
Recent research is putting to rest many old rumors. For one thing, brain cells do not die off as we age. Animal studies show that glial cells one type of brain cell can actually increase in the proper environment, no matter what the age.
How about the idea that younger people use the brain more efficiently? Not so. Studies show that there are no significant differences in brain metabolism how the brain uses its fuel between the young and the old.
Research is also showing that we can increase brain power as we age. In one long-term study, people who continued to be active intellectually by interacting with the world around them, learning new things, and "using their heads" improved on administered intelligence tests, even when they were more than 60 years old.
The key to thinking well for both the younger and the older is the same as the key to physical health: exercise. In the case of the brain, we need both physical exercise and mental exercise.
Get physical
One thing that does change as we age is reaction time. We don't seem to think as quickly as those younger than ourselves, and our physical reflexes are also slower. Traditionally, slower thinking has been attributed to our aging brain, and the decline in physical reaction time has always been attributed to decreased muscle strength or other "physical" traits. Now, researchers believe that at least some of our slower reaction times have to do with the brain and the nervous system.
One theory is that our slower mental and physical processing time has to do with an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. The circulating blood of a 20-year-old will take up about four liters of oxygen per minute, while the circulating blood of a 75-year-old will take up only about 1.5 liters per minute.
Reduced oxygen levels have been shown to cause a decline in certain neurotransmitters chemicals that allow the brain to communicate with itself and these neurotransmitters can be correlated with human behavior.
Tests with humans have shown that the reaction times of men who participate in aerobic activities such as running or playing tennis are much faster than those of age-matched sedentary men, and little different from response times of younger, but sedentary, men. The physically fit elderly also score higher on tests of memory retention than less fit subjects.
Get mental
There has long been the idea of an intellectual "peak." In the 1930s, it was widely believed that intelligence peaked in the late teens. In the 1940s, this changed to the age of 25. By the 1950s, it had risen to the 30s, and now, in the 1990s, intelligence is said to peak when we are in our 60s or 70s! In other words, your brain continues to learn as you want it to age has nothing to do with it!
If you want to "improve" your intelligence, you have to exercise it. Intelligence can be defined as capacity to learn. Learning is the acquisition of new knowledge. So, to improve your intelligence you must learn!
When you perform tasks to make you think, you can actually change the physical properties of your brain. You can increase the dendrites (the parts of a brain cell that receive information) and add, subtract, and alter the strength of synapses (gaps between brain cells where communication occurs). When you do continue to learn, you maintain and improve your memory, your concentration, and your ability to "think."
Don't let age slow you down. Keep your brain in good shape and reap the intellectual rewards!
Keeping your brain physically fit
Breathe! Learn to breathe with your belly, not your chest. First, breathe as you normally do for a few minutes. Note that your chest may move somewhat, but that there is probably no movement in your belly. Now, put your hand over your navel and imagine that there is a balloon in your belly. Inhale and imagine you are filling the balloon. Your belly, and your hand, should press outward. Exhale, and force the air out of the "balloon." Your belly should "deflate." Doing this ensures that you're getting more oxygen to the lungs and on to the blood and brain. Become aware of your breathing so that you begin "breathing with your belly" as your natural breathing rhythm.
Some breathing proponents recommend a special type of breathing to stimulate the nervous system:
1. Stand erect, inhale a complete breath, and retain it.
2. Extend your arms in front of you parallel to the floor, relaxed.
3. Slowly draw your hands back toward your shoulders and clench your fists. As you do this, gradually tense up your arm muscles, so that when your fists reach your shoulders, your fists will be so tightly clenched that you will feel a slight tremulous motion.
4. Keeping your arm muscles tense, push your fists slowly out and keep your arms and fists tense.
5. Exhale vigorously through your mouth.
Finally, try to find an aerobic exercise to take part in. Examples are aerobics classes, jumping rope, playing tennis, swimming, and any activity that increases heart rate and oxygen intake.
Keeping your brain mentally fit
Observe. Make it a practice to observe details around you. What are the colors on your friend s coffee mug? What is the name of the street four blocks from your house? Describe the car at the traffic signal. Simply noting and thinking about the details around you exercises your brain.
What's important? Everyday, read a newspaper article, but don't look at the headline. Summarize the article in one paragraph, and write out your summary! Then write a headline for it.
Keep a journal or diary. Write down what happens every day and how you feel about it. This way you are remembering details and evaluating.
Actively watch TV. Most TV watching is passive and does little to stimulate learning. Change this by observing more closely. What's on the coffee table on your favorite program? What did one of the characters wear last Tuesday?
And, of course, just plain learn. Take a course in history or gardening. Learn a language. Build a birdhouse. The options are endless