I was so glad to read that there's hope for me in this encouraging blog entry in the Health section of yesterday's NY Times, because from the time I turned 40, EVERY time I'm asked my age I have to stop and figure it out! It always freaks me out and gets me to wondering what's going to decline next as I get older? Here's a teaser from a few interesting parts, (there's lots more) and links to the article and a couple of great books."Q. So what kinds of things does a middle-aged brain do better than a younger brain?
A. Inductive reasoning and problem solving — the logical use of your brain and actually getting to solutions. We get the gist of an argument better. We’re better at sizing up a situation and reaching a creative solution. They found social expertise peaks in middle age. That’s basically sorting out the world: are you a good guy or a bad guy? Harvard has studied how people make financial judgments. It peaks, and we get the best at it in middle age...
Q. So what’s happening in middle age that leads to these improvements? A. What we have by middle age is all sorts of connections and pathways that have been built up in our brain that help us...Our brains are primed to navigate the world better because they’ve been navigating the world better for longer.
There also are some other physical changes that they can see. We used to think we lost 30 percent of our brain cells as we age. But that’s not true. We keep them...
Q. Is there anything you can do to keep your brain healthy and improve the deficits, like memory problems?
A. There’s a lot of hype in this field in terms of brain improvement. I did set out to find out what actually works and what we know. What we do with our bodies has a huge impact on our brains. Our brains are more like our hearts in that everything you do for your heart is thought to be equally as good or better for your brain. Exercise is the best studied thing you can do to your brain. It increases brain volume, produces new baby brain cells in grownup brains. Even when our muscles contract, it produces growth chemicals. Using your body can help your brain..."
from The Talents of a Middle-Aged Brain
NY Times, August 30, 2010
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/the-talents-of-a-middle-aged-brain/
Barbara Strauch is the author interviewed for this article. She is the health editor at The New York Times. Her last 2 books are: The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind and The Primal Teen
This article is great. I just turned 47...and it is disheartening to see other people my age not have a good memory, I always had a memory like an elephant...and this is still true for me. I visualize things so maybe this is why I remember things well. But as of late, I've been talking to people from my childhood and they admit, they don't remember much from their younger years. I have to believe also, reading and making your brain analyze things has to be good exercise for your brain. I by nature am philosophical...so perhaps this aids in keeping the mind sharp as we age. Just my opionion...but makes sense doesn't it? I exaust my brain sometimes by just analyzing the heck out of something. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am the same way on the analyzing, and visualization always helps me, too. I guess it must be hard for me to picture myself at age...damn! How old am I again? 41, I think. Seriously. LMAO
ReplyDeleteHey..don't I know it. I never thought I'd have to stop and "think" about what age I am...and I don't feel it but that doesn't room the fact that "I am" LOL I really embrace my age..there is a part of me that is proud of it. I guess the part I don't like is how society..or at least the society of the United States looks at age. Ageing gracefully is important to me...so I will try to do it the best way I can. :)
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