Healthy Brain Aging

KEEPING YOUR BRAIN HEALTHY IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY AS WE AGE.

By Eleanor Johnson

With aging, it can be normal to have a harder time recalling names. Or you may find yourself forgetting an appointment only to remember it later. Still, you should keep learning new things and creating new memories. Many people may believe dementia is a regular part of aging, but this is untrue. Dementia is atypical brain aging that impedes short-term memory and cognitive function and can prevent patients from living a normal life. People with dementia may forget where they are physically or temporally, have difficulty concentrating and communicating and/or have changes in personality. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the risk of dementia, such as living a healthy lifestyle, keeping an active mind and staying social.

Lifestyle: Nutrition and Exercise

Living a healthy lifestyle can help prevent dementia. Two of the most important things you can do for healthy brain aging are to eat a balanced diet and exercise. Like the rest of your body, your brain needs a variety of nutrients to function properly. Harvard Medical School recommends eating plenty of green vegetables, fatty fish, berries and walnuts and drinking tea and coffee. If some of these things sound like what your doctor recommends for a healthy heart, do not be too surprised. The heart pumps blood to the brain, so if your heart or blood vessels are clogged, it is also a problem for your brain. In fact, even though your brain is only about 3 percent of your body weight, it uses 20 percent of the oxygen in your blood. This is a reason exercise is important as well; it keeps your blood flowing and moving throughout your body to disperse needed oxygen. For health benefits, Harvard Health Publishing recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.

An Active Mind is a Healthy Mind

A healthy lifestyle is not the only thing you can do to protect yourself from dementia. Continuing to challenge your mind is shown to decrease dementia risk. Neurons are cells in the brain that send signals to each other and to muscles, tissues and glands for a variety of functions. Neurons communicate with each other in such a way that the more they signal to each other, the stronger their connection becomes. If neurons do not communicate frequently, they may lose this connection. Essentially, neuronal connections operate on a “use it or lose it” system. Challenge your mind to learn new things by solving word puzzles, math problems, reading or taking courses. Mental stimulation that comes with trying new things or activities that require manual dexterity, such as drawing and painting, is also beneficial. By challenging your mind, you will continue to use existing neuronal connections and create new ones, making your brain stronger.

Socializing Provides Brain Benefits Another way to keep your mind active is by socializing with other people. As people age, they sometimes begin to cut themselves off from others. There are a variety of reasons this can happen (i.e. retiring from work, death of loved ones, lack of energy), but socializing keeps your brain working. That’s not the only benefit: An article from Psychology Today says socializing boosts your immune system and decreases your chance of depression. And people who socialize tend to live longer.

By continuing to live a healthy lifestyle, challenging yourself mentally and maintaining and building relationships, you can keep a sharp mind as you age.

About the Authors: Ellie Johnson, a graduate student in the Nutritional Sciences and Pharmacology Students Association within the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Kentucky, with faculty advisor Dr. Sara Police, wrote this article.

References • Alzheimer’s Association (2019). 2019 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures; Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15:321-387. • Godman, T. (2018). Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills. Harvard Health Publishing. www.health.harvard. edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brainimprove-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110 • Harvard Health Publishing. Foods linked to better brain power. www.health.harvard.edu/mindand-mood/foods-linked-to-better-brainpower. • Troyer, A. (2016). The Health Benefits of Socializing: Four reasons to connect with friends. Psychology Today. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-mild-cognitive-impairment/201606/the-health-benefits-socializing