Beyond Exercise: Two Ways to Maintain Mental Sharpness

By now, we likely all know that regular exercise helps to stave off the effects of aging, one of which is a decline in mental sharpness. 

According to "The MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Aging", the level of an individual's education is the strongest predictor of mental capacity during aging.  The more education a person has had, the more likely it is that he or she will be able to maintain memory and thinking skills.  Additional research indicates that people who hold jobs that involve complex work, such as speaking to, instructing, or negotiating with others, have a lower risk of dementia than those persons whose jobs are less intellectually demanding.

It is likely not, however, simply the years of education or on the job performance that enables strong memory and thinking abilities to continue through older age.  It is far more probable that the maintenance of an enriching intellectual environment through ongoing learning, discussions, and engagement in activities which stimulate the brain, leading to more neural connections, is what's at play here. The greater the number of connections, the more resilient the brain is against the effects of aging.  A habit of ongoing learning and engaging in mentally challenging activities - discussions, debates, new languages, challenging word or other types of games - can all help to keep the brain in shape in addition to regular physical activity.

Another way to keep mentally sharp is to establish and maintain close ties with others whether it's through relationships with relatives, friends, caregivers, or members of community groups. Social engagement and mentally stimulating activities often go hand in hand (e.g. volunteering at charity events, or helping school children with math or reading).  Social relationships can also provide support during stressful times which in turn may reduce the damaging effects that stress can have on the brain.

D.

"Improving Memory: Understanding Age-Related Memory Loss", Christine Junge, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2012.

Daniel Pink on Laughter

I walk every day, rain or shine.  I often listen to music or the radio on my iphone while walking, but recently I downloaded a book to listen to:  A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future, authored by Daniel H. Pink.  It is a fascinating 'listen to' and in chapter 8, Pink discusses the benefits of laughter by beginning with a discussion of the laughter clubs which have become popular in India and are springing up all over the world - especially growing in popularity in the workplace. 

Laughter, he says, can infect people like a virus.  Start laughing and soon those around you may not be able to resist the urge to laugh, too.  Laughter is all about being in relationship, about sharing and bonding.   It counteracts stress in the workplace (unless the laughter is cruel or meant to ridicule, or is at the expense of co-workers, which can then result in increased stress in the workplace) and enhances the creativity and productivity of both individuals and groups.  It increases energy and creates joyfulness - which he argues - is pure and unconditional - unlike happiness which is contingent on other factors. 

It's hard to feel anxious, sad, angry or distressed while you are laughing (although some circumstances may trigger nervous or fear-based laughter).  By triggering positive feelings, it can enhance intimacy and emotional connection.  The bond it creates acts as a buffer against disagreements, disappointments and resentments, and can often work to diffuse anger, or to check on perspective during disagreements.  Sharing laughter and engaging in playful communication keeps relationships fresh and exciting and full of vitality.  It enhances both individual and relationship resilience.

Dr. Lee Burke from the Loma Linda School of Medicine in California has found that laughter enhances the immune system because it lowers the level of stress hormones and increases the number of immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies.  Laughter also has analgesic properties through its release of endorphins which promote an overall sense of well-being.  This in turn helps with the management of pain and can relieve physical effects of stress such as muscle tension.  A hearty laugh can tone the heart and increase aerobic capacity due to the fact that it increases heart rate, increases blood flow, and improves the function of blood vessels.

Most of us are born with the capacity to laugh.  For most people, laughter is innate.  Within a few months of birth, infants start to laugh.  If laughter wasn't part of your upbringing it's never too late to learn to laugh! 

Think of laughter as a workout, setting aside a time during the day or a few times during the week to seek out humour and lightheartedness  Start by simply smiling and build from there.  People who work as laughter coaches or therapists find that laughter can erupt even without experiencing a humourous event.  Negative thoughts can act as a barrier to humour, so keep a gratitude journal or make a list of the good things in your life.  Try to focus on any positive things that may be happening in your life or in the life of someone you care about. Though we may have to work harder to find humour in something when we are feeling down, it can be done.  Spend time with fun, playful people - people who laugh easily at themselves, don't take themselves too seriously, and who routinely find the humour in everyday events and in life's absurdities.  It may very well infect you in a positive way.  Playing with a pet or with young children can also bring humour and joy into your life.  The laughter of small children is especially pure, spontaneous and infectious. Look for the humour and irony in negative situations.  Try to find something in your day to day life to laugh (or at least smile) about. 

D.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel H. Pink, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., New York, New York, 2006.

Thought Repression Can be Beneficial

The ability to repress memories can be useful in the right circumstances.  In fact, individuals who cannot do this very well let thoughts stay in their mind, paving the way for rumination, anxiety and depression. Allowing intrusive memories to take hold may also impede the emotional recovery of trauma victims.

D.

Err on the Side of Kindness

Err on the side of kindness.  Not a bad motto to live by.  Kindness promotes positive relationships with others, although the notion still persists among many individuals that kindness is a sign of weakness.  

According to the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, kindness and love are the most curative agents in human relationships.  The 14th Dalai Lama, Tensin Gyatso, once wrote that his religion is kindness. Robert Louis Stevenson considered that kindness is the essence of love.

D.

Another Early Warning Sign of Alzheimer's Disease

Lead author of a new study, Alan Castel, assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, believes that one of the first signs that Alzheimer’s disease may be developing is:  a failure to control attention.

Research published in the May 2009 issue of the journal “Neuropsychology”, indicates that memory can be a limited resource and as we get older, we need to be more selective in focusing on what the important things are that need to be remembered while letting less important things slide away from our working – day to day – memory.  Healthy older adults become more selective in what they want to remember as they age, and focus their attention away from matters they deem less important.  According to Castel, the ability to be selective likely declines in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study in question recruited three groups of individuals:  group one consisted of 109 healthy adults with an average age of slightly less than 75.  Sixty-eight of this group’s participants were women.  Group two consisted of 54 older adults with very mild Alzheimer’s disease, who were functioning fine from day to day.  Twenty-two of these participants were female, with an average age of slightly less than 76.  The third group consisted of 35 young adults.  The average age of this group was 19.

Words displayed on a screen at one second intervals were given low to high point values.  At the end of the word presentation, each participant was given 30 seconds to recall the words (which were all common words), and told to focus on the words that had been assigned a higher value in order to maximize the scores. 

The young adults were selective in which words they did and did not recall.  They remembered more of the high-value words and forgot more of the low-value words.

The healthy older adults remembered fewer words, but were equally selective in what they did remember – remembering more of the words of higher value than the words of lower value. Short term memory capacity declines with age, so the fact that this group remembered fewer words than the younger group did was not surprising to the researchers.

The participants with mild Alzheimer’s disease recalled very few words and their ability to be selective in order to maximize their scores was worse.

As we age, memory can become a very limited resource over time, so focus on the few important things that you need to remember from time to time.  For instance, if you are travelling to another city to attend a wedding, ensure that you have your travel documents and all the medications you might need for the duration of your trip.  Perhaps your favourite outfit and the wedding gift are to be remembered, too.  Anything else you may forget to pack can likely be picked up at the destination.

And, as a final note, perhaps not salient to this study, but good in terms of practical day to day functioning:  remember to make lists and consult them as required.

D.

(1)  "Early Alzheimer’s: Not Remembering What is Important to Remember", June 28, 2009, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625152933.htm

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Thickness of the Brain's Cortex

The rate of change in the thickness of the brain’s cortex is an important factor associated with a person’s change in the intelligence quotient, more popularly known as IQ.  For decades, it was a commonly held belief that IQ remains more or less constant over time, so that your childhood IQ is pretty well what you have for life.

According to a comprehensive study by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, at McGill University, and at the McGill University Health Centre, (all of which are located in Montreal, Quebec) as well as by scientists from four other countries, IQ varies over time according to the thickness of the brain’s cortex.

The cortex is the thin, outermost layer of the brain’s nerve cell tissue.  It usually measures just a few millimetres in thickness.  It contains nerve cell bodies and is critical for cognitive functions such as perception, language, memory and consciousness.

It appears that the cortex begins to thin around the age of six or seven as part of the normal process of aging. The study in question here, led by Professor Sherif Karama of McGill University, and his colleagues, involved following 188 children and adolescents over a period of two years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the young people was conducted at six sites across the United States. This study is the first to show the association between cortical thickness and development as it relates to full scale IQ. It found that within a relatively short period of two years:  “people with a significant increase in IQ did not have the expected cortical thinning;  people whose IQ stayed the same had the normal expected cortical thinning;  people with a significant decrease in IQ had exaggerated cortical thinning.” (1)

The reasons behind the findings remain unclear. Some of the developmental changes may be genetically pre-determined, or other factors such as nutrition and education may be at play.  The changes could also be due to a combination of these or include other unconsidered factors.

D.

(1) “Link Between IQ and Brain Cortex Confirmed By New Evidence”, http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113086884, March 2014.

Interval Training for Brain Health

Studies confirm that interval training helps improve and maintain good blood flow and delivery of nutrients to the brain. This helps, in turn, to improve and maintain cognitive functioning. This intense type of training - while vigorous - can be accomplished without a huge commitment of time. Interval training twice per week, for about thirty minutes, will suffice. Three times a week, however, is even better. In order to maintain an adequate level of intensity during the interval training session, use of a treadmill, elliptical trainer, or stationary bike is recommended, although I imagine that other methods such as outdoor sprinting would work just as well. Many people don't enjoy working out in a gym. Many do not have the means or the room for large pieces of exercise equipment. A two to three minute warm-up is recommended at the outset of the session, followed by eight, 30-second bursts of high intensity exercise, with 90 seconds of much lower intensity output between each of the eight bursts. Warm down for three to five minutes at the end of the session. Please consult your physician, however, before increasing the intensity of, or changing the nature of, any exercise regimen.

D.

Kale and the Prevention of Cognitive Decline

"Leslie Beck's Longevity Diet" is full of information with respect to the power of food to slow down the aging process. One of the so-called power foods she mentions is kale. After outlining numerous other health benefits like vision preservation and anti-cancer properties, Ms. Beck zeroes in on kale's ability to slow the rate of cognitive decline.

Among other things, kale contains a fair amount of vitamin E and manganese. Vitamin E is thought to shield brain cell membranes from free radical damage. The brain is especially vulnerable to free radical damage due to its high demand for oxygen, its great number of easily oxidized cell membranes and its somewhat weak antioxidant defences. Manganese is a trace mineral that is a crucial component of superoxide dismultase, an enzyme which acts as an antioxidant. "Superoxide dismultase is found exclusively inside the mitochondria, or energy factory, of body cells, where it protects against damage from free radicals formed during energy production." (1)

Kale is best ingested in cooked form in order to ensure that the oxalates present in the kale can be weakened in their capacity to interfere with the absorption of calcium which is also present. Try it steamed, in soups, and in stir-fries.

D.

(1) Beck, Leslie and Gelok, Michelle, "Leslie Beck's Longevity Diet", Penguin Group (Canada), Toronto, 2011, p. 84.)