Ageing With Attitude: Work out for the sake of your grey matter

A hidden drawback to increased longevity is the loss of mental capacity. Margaret Jennings looks at how to keep the brain in good shape so you can enjoy the extra years.

WE MAY spend billions annually improving our looks in a bid to stave off ageing — but what good is it if we have brains that are declining in our cosmetically enhanced bodies?

Technology and medicine has contributed hugely to our longer life spans, but the quality of that longevity, which has seen our life expectancy almost double, from 47 to over 80, in the past 100 years, is becoming a major focus.

Our bodies need more maintenance for longevity, but the biggest fear most of us have is not of infirmity or even an untimely death, but that our brains won’t keep up, says award-winning science journalist Judith Horstman, who has written widely on the subject.

“What good are 20 extra years if our brains and minds are not able to enjoy them?” Horstman asks.

Yet there is much to allay those fears in her book, The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain, which says that what is healthy for our bodies is also healthy for our brains.

“Your brain is one of your most resilient organs and perhaps the only one that still has its original parts — most of your brain cells are as old as you are,” she says.

These cells don’t reproduce, like other parts of the body, so scientists had thought the brain was set in its ways, unable to change easily. Research has proven otherwise.

“Your brain is a work in process. From conception to death, it keeps on growing, changing, and adapting,” says Horstman.

Not only that but, as we age, our brain is one of our most resilient organs. “Your cognitive abilities may outlast your knees, hips, vision, and hearing,” says Horstman.

Although a gradual decline in some functions is a normal part of ageing, the brain has an amazing ability to repair itself.

So what can we do to help our brains thrive and is it possible to avoid serious memory loss?

Horstman says that while we don’t know for certain what causes Alzheimer’s and some other kinds of dementia, or how to prevent memory loss and other cognitive failings, we do know that several unhealthy behaviours are connected with higher risks and rates of dementia.

One common phrase appearing from studies is that “what’s good for the heart is good for the brain”, so when you watch your cholesterol, control your blood pressure, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise for your heart, your brain benefits too, Horstman points out.

However, researchers are discovering links between healthy brain ageing and other variables, such as our attitude to life, intellectual exercise, and socialising.

Here are five areas Horstman outlines in her book which experts all agree can help keep your brain at its best as you age.

Physical activity: Think of your brain as a muscle. Exercise makes it bigger, adding volume in key areas that tend to shrink with age. It’s never too late to start and benefit. Exercise daily for at least 20 minutes.

Mental stimulation: If the brain gets a workout it can grow new neural connections and strengthen weak ones. ‘Workout’ is the key; it needs to be new and difficult. If it takes a lot of effort, then congrats! Your brain is working hard.

Nutrition: Your brain needs fuel on a regular basis. Eat well, and less, more often. Dehydration mimics dementia in the older brain so drink plenty of water. Dietary deficiencies sap your brain health. A little of what you fancy is good for the brain — chocolate, alcohol, and caffeine included.

Socialisation: It should be prescribed by the doctor. Friendship is a great investment for brain and body. People need people, and isolation and loneliness are connected with a weakened immune system and dementia.

Creativity, soul and attitude: Your emotional life is directly linked to your brain health. Stress rates — bad for your brain — are lowered when you adopt an optimistic outlook and enrich your life with artistic, religious, and spiritual practices, meditation, education, and creativity.

As Horstman says, all these practices are pleasant and make life more enjoyable, which might as well be the case if we are going to live for so much longer. And it’s a bonus if your brain benefits in the process!

The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain: The Neuroscience Of Making The Most Of Your Mature Mind, by Judith Horstman, published by Jossey Bass Wiley, €18.47