Human mental decline typically begins before 40

Posted by Bobby Brown on December 16, 2019 - 6:11am

Tip

We must take measures to keep our brains in shape, no matter what age

The brain needs exercise. Practicing skills leads to better performance

Unused parts of the brain stop working

Challenging the brain with new activities wakes up new areas

Try things you don’t already do – an accountant might study a new language

Challenging creates new pathways that appear to become alternate routes when neurones die off in middle and old age.

Research suggests

– Reading to a small child enhances mental development

– Ongoing mental stimulation provides some protection against mental decline

How can you exercise and challenge your brain ?

Exercising the brain is doing anything that makes you think, such as “what did I do last Saturday?”

Avoid using calculators

Swap TV for mind games or a book

Play games that involve memory (bridge) or thinking ahead (chess)

Take up a new hobby, learn a musical instrument, study a new language

When you read a paper, consider your own editorial

Prepare for retirement as a time for “serious leisure”, for a hobby or activity that involves “the whole being”

Take advantage of The Brain Food Factory’s free monthly newsletter. It is designed to exercise all aspects of your brain with crosswords, sudoku, visual games, trivia quizzes, word games, mazes, a children’s section, and more.

Nourish your brain with a healthy diet

Like any high-performance machine, the brain needs top quality fuel.

Your brain needs a well-balanced, low cholesterol, low saturated (animal-fat) diet.

Timing is significant in nutrition. Studies have demonstrated the importance of a good breakfast.

Protein and unsaturated fat is especially important for developing brains. Fish, a rich source of both, is sometimes called brain food.

Your body converts long strings of amino acids in the protein you eat to individual amino acids that your brain converts to the specific proteins it needs.

Your brain needs vitamins and minerals; they come from your diet.

Research suggests anti-oxidant vitamins E and C protect the brain.

Avoid excess food. Reducing calories can help slow age-related brain changes

Enjoy caffeine and alcohol in moderation.

As a general rule, good nutrition for the body is good nutrition for the brain.

What energy source is essential for the brain? Glucose is the fuel needed to keep the cells alive and functioning

Your liver, pancreas and kidneys work together to maintain the right level of glucose in your blood

Your blood supplies glucose to your brain at a steady rate

The glucose provides the energy to enable brain proteins to build cells, produce chemicals for nerves to communicate and to repair damage

When your concentration wanes in the late morning or afternoon, eating a snack containing sugar, such as fruit, can solve the problem

Enjoy physical activity

Exercise daily if possible. Set exercise priorities and stick to them.

Regular exercise reduces depression and reduces cardiovascular risk factors, even a simple walk lets you think freely

Some exercise states may produce euphoria, but even 12 minute bouts of exercise (to 85% maximum heart rate) release serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline (like taking Prozac)

Exercise in the evening after a stressful day, rather than early in the day

Take exercise opportunities- climb stairs (up to three floors) instead of taking the lift, schedule in regular five-minute walking breaks, park your car away from lifts, escalators so you have to walk further.

Make “safety first” a priority

Head trauma is the silent epidemic

Major causes of adult head trauma is motor vehicle accidents, on-the-job accidents, falls, assaults and sports injuries

Take common-sense safety precautions including wearing seatbelts and sports safety helmets as appropriate

Road deaths are publicized but not the number permanently disabled

Head injury from snowboarding is on the increase

Learn to manage anxiety, stress and depression

Anxiety increases heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to stroke

Acute stress – “flight or fight reaction” – is normal and short-lived.

The brain produces substances that tell many organs of the body to speed up and perform more effectively, then it returns to normal.

Some suffer chronic stress – a long-term problem.

There is increasing evidence that stress actually damages the brain.

The mechanism for this is thought to be the brain’s response to hormones that increase during periods of stress.

These stress hormones can actually kill nerve cells in animals and are thought to do the same in humans.

The steps you take to reduce stress are likely to preserve nerve cells and help maintain mental abilities.

One of the toughest stresses is depression.

5-12% of men and 10-20% of women will suffer major depression at some stage.

Major depression is not just sadness or grief, it is indescribably painful.

Depression affects memory and slows brain metabolism.

Major depression can lead to some degree of brain damage, affecting memory.

Major depression is a medical emergency.

When life becomes stressful, do you … ?

Meditate? Meditation may lower blood pressure, even not actively meditating

Relax? Actively relax by tensing then relaxing individual muscle groups

Exercise? Channeling internal stress into external action can relieve stress

Ensure there is a balance of work and recreation in your life?

Let go of things that are outside your control?

Take time out for yourself

Visit your general practitioner

Relax and sleep well

During deep sleep, the brain repairs itself and boosts the immune system.

During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the brain consolidates information learned during the previous day.

Poor sleep or sleep loss leads to fatigue, immune suppression, memory, concentration and mood disorders.

Optimal learning cannot take place against a background of sleep debt.

Seek help for sleep apnoea as it increases the risk of stroke.

What can you do if you can’t get to sleep? The most common causes of difficulty are not being able to shut off the anxieties and worries of the day and preparing for tomorrow’s problems.

One way you could help is by preparing for sleep:

Don’t take one last look at email messages

No phone calls, business, late-night news, planning for tomorrow after 9pm

Don’t go to bed until you feel sleepy

Don’t have caffeine after noon

Have regular checks for blood pressure, diabetes, heart rate, cholesterol

If you have diabetes and high cholesterol, you have 4x the risk of stroke

If you have diabetes you have 2x the risk of stroke

Lots of mini-strokes can lead to dementia in later life

Do not smoke or use illegal drugs

Research suggests that

smoking in later life can promote mental decline