How to Repair Your Aging Brain in Just 15 Minutes a Day…
This report will help you preserve and promote your brainpower.
Many of these simple exercises take just minutes a day. They’re easy to
understand and easy to do.
I’ll show you:
Tools you can use to reverse
cognitive decline
How to beat the
brain-destroying effects of cortisol
The best way to protect
yourself from dreaded Alzheimer’s Disease
Build New Networks and Ward off
Age-Related Decline
Scientists are finding exciting new evidence of the brain’s
tremendous capacity to repair itself. No matter how old you are, the brain can
modify its structure, staving off age related decline. When one network of
neurons dies, the brain can sprout brand-new connections and create another
network.
In one study, doctors compared the memories of people in their
20s with those in their 70s. Each group looked at 16 words and tried to
remember them. The researchers found that with practice the older group
performed just as well as the younger people.
But here’s the most surprising finding: as they performed this
mental task, brain scans showed the younger people used their frontal lobes
(the normal area for memory), but the older group used a different part of the
brain – the area associated with vision. So how can some elders remain sharp
like this while others slip into dementia? The answer has little to do with
genes or luck…
Your Brain is Like a Muscle…
Use It or Lose It
Your brain is a dynamic, adaptable system. Its neurons respond to
environmental factors and mental stimulation. By stimulating your mind, you
preserve your memory. What’s more, you can even restore the clarity you had in
your youth!
Neuroscientists have two main terms for the brain’s ability to
adapt:
Neuroplasticity: Neuroplasticity describes the brain’s ability to keep its
cells plastic, giving it the capacity to rearranging old connections and laying
down new ones. Flexible neurons allow us to master new skills, memorize, and
adjust to unfamiliar environments.
Neurogenesis: Neurogenesis describes the brain’s ability to restore itself
by generating new neurons. Inside the hippocampus, the central location for
memory function in adults, is the dentate gyrus. The dentate gyrus is the only
region of the hippocampus that supports neurogenesis.
Researchers have been making some exciting advances in the study
of both neuroplasticiy and neurogenisis. And one of the most promising studies
of how to improve cognitive performance is still going strong. It’s The Seattle
Longitudinal Study of Adult Intelligence.
Since 1956, Dr. K. Warner Schaie has followed more than 5,000
people examining their cognitive abilities every seven years. Here are his
remarkable findings:
Two-thirds of the
people following a “mental education program” showed significant improvement
often returning to pre-decline cognitive performance levels.
In addition, they
maintained these benefits well beyond seven years.
Other new research shows that the more you use your brain the
lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Stern, a clinical psychologist at
Columbia University discovered that people with less than an eighth-grade
education had twice the risk of developing Alzheimer’s as those with formal
education.
And if those with lower educational levels worked at mentally
un-stimulating jobs, the risk was three times higher. The more connections, or
synapses, you develop between brain cells from the use of your brain, the more
resistant you are to the disease.
Whip Your Mind into Shape with
4 Simple Brain Exercises
How do you develop connections and regenerate your brain? Your
two main tools are mental and physical exercise.
By keeping your mind challenged through your own “mental
education program,” you can create and strengthen neural networks.
And by keeping your body physically active you can increase blood
flow to your brain, therefore promoting the creation of new neurons.
Here are my top suggestions for brain exercises:
Keep it interesting. Research shows that cognitively compelling tasks are
associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. Crossword puzzles are my favorite,
but anything that represents an exciting mental challenge will do such as
bridge, Scrabble, and chess.
Sudoku is another great brain twister to
try. Michael Mariske, co-author of a recent study on the long-term effects of
cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults, thinks it’s
reasonable to assume that games like Sudoku could have the same benefits as
rhyme and acronym challenges his subjects encountered.
Make it communal. Your mind benefits from an active social life that includes
games, lecture series, and stimulating conversation. Researchers at the Harvard
School of Public Health discovered evidence that the memories of elderly people
with active social lives may decline at a slower rate.
Gathering data from memory assessments
conducted every two years from 1998 to 2004, researchers found that individuals
who were most integrated in their community had the slowest rate of memory
decline. Marital status, volunteer activities, and contact with parents,
children and neighbors were the factors in assessment of social integration.
What’s more, the findings were independent of factors such as age, gender, and
race.
Remember, being social doesn’t have to mean
being with your peers. If you have grandkids, play their favorite board games
with them. Teach them how to win at Monopoly, or show them how to play card
games.
Take advantage of new technology. Imagine a memory tool you can put in your
pocket and take wherever you go. Waiting in line for a movie, stuck at the
airport, commuting by train to work? Take out a device such as the Nintendo DS
and start working out that noggin!
The Nintendo DS is a handheld device a
little bigger than a cell phone. Load the Brain Age application into it, and
you’ve got a treasure load of exercises to challenge your mind. Brain Age,
inspired by the work of Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, M.D., comes
loaded with math,
language,
music, and visual games that are as fun as they are challenging.
You can write your answers with the handy stylus
for some games and use its voice recognition software for others. When you
first play, it will give you a series of tests in order to determine your DS
brain age, and then it will track your progression so you can keep track of how
well you’re doing.
Tease your brain. Here’s one for a start. Is the inner shape in the picture to
the right a circle?
Keep Your Mind Fit with
Physical Exercise
Don’t forget that brain exercises are only half of the story. You
also need steady physical exercise. You can even combine the two by listening
to language tapes as you take walks or do calisthenics.
A study at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington
that tracked older adults for 6 years found that regular exercise (defined for
the study as 3 or more times per week) was associated with about one-third the
risk of developing dementia as less frequent exercise. What’s more, those who
experienced the greatest risk reduction were the ones who were least physically
fit at the start of the study.
Here are some good ideas for boosting your memory power and
mental agility with physical exercise:
Get Your Heart Pumping. Research has linked healthy brains to healthy hearts.
Walking, running, swimming and biking are all ways of getting your heart rate
up.
“Some
people age more successfully than others, and our findings suggest that
everyday behaviors and preventive measures – many involved in promoting heart
health – may be able to make a difference in the health of our brains,” said
Dr. Ian Cook, lead author and associate professor of psychiatry at the UCLA
Neuropsychiatric Institute. “If we don’t take care of our physical health, our
brains and minds pay a price as well.”
Keep it short, simple and regular. You don’t need an elaborate exercise regimen
in order to improve brain health. In the Nurses’ Health Study, nearly 122,000
nurses are asked questions every 2 years about their health, diet, illnesses,
and lifestyles. Researchers found that walking the equivalent of at least 1½
hours per week at a 21-30 minute-per-mile pace was associated with improved
cognitive performance.
Strength train. Some research indicates that lifting weights or other forms
of strength training such as push-ups or deep knee bends may stimulate a
hormone that protects your brain.
Lower Your Stress Hormone for
Deeper Relaxation
When it comes to your brain, relaxation is as vital for
maintaining memory and cognitive abilities as mental exercises. You see, if
you’re wound up too tight all the time, you’re actually killing brain cells.
Stress is a leading cause of mental deterioration as you age.
Here’s why: when you’re feeling stressed, your body produces the hormone
cortisol. In moderate amounts, cortisol is not that big of a deal. But in
larger amounts, it becomes toxic to your brain cells.
Over time, too much stress-induced cortisol ruins your brain’s
“biochemical integrity” causing the mental haziness, forgetfulness, and confusion that
often comes with aging.
Cortisol threatens your mental health more as you age. Almost all
hormone levels fall as you age, but cortisol is one of the very few exceptions.
Cortisol actually rises as you grow older.
To preserve a youthful mind, you must actively work to lower your
cortisol. You can do this simply by reducing your stress level. Set aside a
block of time every day, even if it’s only a couple of minutes, for practicing
and enjoying relaxation. Here are some of my favorite stress-reducing
strategies:
Treat yourself to a
massage - frequently.
Do some of your
favorite things everyday.
Focus on your breathing
for the sole purpose of relaxation.
Stop holding it in:
Don’t isolate yourself with your worries. Let it out and talk it over.
Meditate: Meditation is
proven to reduce cortisol.
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