



		Your Path to Healthy Living and a Healthy Life

Boomer Brains

For most baby boomers the fear of developing age related memory impairment is right next to the fear of public speaking. And with the number of cases of dementia and Alzheimer's expected to quadruple in the next fifty years it's a valid concern. But is it something we have to accept as a consequence of old age? Is it something we all get inevitably? NO! Not only can we expect continued lucidity into our senior years we can also expect to continue to grow our brains.

New research on the neuroplasticity of our brains is showing remarkable results in our brains ability to heal and grow. And its all in your control!

Until fairly recently most scientists believed that only the brains of children and adolescents were malleable and resilient. If a child sustained a moderate brain injury he was more likely to experience a full recovery. An adult suffering a moderate brain injury usually sustained irrepairable damage. It was assumed that this lack of ability in adults to repair damaged brain tissue also impacted their cognitive abilities as they aged. But the neuroplasticity of the brain has opened up whole new frontiers of research and perhaps even discovered the fountain of youthful thinking!

Up until the age of sixteen your brain sees incredible growth. Billions of neurons develop and send out their dendritic spines to connect with other neurons creating connections and associations to run every function and system of the body. At the age of sixteen however, the brain begins to prune unneccesary or unused neurons in a process called apoptosis. This cultivation occurs at a massive level, which anyone with a teen can attest to! At the age of seventeen the brain once again begins to grow until it peaks at the age of twenty.

At twenty the brain is as big as it's going to get. It's peaked. So you'd think, if bigger is better, than at twenty years old you'd maxed out your intelligence quotient. Wrong! How many wise twenty year olds do you know?

The fact is, after the age of twenty your brain begins to fill out by creating more connections, more associations and most importantly a greater network of connecting neurons, something like a computer creating a database. At midlife, around 45-50, the brain once again begins to prune away unneccesary connections. At this point the brain may seem to be slowing down but the connections are so integrated and complex that it just takes a little longer to access the information.

Recent research has shown that though the younger brain can think quicker the older brain can think more efficiently or if you like more wisely. Another bonus of the aging mind is the ability to make better judgement calls and have a more positive attitude. Research has found that as we age we focus on things that make us feel good, improving our overall outlook on life.

The passing of decades brings us enormous opportunities for experience and the acquisition of knowledge and skills. So even though we may be losing some unneccesary gray matter we may be better off without it.

FYI

Exercise cultivates new neurons.
Healthy fats are a key part of every cell membrane in the brain.
Use it or lose it! Keep learning, you're never too old.
Environmental toxins can have a dramatic and detrimental affect on brain health.
Your brain needs oxygen, so practice deep breathing regularly.
What are The Three Secrets of Brain Longevity