Is the aging brain destined to fall, or can you really stay sharp and strong?
We all experience changes as we get older – we may notice them first in the knees and eyes, but in middle age and older we may notice changes in the brain as well. We have trouble downloading a word or we take an extra minute or two to memorize a name.
It happens and it’s normal. Those shifts in awareness can be worrisome because the reality of old age is mixed with the fear of dementia. It helps to understand that most of the cognitive changes we begin to see in mid-life are not a cause for concern, and there are strategies that can help us draw on wisdom and experience to compensate for the normal changes.
First, the bad news: yes, the brain works normally if there is a fear of age-related changes. It’s very simple, it shrinks and there is not much we can do about it. Atrophy is best known in the frontal lobe and hippocampus, which are involved in the management of cognition and the formation of new memories. Blood flow to the brain is also reduced because the arteries harden and become less efficient.
Then there is a change in the white matter – under the deep folds of the gray matter – which is responsible for the relationship. The white pigment nerve is encased in myelin, which transmits nerve signals between brain cells and shrinks with age. That results in slower and more efficient communication between brain areas experienced, such as slower thinking. You still have all that knowledge in your brain, but you will be slow to answer false questions.
Read more here: Beware of brain disease! 5 daily habits that keep in mind
Compensation for age-related changes
Despite the bad (but normal) information, you still have a lot of brain power in your handling. You can learn to use your skills and experience to compensate for age-related changes.
When my patients complain of slowing down, we work on some Basic strategies for compensation For it. These can feel awkward at first, but once it becomes a habit, you will find that they are remarkably effective.
Strategies for the Aging Brain.
1. Practice Priority Filter
This refers to zoning on important information prior to the experience. Experiences that provide a lot of new information – whether it is calling or reading a book or visiting a friend – require your brain to do a lot of work to find out what is important.
Usage A Priority FilterYou get into a situation where you have already thought about what is important to remember. If you go to dinner with a good friend, ask yourself first, what are five things I want to remember about this person? You can remember more, but if you choose five important things to remember, you will lose some of your cognitive burden.
2. Write and repeat. And do it again.
Writing short notes about what you hear or read creates a cognitive filtering system. As you write down the key points, your brain focuses on processing those points and filtering out the rest. Small details are easier to process than long stories.
Same with repetition: The more you practice or repetitive information, the deeper the process in your brain. If you write down five points that are important for you to commit to remembering, then you rehearse that information until it is solid in that short-term memory bank. That is the purpose of using the effort of frontal lobe function. The great thing about writing is that it freezes the information so it doesn’t go anywhere.
3. Prepare information
Remember learning all the mnemonics – rhymes or funny phrases to recall information like Roy G. Biv for the colors of the rainbow? They work because they give the brain a way of understanding information and relating it to something that is solidly encoded or solidified in our memory bank.
We can create creative or funny phrases about anything. If you take the time to do it, then you are preparing that information so that you have a more effective recall of it. When we do not give ourselves time to practice or prepare information, we pay because those front lobes do not work as well as they used to.
4. Give yourself a signal
It is important to give self-warning signals rather than relying on spontaneous recall, which is less reliable for older brains. For example, when you are planning to meet a friend for lunch, you may think that of course you will remember – she is your best friend, you are looking forward to meeting her.
But remember meeting her at Old Stone Café for lunch on Monday at noon – that’s a lot of information you may not remember on your own. Put it in your daily plan and add notifications in the phone. Spontaneous recall does not work well for the aging brain and can be one of the most boring parts of aging. Try not to do this to yourself! Put those signs on as it will help you avoid slowing down the functioning of the anterior lobe.
5. In the present
Current meditation means knowing your state of mind when you are doing something. If you are doing something that requires you to pay attention, perform a task that requires effort to understand, you do not want to be distracted by anxiety, fatigue, or anything else that pulls you out of the present moment.
These are not good times to get other information! If you find yourself in such a situation, it’s definitely time to write a story. It’s time to ask for information over and over again. It’s definitely time to use all the strategies here.
Read more here: How to hack the brain: 4 tricks “forbid” your mind does not want you to know
There is more you can do for your brain.
In addition to these strategies, it is important to understand the long-term negative self-narrative that can affect the brain. Chronic self-criticism, decreased self-confidence, and pessimism about the future often run in the background of mental health efforts and undermine your efforts to implement these strategies. It is important to recognize these factors against negative thoughts and open your brain to a healthy age.
Building cognitive reserves is another important part of maintaining long-term mental health. Cognitive reserves refer to the brain’s ability to maintain resilience in the face of aging or neurological changes. This reserve can be strengthened throughout our lives by engaging in activities that involve learning, processing new information, and challenging our thinking.
The strategies discussed here are intended to help you maintain emotional connection and continue to build reserves of knowledge over time. In many ways, cognitive reserves act as a cushion against some cognitive changes that can occur with aging, helping the brain maintain flexibility and function for longer.
Written by Amanda Sacks-Zimmerman, Ph.D.
This article was originally published on Psychology Today
