The Science of Making the Most of your Mature Mind

Judith Horstman was our guest speaker for June. She just published her fourth book with Scientific American called The Healthy Aging Brain. We had a great turnout with over 67 people in attendance. Clearly, staying healthy and vigorous is at the forefront of everyone's mind.

Judith reviewed some basic neurology and quickly got to the topic of interest. She identified "The Big Five" that contribute to healthy brain aging. These are: physical activity, mental stimulation, nutrition, socialization and finally, creativity, soul and a positive attitude.

Exercise is essential for healthy aging on so many levels. The research on exercise shows an improvement in the production of new brain cells, reduction of the effects of chronic diseases known to contribute to brain aging (such as diabetes), balance improvement, stress reduction, and improved sleep. It is not necessary to join a club and try to compete with 20 something's. Brisk walking is an excellent exercise but you may prefer swimming, biking or team sports. The more meditative exercises such as Yoga and Tai Chi are also beneficial. You should do what you enjoy and can do regularly.

As Judith says, educated brains stay younger, so give yourself a pat on the back for showing up for Mini-Medical School! You can take a new language or learn a new physical skill. After a lifetime of learning, you probably have skills that you could teach. There is nothing to sharpen your wits more than facing a class of eager students. There are also computer based brain training programs. Posit Science was featured in the book and seems to have some robust research support. Lumosity was also discussed proved very effective for some attendees.

Now on to everyone's favorite, nutrition. This is a vast and sometimes confusing topic. There are so many fads it is hard to tell the wheat from the chaff (to use a food metaphor). The majority of the scientific studies support food based nutrition featuring a high fruit and vegetable diet. This is particularly true of very colorful foods, such as peppers, and fruits and berries. Eating five to eight servings of fruits and vegetables daily is the answer to the diet confusion. Essential fatty acids in fish and olive oil are crucial for healthy brain function. Some of our favorite beverages are also helpful. Coffee in moderation has helpful flavonoids and the caffeine also has specific benefits. One to two servings of an alcoholic beverage is also helpful, although no one recommends starting to drink only for health reasons. It does not seem to make any difference what type of alcohol you ingest. Finally, our old friend, chocolate, has been a winner in many studies, particular on cardio-prevention. Just stick with the dark, low sugar chocolate.

Your brain is a social organ and it likes for you to have friendly experiences regularly. Friendship lowers blood pressure and inflammation, improves immune system functioning, improves memory and relieves pain. You have probably noticed that you are losing friends to distance and, unfortunately, to death as you get older. It is difficult to make new friends as you age, but there are a few approaches that can break through that social barrier.  Accept social invitations, even if you are unsure if you will enjoy the event. Join interest groups or take classes. Judith noted that the friends of your friends are probably people that you will also like, so find a way to get yourself circulating in friendly circles.

Finally meditation and the cultivation of a positive attitude reduce stress hormones and definitely improve brain function. All faith based organizations have a meditative component, so your religious preference can be easily nourished with a specific meditative technique. For example, Christians, Jewish people and Muslims have prayer, and the Sufis have ecstatic dance. The secular meditation techniques are Mindful Meditation, and the moving meditations, such as Tai Chi Chuan. The cultivation of a positive attitude is quite profound. As you age, you develop a perspective on events that may have been absent in your youth. With the wisdom of experience, you react to crisis in a more nuanced manner, and can see past the immediate issues to a resolution. In a word, "you've been there before", and seen how to get to the other side. That is certainly a skill that is essential to share with younger people, and we return again to the social connection.

A great time was had by all, and Judith got a hearty Thank You from coming all the way from Sacramento to see us. If you missed getting a copy of her book and you want to look at this in greater depth the title is:

The Scientific American Health Aging Brain: the neuroscience of making the most of your mature mind by Judith Horstman, Jossey-Bass, 2012.

Judith's next book will be on integrating mindfulness practices into schools. There is a very large body of research showing the benefits for student attention and performance as well as stress reduction.  We wish her all the best in her future activities.