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We all learn the hard way that our bodies decline functionally as we get older. We aren’t able to keep up with strenuous activities that didn’t faze us when we were younger, and our memories may not be as sharp as they were in our 20s or 30s. We frequently have a word (or name!) on the tip of our tongue that we can’t quite remember, and that walk in the park takes longer and longer to complete. All a part of the inevitable process of aging.
Nature dictates that we all slow down a bit, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do to do mitigate it—and it’s never too late to start!
One of the most important things you can do is to exercise regularly and maintain an active lifestyle. It’s been shown time and again, that people who remain physically active into their later years tend to age more slowly and have more stamina. They’re also less susceptible to accidents and injury. On the other hand, those who don’t exercise and are not active physically tend to have shorter lives and more health problems—including the likelihood of problems associated with memory loss and confusion. Yes, that daily morning jog or evening weight routine at the gym in your 40s might help you remember where you left those house keys in your 80s!
If you’re daunted by the idea of being an octogenarian marathon runner, let me reassure you that while it’s important to stay active as we age, we don’t necessarily need to maintain the same level we did as young adults. Even a brisk nightly walk around the neighborhood can do a lot of good in our later years. The important thing to remember is that if we don’t maintain some level of physical activity, we can accelerate the aging process. Physical activity stimulates and increases blood flow into the brain, which is important in cognition and memory.
Of course, if we maintain physical activity as we age, we also need time to rest and recover. In fact, we actually need that rest more than when we were younger. While we may not necessarily need more rest time, we need to make sure that we are getting enough rest to completely recover from various activities. No more skipping our recovery time and hoping we can just muscle through it—leave that invincible attitude for the young!
A recent article in the Cleveland Jewish News, “Keeping brain healthy important as seniors age”, shared opinions from numerous professionals in age-related fields on additional actions we can take to improve brain health and prevent some of the decline in brain function as we get older. One important factor? Socializing!
Maintaining social contacts and interactions stimulate our brain networks, and keeping active inter-personal interactions and exercising our brains keeps our nervous system functioning at a high level. This can be as simple as playing cards with friends or even reading a book for the first time.
In the abovementioned article, Silvia Orsulic-Jeras, senior research associate and SHARE program manager at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging in Cleveland, urges, “It is so important for families to remember to keep their older loved one socialized through interactions. A lot of what happens is people stop asking their older loved ones what they like to do. Learn more about their interests and their life story, spend time with them doing what they love and value.”
Of course, nutrition is also important in aging and especially for brain health. Nerve cells are the basic building blocks in our nervous systems, and nerve cells have a much higher rate of metabolism than other cells in our body. This means that brain nerve cells need much more energy than cells in other tissues in order to function. They get this energy primarily from the little ‘batteries’ inside each cell called mitochondria.
Mitochondria supply over 90% of brain cell energy, so it’s easy to see why these little cellular organelles are so important to brain health. They need nutrients and oxygen to perform their vital functions, including providing high-energy molecules to nerve cells, and maintaining calcium balance inside our cells. If nerve cell mitochondria are damaged or cannot receive the necessary nutrients and oxygen, then all of the biological functions that involve the nervous system are impaired.
In my next update, I’ll tell you more about the impact this damage can have, and what you can do to help mitigate it!
Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H)
The Institute for Molecular Medicine
Huntington Beach, California
