Without a doubt, the worst news you will hear today is that your brain is shrinking. No joke, after the body reaches a certain age, usually just post adolescence, the brain begins to gradually and undeniably reduce in size. The brain cell capacity you have counted on these many years actually hit its pinnacle around the time you were deciding which acne cream to buy. Since that time, your brain has been in decline and if ever size really mattered, now would be the time.
Your brain shrinkage gathers speed, as you grow older. Do you seem to get distracted when you read these words by the tiniest of noises? Does your mind wander to the good or bad times of your life when you are focusing on something that is totally non related, taking longer than usual to finish what you are doing? These would be tell tale signs that your brain is aging and on course for Smallsville. If you happen to be a guy, you lucky sod, your brain is in a faster decline then the female of the species! Brace yourself for the jokes when this information finds its way to your wife’s book club!
Researchers discovered this grand news and released the information in print back in 2001 in an issue of NeuroImage. Scientists used a procedure named Voxel-based morphometry or [VBM], and observed a group comprised of four hundred sixty five ordinary adults and found that certain significant elements of the brain experience a speedy quantity decline as an individual grows older. Noteworthy, it is the gray matter itself and not the white that undergoes the most contraction. The scientists involved made a point of including in the study only decidedly motivated and energetic people in the study that would find it necessary to nudge their brain in order to complete their daily tasks. This is significant since it means the brain will continue to shrink even when it is utilized to its greatest individual extent.
Not intending to sound ominous by any means, it should be pointed out that shortly after this study was published in 2001, a new study was released in that same journal NeuroImage. This one was performed on thirty five participants, nineteen of them with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The same VBM procedure was used and scientists discovered that a comparable loss of brain cells was evident in the Alzheimer’s group; the deficiency was highly discernible in the medial temporal regions.
Regrettably, the brain is in a tough spot to observe and treat what with being enclosed in the skull so understanding what is going on with it is a challenge. Unlike the heart for instance where we can exercise to bring it back to better health when there is a problem with it. With the brain, any problem brewing is only perceptible obliquely and it may already be too late to do anything proactive. It certainly is not something plainly visible to those around you if there is a problem developing. You will not recover brain volume by riding the exercise bike at the gym. There is no medication available that will help either.
There is some good news after the grim bit we just discussed. In the fall of 2007 there was a paper published in the journal – Neurobiology of the Aging –, which discussed two researchers experimenting on twenty six people of whom thirteen were in a control group while thirteen were examined. Both groups were put to task testing their capacity to maintain their attention and swiftness when responding to incentive.
Mutually the sensitivity and swiftness were seen to decline with aging of the control group however, the same decline was not evident in the “examined” group. It was clear they were not suffering from any brain shrinking at all and the theory is that they could eventually undo the shrinkage by progressive thickening of the cortical sheet in the long term. Now, what was it that was unique about this “examined” group? Why were they perceived as special enough to warrant a control group? The other thirteen contributors to the study were well practiced at meditation with at least three years of daily observance.
When people meditate, they have the ability to preserve their quantity of gray matter within their brains. Lolling about doing nothing more than being deep in thought appears to stimulate something inside the brain that forms the basis of gray matter to perhaps increase but more likely just not show any appreciable degeneration. What causes this to occur? The stimulation factor behind this process remains a mystery to researchers for now.
Given that are bodies do not respond well to a sedentary lifestyle – they are designed for movement and activity – so too the brain is designed for exercise that is more cerebral. We give our bodies a workout at the gym because this is what they require to remain fit. Our brains appear to require a mental workout in the form of deep thought in order to keep it in peak condition. If we are going to enjoy a life that is in top condition both physically and mentally, it would behoove every man or women to slot in to our daily exercise routine thirty minutes to an hour of peaceful meditation, along with the one hour of physical training in the gym.
Yet one more thing to add to the anti aging regimen of those who have a desire to remain at peak levels, as they grow older. It never seems to get any easier to stay youthful and fit and in fact, it really seems to be quite a bit of work. If staying young physically as well as mentally is something an individual wants bad enough, they will find the time to do what is required to remain healthy and vital into their senior years. Persevering to retain your mental capacity as you age, seems like a noble goal. The alternative has all the potential to result in a much more distressing conclusion.
Sat, Jan 9, 2010
Anti Aging, Bioscience, Gerontology, Lifestyle, Longevity