Some Good News About Aging And The Brain
Good News About the Aging Brain Most of us know that wisdom comes with age and who hasn't asked the advise of someone in an older generation? The older we become the more life lessons we have stored in our memories. Paring having a brain disease, persons 50 and older can enjoy the ability to learn new things and increase their ability to understand new ideas. More and more, you see students aged 50 and above receiving educational degrees. One tidbit of information that may be news to most, is that even if we take longer to learn something past our 50's, what we learn will stick with us longer than when we were young. Most of our memory ability as we age stays intact regarding short-term and long-term memory as well as retaining information and the ability to recall facts. Add to this amazing capacity to remember is the seasoned dose of experience that older persons have gained over the years and you have a recipe for a well of knowledge to draw from. There are many tips to keep the aging brain in good condition. Keeping your brain healthy as you age does require some active attention. The phrase "use it or lose it can be applied to your ability to maintain a sharp memory and healthy cognitive skills. It is possible to develop a lazy brain, simply by not using it! We can train ourselves to be lazy thinkers. It might be easy for some older persons to falsely believe that they are too old to learn new things. This is far from the truth. The phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", certainly does not apply to dogs and definitely is not true for their human master either. Just as Fido, loves to please his master by learning new ways to entertain him by way of accomplishing new feats of obedience and fetching. The older human has an amazing capacity to enrich their capacity to think conceptually and to engage their brain in challenging situations. The brain has an amazing capacity to stretch. Try an experiment: Start doing a crossword puzzle once a day, increasing the difficulty level as you progress. After two weeks of constantly working them you will be amazed at how fast you can progress to the next highest level, simply because you are exercising your brain. Doing other activities that require analytical thinking can also do the same thing. Explore a new language, or learn a new board game; these are wonderful mind enriching activities. Keeping Your Brain Healthy Tips: Watch your stress level, Short term stress can help to improve your memory as you are more focused during acute short-term periods of stress. However, long-term, chronic stress can take a toll on your brain.
Take time to do activities that bring you pleasure as one way of reducing the stress levels in your life. Stay mentally active Our brains crave learning and are made to expand with the ability to absorb knowledge. Doing activities that require thinking as in doing math problems, learning a new language, learning a new skill or hobby can allow our brains to stay active and healthy.
Positive Thinking is Brain Healthy, You have probably heard of the phrase: "you are what you eat"? It is becoming a weight loss key phrase everywhere you go today. The phrase, "you are what you think", can be equally as true. How we perceive ourselves and our world has a real impact on how others see us as well as our own well being.
Whether we think in negative ways or positive ways is entirely in our control. Encouraging a positive self-image and self-worth gives us the ability to think positively about our lives and our future. Positive thinking is healthy for our brain. Thinking negatively shuts down our ability to think slows our activity levels and can ultimately lead to depression. Healthy Aging Issues Today
08/29/2008 |
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