Use It Or Lose It
One of my favorite cartoonists is Wiley Miller, who draws the strip "Non Sequitur." The comic has a recurring character called Obviousman, who wears a superhero uniform with the word DUH emblazoned across his chest where Superman's S would be. He zooms in to reveal, well, the obvious, when the other characters are overcomplicating things and ignoring what's right in front of them.
I thought of Obviousman this week when I read the headlines about "brain-training." The ACTIVE study group (which stands for Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), based at Penn State, made the groundbreaking announcement that the best way for older people to keep their brains sharp is to, duh, exercise them.
As I've said before, true good health isn't just physical - it's also emotional, spiritual, social, and cognitive. You can't keep your body healthy if your brain isn't healthy.
And we already know that good nutrition is critical to both physical and cognitive health. The diet for a healthy body and a healthy brain are one and the same: lean proteins, lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains, with moderate amounts of healthy unsaturated fats. Physical exercise is important to brain health, to it stabilizes brain chemistry and helps keep arteries clear so the brain can get adequate blood flow.
But as the ACTIVE data shows, the brain also needs its own type of exercise. In the study, the brain exercises were formalized: over 2,800 adults between 65 and 96 were randomly assigned to memory, reasoning, or speedy mental processing groups. Each group met 10 times in six weeks and performed a variety of practical exercises: the memory group organized grocery lists; the reasoning group practiced tasks like reading bus schedules and figuring out medication dosages and times; the speed group used computer games to hone reflexes. The researchers assessed their functioning at baseline, at the end of the six weeks, and several times afterward for five years.
I wasn't surprised by the study's conclusion, but I must admit that the results were dramatic. Nearly 90 percent of the speed group, 74 percent of the reasoning group and 26 percent of the memory group showed almost immediate improvement after the training - and even more compelling, in most cases, the improvements lasted throughout all five years of the study.
Most older people don't have the opportunity to join a formal "brain training" class, but that doesn't matter. Just about anyone can achieve the same results by simply remaining active and engaged in the world. There are lots of ways to do this - previous studies have shown that something as simple as doing the crossword puzzle every day can keep your brain sharp. Reading, doing jigsaws, playing cards or board games - whatever it is that you enjoy.
Just make sure some of the activities involve getting up and out and interacting with others. There are plenty of ways to do this, too - libraries, museums, schools and social programs are always looking for volunteers. Many communities now have senior centers that offer clubs, lectures and other activities. If you look around, you're likely to find more opportunities than you have time for.
These kinds of things may not come naturally to everyone - but neither does healthy eating or exercise. Just like we develop those good habits, we need to develop healthy brain function habits: reading instead of watching TV; joining a club instead of staying home alone; volunteering our time instead of filling our schedules with other things. Just like healthy eating and physical exercise, that's good advice for any age.
