Over the years, some brain capacities are lost, especially memory. Most people resign themselves to this mental deterioration considering that nothing can be done over the years, probably equivalent to physical deterioration that is impossible to stop. But lately we have been warned about the need to make an effort to keep an active mind despite the years in order to have a better quality of life. Can the deterioration of mental faculties be prevented?
Super elders
- A study by Northwestern University, in the United States, has shown that there is a group of elderly people, over 80 years of age, with a more alert cognitive capacity than people 30 years younger. The ability of this select group of super-elders is due to a very special brain anatomy. The outermost layer of your brain is much thicker than in other people your age, about the same thickness as a 50-year-old. As it happens, this cortex is related to memory, attention, and reasoning. Similarly, MRIs in older people with memory loss or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s showed the same extremely thin layer of the brain.
- We already have, then, the exact place where a young mind develops, but as in an enigmatic spiral of the type which came first, the chicken or the egg?, studies have not revealed whether mental abilities remain active due to a thicker cerebral cortex, or if, on the contrary, it is the continuous development of mental abilities that prevents the cerebral cortex from becoming thinner.
How to keep your mind young
- But until someone shows us that brain aging is unstoppable and that we can’t stop mental deterioration, it would be wise to keep trying to keep a young, alert and active mind. Above all, you must avoid letting yourself be overcome by the signs of aging and keep in touch with life, which means continuing to have interests, hopes and dreams to fulfill.
- Stay active by participating in community activities, such as attending festivals, excursions, exhibitions, etc. It is essential, as well as maintaining a routine of moderate physical exercise, to the extent of the physical possibilities of each person.
- Maybe now is the time to pursue that hobby for which there was never time, even discover new interests. You are never too old to learn something new: languages, computers, or any other course that keeps your attention span active.
- It is also very important to continue to maintain curiosity and concerns. Older people are an important part of our society, but sometimes they lose interest in current affairs because they feel overwhelmed by social changes. It is also the responsibility of the people around them to help them integrate into today’s society from which many live far away.
- But the fundamental thing to keep a young mind is the attitude, not giving up on being active and not letting yourself be overcome by the difficulties that the passage of time imposes.