BOOSTING BRAIN POWER

    If you draw a blank when trying to remember a friend’s name, can’t find your car in a parking lot or misplace your reading glasses, it is normal to have some types of memory loss “but some types of memory loss are more substantial than others as we age,” says Arthur Kramer, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  “If you meet someone at a party and can’t remember their name and what you talked about,” Kramer said, “One aspect of memory relates different pieces of information and puts them all together, and that’s the type that isn’t quite what it used to be.” 

    The brain is surprisingly adept at compensating for aging, and other types of memory can improve or remain intact over time.  More encouraging is that a set of relatively simple and inexpensive lifestyle changes, described below can go a long way toward maintaining a vigorous mind.  In late adulthood – the hippocampus – the brain region responsible for forming some types of memory shrinks up to 2 percent annually and increased risk for dementia.  Regular aerobic exercise encourages the growth of new brain cells, even if the workouts are not strenuous.  In a trial published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in January 2011, older adults were asked to either exercise or stretch.  The exercisers started with 10 minute walking sessions, extending them by 5 minutes each week until they walked for 40 minutes, three times a week.  Over a year, their hippocampus volume increased by 2 percent on MRI brain scans.  Those who only stretched showed a decrease in this volume.  Aim for at least 30 minutes a day five days a week.

    Pleasant helpful people retain brain vitality.  The International Neuropsychological Society followed 1,138 elderly people who did volunteer work and participated in social groups and attended religious services.  Over 5 years, the rate of decline on a broad range of cognitive abilities, was 70 percent lower in the most socially active people compared with the least socially active.  Other activities count, including gardening, playing the piano or other instrument, studying a new language, bird watching, or memorizing dance steps.  Foods for thought include fish, fruit and vegetables including dark leafy greens to protect mental agility.  The University of Pittsburgh tracked diets over 10 years and found those who baked or broiled fish at least once a week had larger and healthier cells in brain areas responsible for memory.