How to Age-Proof Your Brain
When it comes to brain aging, it’s best not to take age-related cognitive decline sitting down. In fact, recent research suggests that swapping a sedentary lifestyle for one that includes regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise may be one of the best ways to slow brain aging among older adults.
In a study published May 17, 2016 in Neurology, researchers asked 900 older adults about their exercise activity, gave them cognitive tests, and used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan their brains. Five years later, the cognitive tests and scans were repeated and the researchers compared results between participants who reported engaging in light or no physical activity and those who reported enjoying regular moderate-to-intensive physical workouts. The result? In contrast to the 10 percent of participants who were regular exercisers, the 90 percent who reported little or no exercise had experienced cognitive declines equal to an additional 10 years of aging.
“This study is important because it illustrates an important factor in brain aging over which we can have some control,” says Joel Salinas, MD, MBA, MSc, a behavioral neurologist and researcher in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and a director of the MGH Institute for Brain Health. “It suggests that by adopting a lifestyle that includes regular moderate exercise, it’s possible to significantly slow age-related declines in brain health and functioning, and joins another study published in The Lancet recently that suggests that physical inactivity accounts for approximately 292,600 (or 3.8 percent) of new cases of dementia each year worldwide.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO
For information on ways to maintain and/or improve your brain health, check out the helpful new website of MGH’s Institute for Brain Health.
The website aims to help visitors learn how they can prevent brain disease and preserve brain function through news articles and discussion of the latest MGH research. You can log on to the website at www.Massgeneral.org/brain-health/
Age-proofing
Brain aging varies from individual to individual, and depends in part upon genetic determinants over which we have no control. However, in addition to getting regular exercise (experts recommend 30 minutes or more of moderate-to-intense exercise at least five days a week), recent studies have identified a number of other strategies that individuals can use that appear to slow age-related brain changes. Taking these steps might be especially helpful in bolstering your brain against the wear and tear of aging:
Eat a brain-healthy diet. An easy-to-follow eating plan called the MIND diet (see table, below) combines elements of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet for controlling hypertension. Research published in 2015 found that the diet slowed cognitive decline and provided significant protection against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) even in individuals who adhere only partially to their diet regimen and that the longer individuals follow the diet, the lower their risk of developing AD.
Maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight speeds brain aging. A study published July 27, 2016 in Neurobiology of Aging found strong evidence that being overweight or obese in midlife and later can make the brain as much as 10 years older. Using brain scans to measure brain volume, researchers found a significant reduction in white matter—brain tissue responsible for helping communication among brain cells—in the brains of study participants who were obese or overweight compared to those who were normal weight.
Avoid stress. Learn relaxation techniques such as meditation or yoga, or engage in relaxing activities (e.g., soaking in a hot bath or listening to soothing music) to protect your brain from the wear and tear linked to stress. Research suggests that chronic stress and excess levels of the stress hormone cortisol may worsen memory—especially in older individuals—by shrinking and impairing the functioning of a key center for learning and memory in the brain called the hippocampus. A review published in the Jan. 29, 2016 issue of Current Opinion in Psychiatry concluded that pathological anxiety and chronic stress leads to structural degeneration and impaired function of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex (a brain region involved in thinking, decision-making and moderating behavior) and increases risk for depression and dementia. It is important to get professional advice for depression or anxiety that lasts longer than two weeks.
Stay socially engaged. Avoiding isolation and participating in social activities keeps the brain stimulated and responsive to changing circumstances. People who are socially active are significantly more likely to maintain a youthful brain.Practice good health habits. Manage medical conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and other physical problems that can negatively affect the brain. Avoid smoking, exposure to environmental toxins, and excess alcohol (more than two drinks a day). Try to get about seven hours of restful sleep at night.
Signs of Age
There are many possible brain changes that are related to aging, although not all may occur in every individual. Changes in functioning that begin most commonly in middle age may include slowing of the ability to acquire new information and recall it later; slowing of cognitive processing speed; increased difficulty ignoring distractions and focusing attention; and greater difficulty calling to mind appropriate words. The most important of physical changes include:
▶ Loss of brain volume: Brain mass declines, especially in the frontal lobes and hippocampus, regions essential for thinking and memory. The shrinkage is due to loss of brain cells, which may occur as part of normal aging or in a variety of disease states. A decrease in the white matter of the brain also takes place with aging.
▶ Cellular changes: The number of cells responsible for producing brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, serotonin, and dopamine, that carry messages between neurons. The receptors for these neurotransmitters may also decrease. A decrease in the number of synapses—connecting points between brain cells—and a deterioration of axons and dendrites that link cells to one another may also occur.
▶ Cerebrovascular changes: Blood flow within the brain may decrease by as much as 20 percent. Age-related changes in cerebral blood vessels linked to such factors as high blood sugar, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stiffening arteries may also play a role in memory decline. The brain’s ability to adjust the tone and blood flow within cerebral blood vessels—a capability called auto regulation, also diminishes with age.
▶ Oxidative stress: Over time, high levels of free radicals (molecules that are byproducts of normal cell processes) can react with oxygen in the body and wear away at healthy cells, including brain cells, injuring or even destroying them.
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