It is never too late to learn something new. In fact, keeping the brain alert with new challenging activities can prevent mental aging. People have great fears of losing their mental capabilities during the aging process; however, instead of worrying about losing their brain, people should continually use it.
"We say, 'Use it or lose it,'" said Dr. Kyle Allen, director of Summa Health System's Center for Senior Health.
Forget the myth that scientists once thought older brain was incapable of generating new cell growth.
Molly Wagster, program director of Neuropsychology of Aging, said "We're in flux about what we know about brains."
The Neuropsychology of Aging for the National Institute on Aging is part of the federal National Institutes of Health. Wagster pointed out that up until the mid-1990s, researchers thought that people who were aging lost considerable numbers of nerve cells in many parts of their brains. Nevertheless, recent discoveries contradict that belief.
With more advanced techniques, researchers found that normal older brains do not appear to experience any major loss of the nerve cells, especially in parts of the brain that are vital for learning and memory.
Wagster responds to previous beliefs of the limitations of older brains, "That doesn't seem to be true. In fact, the old brain as well as the young brain is capable of generation new nerve cells, particularly in the areas of the brain that are important for leaning and memory."
Most people will not experience severe memory impairment as they age and recent findings indicate that aging brain has much greater potential than previous convections. A federal expert who has a board overview of research trends said that for the past five years, traditional beliefs about older brain have been challenged and reversed in many ways.
Take Rev. John Beatty for example. Beatty, 62, who lives in Fairlawn, retired from the pulpit last year. Now, he finally realized his long-held dream of taking flying lessons. Beatty is cultivating his brain cells by doing this new exciting endeavor. He said that earning a pilot's license is fun but also takes a fair amount of effort.
"You need to remember what you're doing up there." Beatty said.
In taking up this new challenge, Beatty has enhanced his chances of staying mentally keen for decades to come. Scientists now believe that trying fresh and stimulating hobbies from aviation to playing a new game, practicing a new instrument, learning a new language or planting a fancy garden may be a powerful way to keep the mind astute for years to come.
There are still some drawbacks to older brains in comparison to younger brains. Beatty believes that he would have learned to fly quicker if he were younger. He is right, because an older brain is slower than a younger brain. An older person takes a longer period of time to learn the same thing than the time it takes a younger person.
Experts say that when the older person does learn the task, he can do it just as accurately as the younger person. When an aging brain grows new cells, it does not grow as many or as quickly as a younger brain. For instance, an older person may have a harder time recalling names and other proper nouns.
Regardless of the speed, older brains potential has long been neglected. Experts agree that in order to rejuvenate the brain, the normal aging brain should not be lazy like a couch potato, but rather be encouraged to face challenges that make it think and work. Geriatricians say that the later years are not the time to sit behind the TV screen and watch the world go by.
Dr. Allen, who teaches medical residents, said that he and people in his field understand that the research is not conclusive, they still believe that it is absolutely necessary for older adults to keep the mind as active as possible.
Wagster's "use it or lose it" phrase came mostly from animal studies. Dr. Allen said, "We know if you train an animal on a new task or have them run a maze, it actually improves their performance on other tasks, it may even involve structural changes in the brain itself."
These studies have not been replicated on older humans for ethical and logistical reasons. Human subjects also have many other factors that can affect their brain functions, such as diet, some medications and alcohol.
Dr. Barry Gordon, suggests that while researchers are trying to sort out all the complexities of how memory works in the older person, those middle-aged and older would be wise to go ahead and try new, difficult, interesting activities. Dr. Barry Gordon, a neurologist and experimental psychologist who directs the memory clinic at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, is the author of Memory and Forgetting in Everyday Life. Gordon also emphasized that a person should learn new tasks, even if his/her regular activities are inherently invigorating. The new activity should be interesting to the person because trying to force him or herself to study something against his/her desire is not very beneficial.
"It's like having exercise gear. We can talk about what exercise gear is best, but if it sits in the corner, it doesn't matter," Gordon said.
The new activity should also be somewhat difficult because the excitement brings with it anxiety, which can be a beneficial simulation in right amounts. Beatty, the retired minister, acknowledges that learning to fly is "kind of scary," because he is continuously required to remember essential tasks when flying. Beatty also feels that his age is a limitation and an advantage to his learning of aviation.
"I believe I would have learned faster when I was 20, but I do think that experience helps, and just having a lot of challenges and having to meet them give you a confidence I may not have had when I was 20." Beatty concludes.
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