{"id":6943,"date":"2010-01-06T00:14:37","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T05:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=6943"},"modified":"2010-01-06T00:14:37","modified_gmt":"2010-01-06T05:14:37","slug":"keeping-your-brain-working-well-into-your-golden-years-by-experiencing-new-viewpoints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/keeping-your-brain-working-well-into-your-golden-years-by-experiencing-new-viewpoints\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Your Brain Young and Working Well Into Your Golden Years By Making Yourself Experience New Viewpoints"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Train the Aging Brain<\/a> asks “can an old brain learn, and then remember what it learns?\u00a0 As it happens, yes. Over the past several years, scientists have looked deeper into how brains age and confirmed that they continue to develop beyond middle age.\u00a0 The brain, as it traverses middle age, gets better at recognizing the central idea, the big picture. If kept in good shape, the brain can continue to build pathways.\u00a0 The trick is finding ways to keep brain connections in good condition and to grow more of them.\u00a0 \u201cThe brain is plastic and continues to change, allowing for greater complexity and deeper understanding.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Educators say that, for adults, one way to nudge neurons in the right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of well-connected pathways, adult learners should \u201cjiggle their synapses a bit\u201d by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own, says Dr. Kathleen Taylor, 66, a professor at St. Mary\u2019s College of California.<\/p>\n

Continued brain development may require that you \u201cbump up against people and ideas\u201d that are different. In a history class, that might mean reading multiple viewpoints, and then prying open brain networks by reflecting on how what was learned has changed your view of the world.\u00a0 Dr. Taylor says. \u201cWe need to challenge our perception of the world. If you always hang around with those you agree with and read things that agree with what you already know, you\u2019re not going to wrestle with your established brain connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such stretching is exactly what scientists say best keeps a brain in tune: get out of the comfort zone to push and nourish your brain. Do anything from learning a foreign language to taking a different route to work.\u00a0 \u201cAs adults we have these well-trodden paths in our synapses,\u201d Dr. Taylor says. \u201cWe have to crack the cognitive egg and scramble it up. And if you learn something this way, when you think of it again you\u2019ll have an overlay of complexity you didn\u2019t have before \u2014 and help your brain keep developing as well.\u201d \u201cAs adults we have all those brain pathways built up, and we need to look at our insights critically,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is the best way for adults to learn. And if we do it, we can remain sharp.\u201d<\/a>
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When I read things like the above, I listen.\u00a0 I am always moving my furniture around, taking different routes, switching which hand I use the mouse with or dial the phone with, anything to take me out of a mental rut and make me think a different way.<\/p>\n

In Internet use good for the brain<\/a> they find that “For middle-aged and older people at least, using the internet helps boost brain power.\u00a0 A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning. The researchers say this might even help to counteract the age-related physiological changes that cause the brain to slow down.\u00a0 The study features in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.<\/p>\n

“A simple, everyday task like searching the web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults.”\u00a0 Professor Gary Small, University of California Los Angeles said: “The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerised technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults.\u00a0 Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.\u00a0 A simple, everyday task like searching the web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older.”<\/p>\n

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer\u2019s Research Trust, said: “These fascinating findings add to previous research suggesting that middle-aged and older people can reduce their risk of dementia by taking part in regular mentally stimulating activities.\u00a0 Frequent social interactions, regular exercise and maintaining a balanced diet can also reduce dementia risk.
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Good to know!<\/p>\n

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LISTEN FREE<\/span>: You Are Not The Body<\/a>
\nThe End of Death As We Know It<\/a><\/p>\n

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