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Your brain is ageing.
In fact, it began in your early 20s but will only manifest later on, usually in your 40s, and accelerate in your 60s.
“During this gradual decline, you will experience greater difficulty in learning, memory and multi-tasking. To slow this process, it is crucial to maintain a healthy brain and lifestyle,” says Shawn Watson, neuroscientist and chief executive officer of Senescence Life Sciences.
What happens when the brain ages
As you get older, your brain cells slow down. Consequently, they don’t respond as much to stimuli as young brain cells, so the electrical signal sent to other brain cells is weaker. Shawn says the weakened connections impair the storage of new information as well as the recall of information already stashed in your head.
“The popular belief is that our brain cells start dying off as we age. That isn’t true in the case of natural ageing. The death of cells in the brain is only associated with pathological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease,” Shawn points out.
How to stay mentally sharp
While there are several risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, including smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, here’s the good news: “Genes are a very poor predictor of dementia,” says Shawn.
In reality, there is a very low risk of getting Alzheimer’s based on family history alone – even though many people fear inheriting the disease from their parents,
“Your brain health is very closely tied to your body’s health,” says Shawn. “In order to keep your brain in tip-top condition, you should keep your body well too.” Here are some ways.
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The first step to preventing Alzheimer’s disease is regular exercise.
“There’s no magic bullet or secret formula,” Shawn confesses. “But many studies have shown exercise to be one of the most effective treatments to ward off cognitive decline.”
He says one theory posited by scientists as to why exercise is good for your brain is that exercise trains your brain cells to be able to handle oxidative stress to curb the effects of harmful free radicals from harming or destroying your brain cells.
While research on restrictive diets like gluten-free or vegan diets have not yielded significant findings, a balanced diet of all food groups in moderation has been found to consistently lead to healthier brain ageing.
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Stress can be damaging for both your emotional wellbeing and physiological health. Studies show that chronic stress can lead to premature cognitive ageing, so Shawn advises you to make sure you de-stress at the end of a challenging week at work.
Similarly, a persistent lack of sleep can have long-term undesirable effects of the brain. So make sure not to stint on sleep, or you’ll not only have brain fog the next morning, but possibly for the rest of your life.
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Your app store may be flooded with smartphone games that promise to help you improve your memory and keep your mind sharp, but Shawn says you shouldn’t rush to download all of them just yet.
“There isn’t any evidence that these brain games help to slow brain ageing,” he argues. “While they claim to improve your memory and reaction time, your increasing scores in the game may very well just mean that you are getting better at the game.”
However, some games do really hold benefits for your brain – one example is mahjong. The key is to have social and emotional engagement. Games that demand an emotional investment and provide opportunities for social engagement have been found to slow cognitive decline, even in people with early-stage dementia.
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One fascinating study found that seniors who reported that they felt younger than their actual age had healthier and younger brains than those who reported feeling older than their age.
So instead of lamenting that you’re getting older, blatantly deny your age and be forever 21! Shawn says that your perception of your own health can have real tangible effects on your physiology.
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Shawn says that higher education has been linked to lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease. But this doesn’t mean that you need to have a PhD like him to fight cognitive decline.
“What the research suggests is that people who continually pursue their interests and stay curious tend to show better cognitive performance as they age,” he elaborates. It’s never too late to pick up a musical instrument, or a new language, or take a ballroom dancing class with Hubby. Your brain will benefit from it.
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Your brain is made up of a hundred billion cells, each vulnerable to oxidation, which reduces the cell’s ability to conduct electrical signals through the brain. You can protect your brain cells with Revive ($120 for a bottle of 60 capsules), a dietary supplement from Senescence Life Sciences.
Made with active ingredients like panax ginseng and alpha-lipoic acid, the supplement contains antioxidants that target your brain and are said to decrease overall oxidation and increase internal production of antioxidants within brain cells. It also purports to rebuild and support the cells’ natural repair mechanisms.
Monthly, half-year and full year subscription plans for the supplement are available at http://www.senescence.life/.