Stop Brain Decay

People are defined by their abilities. Athletes tend to be much more physically fit and skilled than others, musicians can create beautiful music out of almost anything. In contrast, however, the elderly tend to have decreased brain functionality. This loss of cognitive ability is not limited to the elderly. It can even affect people in their middle ages. Through scientific evidence, there is reason to believe that cells die off with age. But is there a way to stop this decline?

Perhaps I should begin with my journey toward developing this question. Recently, I have been trying to learn a new language. This is not a task to be taken lightly; it requires many hours of dedication in order to become fluent in any given language, but it can be done. Often times we hear stories about people who have learned new languages even after the age of sixty. There are stories about individuals who have learned new languages after the age of sixty, so I’m sure I am capable of doing so.

Not too long ago I came across a book titled “Guitar Zero” by Gary Marcus. This book is about the journey of a man on his path to become a rock legend. The only problem is that he has to learn how to play the guitar....at the ripe age of forty-seven. This story brought two concepts to light for me:

1. There is one advantage children have over adults that he consistently saw. This advantage was that children have the patience to repeat a task thousands of times in order to master it.

2. People tend to stick with things that they are good at rather than trying something new.

These concepts came to my mind when I read “How to Train the Aging Brain” by Barbara Strauch. After reading this, I thought about how one could stop the decline of cognitive function. Strauch examined the connotations and perceptions that are aligned with the aging brain. She found that individuals need to challenge their minds in order to keep them efficiently working on new ideas and viewpoints.

In that article, Dr. Micheal Taylor said, “We need to know stuff. But we need to move beyond that and 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’re not going to wrestle with your established brain connections.” This seems to be the simplest answer. Push yourself to your limits and your brain will adapt. It will make more connections and you may be able to stave off the decline.



 Referrences:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html?ref=health&_r=0