| The Truth About Senior Moments |
| By: Mary Desaulniers |
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We all have our moments when the word stays paralyzed in our throat. We
can see the face, hear the voice, but we struggle to name who it is we
have in our mind. Most of us have dismissed such moments as senior
moments. After all, we reason, they are part of aging. However, a new
study that emerged from Chicago recently suggests otherwise. Senior
moments might not be as innocuous as previously thought. The study
suggests that in a disturbing number of cases, embarrassing senior
moments such as forgetting a word, name or recent conversation are
really hallmarks and signs of Alzheimer's disease.
After performing autopsies on the brains of 134 older people who had
appeared to be normal except for some moments of forgetfulness, Chicago
scientists have found that one third of the participants had brains
riddled with plagues, waxy protein clumps and scarred tissues that were
all signs of Alzheimer's disease.Their senior moments were
pathological. Despite the fact that their brains showed marked
deterioration similar to those who succumbed to Alzheimer's, these
participants had been able to lead functional normal lives; that is,
they were able to take care of personal, household, social and daily
living needs. Their ability to do so has prompted the inevitable
question: why is that that some people are totally incapacitated and
indisposed by brain deterioration while others (who had similar levels
of deterioration in the brain) are able to function normally?
Dr. David Bennett, an Alzheimer's researcher at Rush University Medical
Center acknowledges that much can be gleaned from this discrepancy:
"There's something about these people that allows them to have large
amounts of pathology without obvious memory problems. We need to
understand why that is so." His research suggests that certain factors
seem to prevent us from being incapacitated in our daily lives despite
the build up of plaques and protein in our brains. These factors
include a) high levels of education and b) feelings of social
connectedness.
Mentally stimulating tasks such as learning a new skill or language,
doing crossword puzzles, reading and writing all help to diminish
incidents of senior moments and prevent Alzheimer's by enabling the
brain to compensate for the incapacitating elements of the disease.
Just as moderate aerobic activity( like running or speed walking) can
build arterial reserves that prevent heart attacks, so mind building
activities can create a "neural reserve" that enables people to
tolerate Alzheimer's-induced brain deterioration without succumbing to
dementia.
The next question we need to ask then is, what activities can we cultivate to preserve our neural reserves?
1. In the famous Nun's Study, researchers noted that the sisters who
had a dense linguistic style in their early journal entries (which
demonstrated an ability to manipulate complex ideas and images within a
single sentence) were the most untouched by Alzheimer's. Writing is an
activity that demands correlation between the right and left
hemispheres of the brain; translating emotions and ideas into words
demands the bilateral engagement of both hemispheres, mind and senses.
So by all means write-and write everyday. Make it as much a daily
activity as exercise. Write from your mind; write from your heart and
write from your gut. Don't worry about what others think. Just write!
2. Learn a new skill or language. Assimilating something new,
especially something that is unfamiliar terrain helps the brain to
build new neural reserves. The language can be in the realm of music or
computer ; as a matter of fact, so much has developed these days in the
area of programming that the whole online arena of systems protocol and
programs has literally opened up all kinds of possibility for growth.
3. Learn to play a new instrument- another example of assimilating new
terrain. When we attended a recent violin concert where my grandson(
age 4) performed the repertoire with the members of his Suzuki school,
we were impressed by an elderly gentleman who stood up with the
children ( ranging in age from 3 to 17) and performed his solo piece.
The applause was thunderous.Non- senior moments like this inspire us to
step outside our comfort zone and work through whatever it takes to
learn a new skill.
4. Travel widely and far. By the same token, traveling to different
cultures can enhance the activity of brain functions. When my partner
and I traveled to France and Italy last fall, we could feel the
neurotransmitters firing in our brains-especially in Italy. We had to
learn how to ask for food, time, directions to the subway station, to
the washroom. The city became a physical puzzle we had to tame and
nowhere was this more evident than in Venice, where safely ensconced in
the ferry that carried us to the Piazza del San Marco, we struck up
conversations with a gentleman from Latvia, a lady from Capri and a
couple from Korea . We were worlds apart linguistically-but somehow we
managed to understand each other quite well. This was a situation when
eyes, hand and gestures spoke more than words!
5. Exercise daily. Not only does aerobic and cardiovascular activity
strengthen our muscles, joints and bones, it improves the brain tissue
density in older adults. During the normal human aging process, the
average brain loses 15% of the cerebral cortex and 25% of white brain
matter, a loss that is linked directly to reduced cognitive
performance. Aerobic and cardiovascular exercises benefit the areas in
the brain that are most susceptible to the ravages of aging.
6. Last but not least, bless all you encounter and love what you do;
forget details that are not essential to your spiritual growth, such as
your senior moments. Leaving your ego self has the same dynamics as
learning a new language. Know that we are shadows and that our real
home lies elsewhere; this knowledge will catapult us into learning the
language of spirit.
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About Mary Desaulniers
A fitness and weight consultant, Mary is helping people reclaim their
bodies through nutrition, exercise, positive vision and creative
engagement. Visit her at GreatBodyat50 or at
ProteinPower
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It's
a good bet that you, like the rest of us, have forgotten something then
jokingly said, "it must be old-timers disease."