Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Increasingly, scientific evidence tells us that our minds don’t have to deteriorate as we age there are things we can do now to dramatically increase the probability of staying mentally and physically fit throughout our lives. This is good news indeed, because mental fitness and agility are so directly connected to a good quality of life. Physical exercise, good nutrition, social connection with others, and mental stimulation all play important parts in ensuring that our brains remain sharp and agile.

Over the past 25 years, scientists and physicians affiliated with medical schools and universities all over the world have followed and tested large groups of people to try to understand why some people stay mentally sharp over the span of their lives and other people don’t. As a result, we now have a significant body of scientific research in an area called cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve involves the brains ability to create new neural pathways
and connections that can be used as a mental savings account, a reserve to be drawn upon in times of need. The research supports the hypothesis that many people continue to operate at a high mental level throughout their lives by building these brain reserves.
Several studies support the hypothesis of cognitive reserve and reinforce the importance of good physical health in keeping the brain fit. One such study is the famous Nuns Study described in Aging with Grace, in which Dr. David Snowdon, a neurologist, and his colleagues followed 700 nuns over more than 20 years. Two extremely important findings have come out of this study: first, there is a link between vascular episodes, such as stroke and heart
attack, and Alzheimers and dementia; and second, stimulating intellectual activity can provide protection from many types of cognitive decline.
Other ongoing studies have come to similar conclusions. The Bronx Aging Study, led by neurologist Dr. Joe Verghese and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, has followed almost 500 people for more than 20 years, observing what they actually do in their lives and what the relationship is between these choices and brain health. The research has found that people who participated in mentally stimulating activities, such as interactive
games and dancing, four times a week had a 65 to 75 percent better probability of remaining sharp than those who did not participatein these activities.
Dr. David Bennett at Rush University Medical Center has recently come to the same conclusion after following more than 2,000 people for years. Over time, 134 people died. None of them had been diagnosed with Alzheimers or even mild cognitive decline. But 36 percent of them had the severe tangles and plaques of Alzheimers.
This positive news reinforces the use it or lose it philosophy; these people had built up enough brain reserves to show no clinical signs of disease, meaning they still exhibited good thinking skills.
We encourage you to challenge yourself to learn at every
opportunity by learning a new language or a new musical
instrument or new and more complex tunes with an old one, reading, dancing, or taking a class. These are all effective tools to keep your mind sharp. But sometimes your brain needs a quick shot in the arm, a quick burst of energy that’s why we developed Protein Shakes for the Brain. Doing the puzzles in this book is a quick and easy way to give your minds muscle a little boost and
keep those neural pathways growing.

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