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In a film made some years ago, a group of elderly people in a residential convalescent home began to feel so reinvigorated and full of life after diving into a swimming pool that they went out dancing in the clubs at night. This happened because strange cocoons containing extraterrestrials from outer space were deposited in the swimming pool… The desire to discover, decipher, slow down, block or reverse the ageing process runs through the whole of human history, from popular legends to Goethe’s Faust and many other examples. Currently no panacea for ageing exists, but according to the most recent discoveries about the brain, it is possible to slow this process down and therefore keep your mental faculties intact as long as possible.
Above all, the Roman maxim ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ (a healthy mind in a healthy body) must be borne in mind. Even in old age, a good education must be directed toward both intellectual and physical vigour, and the second is an indispensable precondition for the first. It is important to avoid stress since it influences the immune system and increases the production of cortisol by the adrenal cortex, a gland found above the kidneys. Cortisol has the same effect of suppressing the immune system as cortisone, only that the former is produced by the organism, whilst the latter by the pharmaceutical industry. These substances have a deleterious effect on nerve cells, blocking their growth.
To cope with stress, autogenous training exercises are a good idea. These exercises initially require a little effort and involve imagining relaxing scenery whilst breathing more slowly and regularly. Furthermore, they concentrate on the various parts of the body, continuously reducing tension in the muscles. With training it is also possible to relax outside the home by bringing to mind the images connected with the state of relaxation.
A correct diet is also very important. It is a good rule to drink at least one-and-a-half litres of water a day. Eating food such as prunes, spinach, green tea and red wine is best because they counteract the oxidising action of free radicals, but also foods that contain omega-3 acids such as olive oil, blue fish, tuna and nuts. All these foods prevent both the action of noxious substances on the neurons ( the cells of the brain), and reduce the risk of hypertension that can cause small lesions in the veins of the brain, affecting both memory and mental agility.
Moderate physical exercise has a series of beneficial effects, not only for the body but also for the mind as it improves the oxygenation of the brain. Depression and anxiety are also two aspects not to be underestimated. Depression brings about disturbances of the memory that normally arise unexpectedly and become aggravated.
In addition to a healthy lifestyle, a prime rule in slowing down the cerebral ageing process is having variety in life. Stimulate curiosity and focus on observation. For example, by describing all the details in a picture or photograph, you can bring the details back to mind later.
Software like Brain Training and More Brain Training use various exercises to stimulate selective attention. When talking about the ageing process, the memory is usually a weak point. However, it is important to know that not just one type of memory exists, but various types of memory. There is the short-term immediate memory which is the memory we use when we are told a telephone number and we must recall it from our memory before dialling it moments later. This type of memory remains immune to the ageing process, but because being attentive plays an important role (and attention is sensitive to the ageing process), problems can arise.
Then there is the long-term memory that endures through time. It is generally divided into our accumulated knowledge memory (which helps us answer questions like “Which city is the capital city of France”) which is unaffected by the ageing process, and a memory for the things we must remember every day, such as the shopping list, where we put the house keys, etc. The latter is more susceptible to the ageing process and can be trained by stimulation from visual images and bizarre associations. It is useful to visualise a huge lock on the television screen to remind us that we have put the keys on the television. The exercises in Brain Training and More Brain Training train our memories, helping stimulate the brain.
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