grow older better

Tag: healthy aging

  • Brain, Connections, and Genius

    brain halves

    Recently there have been new studies about Einstein’s brain – which was removed and preserved.

    Modern technology is being used to look at it, and like the research we read on brains and memory as we age, it seems that thickness, and connections make a difference in our brains.

    Einstein had more connections between the two halves of his brain than do most of us. 

    The research wonders if anyone else can come along with the genius of Einstein. 

    I guess a question I would raise is which came first, his brain or his genius thinking?

    Is it possible to “train” our brains to make more connections between the halves and to have it form more convoluted patterns [such as found in earlier studies of Einstein’s brain.]

    And – another question is” are there people with brains’ like this who are not making use of it like Einstein did?

    I guess you can tell I have some research training  😎

    I think we are into a period of new brain research and that is good for young and old!

     

     

  • Brains, Memory, and Aging

    human brain

    A study on what are called “superagers” shows that not all older people lose memory as they age.

     

    This study looked at those over 80….

     

    “Then we found something even more surprising, which was even harder to believe,” she says. “In an area called the anterior cingulate of the brain, it was actually thicker in the superagers than it was in the 50-year-olds.” The anterior cingulate is a small brain region important for attention and memory.

    A youthful cortex and thicker cingulate suggest to Rogalski that these two brain regions have been spared the typical age-related shrinkage, which may be what protects against the memory decline seen in most elderly people. Superagers also have fewer risk genes for Alzheimer’s than typical 80-year-olds, she notes.

     

     I am not sure why some brains at 80 look like younger ones, but I love this kind of research!

    We need to learn much more about how to keep our bodies and brains healthier as we age!!

    Thoughts? Comments?

    thank you

     

  • Obesity And Your Lifespan

    figure_on_bathroom_scale_400_clr_3535

    More of we older people, more than previously thought, may be shortening our lifespans due to obesity issues.

     

    The death toll of the nation’s obesity epidemic may be close to four times higher than has been widely believed, and all that excess weight could reverse the steady trend of lengthening life spans for a generation of younger Americans, new research warns.

     

    There are some studies that showed that having extra weight as we age might be a sort of protection – but in recent years all the research I have read shows that obesity shortens lives – of adults, of teens and of children.

    Me? I’d rather err on the side of not carrying around extra weight.

    Comments? Thoughts?

    Thank you…

     

     

     

     

     

  • Another Reason To Love Your Coffee

    coffee

     

     

    In my lifetime, coffee has been seen as bad for you, and good for you, and all points in between these two extremes.

    As with most food research, I used me as my own subejct…and I figured it was good for me….

     

    I love coffee…I have been drinking it since way back in high school.

    Over the years, I cut back on the amount I drank, but I never stopped, and never will stop, drinking coffee!!

     

    Now we see that coffee may keep us from getting depressed and committing suicide. 

    In this study of over 43 thousand men…..

    Suicide was the cause of death for 277 people over the course of the study, though researchers made a surprising discovery: the risk of suicide for adults who drank between 2-4 cups of coffee each day was 50 percent lower than adults who drank decaf, very little or no coffee.

    Their conclusions:

    Researchers explained that coffee and caffeine stimulate the central nervous system, acting as a mild anti-depressant by boosting the brain’s production of neurotransmitters including noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, chemicals all associated with depression. This, they add, could help explain why the results of past studies have linked coffee to lowered risks of depression.

     

    So here’s to a happier life – filled with just the right amount of java …… and friends to drink it with….

     

    coffe and friends

     

     

    Thoughts?

    Comments?

    Thank you!

  • Pets And Health

    PuppyMany of us pet owners know that pets keep us saner, happier and healthier.

     

    Now there is research that backs up our life experiences.

    A recent study indicated that owning a pet, especially a dog, might reduce the risk of your having a heart disease.

    Is it the constant walking, playing with, snuggling with or just having a living critter in your home that you have to take care of?

    I know I have lost weight since getting my puppy – it’s the weight I put on after my old dog died.

    It’s too easy to NOT take a walk in the early morning or late at night when you do not really have to…but with a puppy or a dog – those walks are necessary and are as good for you health-wise as they are for the puppy or dog.

    So here’s to our pets… and if you are not a dog person, please do not go out and get one thinking it will be “good” for you…try taking care of a neighbor’s dog or puppy for a while first.

     

    Pets come with lifetime commitments!!

     

    Comments? Thank you!!