Besides having fun, Harves, who also serves as chairman of his community's computer club
and is active on a residents' committee, is very likely protecting his cognitive function. In a
study of more than 2,800 people ages 65 or older, Harvard researchers found that those with
at least five social ties—church groups, social groups, regular visits, or phone calls with
family and friends—were less likely to suffer cognitive decline than those with no social ties.
"The working hypothesis is that it has something to do with stress management," says
Marilyn Albert, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins and codirector of the Alzheimer's research
center there. In animal studies, a prolonged elevation in stress hormones damages the
hippocampus. Social engagement appears to boost people's sense of control, which affects
their stress level. Creative arts seem to be a highly promising way to increase social
engagement.
George Washington University's Cohen has found that elderly people who joined choirs also stepped up their other activities
during a 12-month period, while a nonsinging control group dropped out of some activities. The singers also reported fewer
health problems, while the control group reported an increase.
All the new research has senior programs rethinking their offerings. In Chicago, for example, Mather LifeWays, a not-for-profit that
promotes healthful aging, has opened three neighborhood cafes that serve coffee and sandwiches to people of all ages and
offer fitness classes, computer courses, lifelong-learning opportunities, and volunteer activities for older adults. "I've met lots of
friends here," says Jill Wonsil, 66, who drops in at the cafe near her home several times a week to socialize, check E-mail, and
take exercise and other classes. If living life to the fullest is the best way to stay sharp, it's not such a tough prescription to
swallow.
Keeping Your Brain Fit
Consumers aren't waiting for more research, either. The market for products like Brain Fitness Program, Nintendo's Brain Age,
and MindFit soared to an estimated $80 million in 2007, up from just $2 million to $4 million in 2005, according to SharpBrains.
com, a San Francisco-based group that follows the industry. Meanwhile, the Alzheimer's Association recommends any activity
that will keep you curious and learning: reading and writing, attending lectures, taking classes, even gardening.
Sound body, sound mind. Still, the best workout for your brain may be the old-fashioned kind.
As far back as 1999, researchers at the University of Illinois found that older people who started exercising showed faster
reaction times and better ability to focus after just six months than did a control group. Now, it's becoming clearer why. In a
second study reported in 2006, the same team found that the aerobic exercisers actually increased their brain size by about 3
percent. Last year, researchers at Columbia University found that when people exercised regularly for three months, blood flow
increased to a part of the hippocampus, which is important for memory. In studies of mice who exercised on treadmills,
increased blood flow to the same part of the brain corresponded with an increase in the production of new brain cells.
The power of exercise seems far more impressive than that of brain-training software, says Sandra Aamodt, editor in chief of
Nature Neuroscience, a scientific journal on brain research, and coauthor of the forthcoming book Welcome to Your Brain. A
recent meta-analysis of numerous exercise studies found that, on average, faithful aerobic exercise might boost someone's
cognitive performance from average—say, from 10th place out of 20 people tested—to notably above average—say, to No. 5. But
cognitive training would boost the same person to eighth out of 20.
Why is exercise so good for the brain? Maybe for the same reason it's so good for the heart: its beneficial effect on blood vessels.
"It may be that a pretty significant amount of deterioration in brain function relates to disruptions of the cardiovascular system by
microstrokes," in the tiny vessels in the brain, says Aamodt. Exercise may help prevent them. It also stimulates the production of
proteins called growth factors, which promote the formation and growth of brain cells and synapses.
Certain nutrients, too, are thought to be protective. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables have been linked to improved
cognitive function; berries, for instance, seem especially beneficial in keeping brains spry. "Old neurons, like a lot of old married
couples, don't talk to each other anymore," says James Joseph, director of the neuroscience lab at the USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. "We have found that the berry fruits improve neuronal communication."
In November, Harvard researchers announced that men who took a beta carotene supplement for 18 years had slightly better
cognitive function than those who didn't—their memory scores matched those of people about one year younger. However, men
who took supplements for only one year showed no improvement, and several other studies have found no link between
antioxidants and mental performance. The Alzheimer's Association recommends a diet high in dark-colored veggies, like kale,
spinach, beets, and eggplant; colorful fruits like berries, raisins, prunes, oranges, and red grapes; plus fish like salmon or trout
high in heart-healthful omega-3 fatty acids.
Making connections. It has been more than two decades since Bill Harves, 90, quit singing in his church choir. Four years ago,
he joined the professionally led chorale that rehearses once a week at his Bailey's Crossroads, Va., continuing care retirement
community. The chorale gives several concerts a year, including one at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. He's gained in
breathing technique, enunciation, and music reading skills. "There's no doubt I've improved as a singer," he says.
during a 12-month period, while a nonsinging control group dropped out of some activities. The singers also reported fewer
health problems, while the control group reported an increase.
All the new research has senior programs rethinking their offerings. In Chicago, for example, Mather LifeWays, a not-for-profit that
promotes healthful aging, has opened three neighborhood cafes that serve coffee and sandwiches to people of all ages and
offer fitness classes, computer courses, lifelong-learning opportunities, and volunteer activities for older adults. "I've met lots of
friends here," says Jill Wonsil, 66, who drops in at the cafe near her home several times a week to socialize, check E-mail, and
take exercise and other classes. If living life to the fullest is the best way to stay sharp, it's not such a tough prescription to
swallow.
Keeping Your Brain Fit
Consumers aren't waiting for more research, either. The market for products like Brain Fitness Program, Nintendo's Brain Age,
and MindFit soared to an estimated $80 million in 2007, up from just $2 million to $4 million in 2005, according to SharpBrains.
com, a San Francisco-based group that follows the industry. Meanwhile, the Alzheimer's Association recommends any activity
that will keep you curious and learning: reading and writing, attending lectures, taking classes, even gardening.
Sound body, sound mind. Still, the best workout for your brain may be the old-fashioned kind.
As far back as 1999, researchers at the University of Illinois found that older people who started exercising showed faster
reaction times and better ability to focus after just six months than did a control group. Now, it's becoming clearer why. In a
second study reported in 2006, the same team found that the aerobic exercisers actually increased their brain size by about 3
percent. Last year, researchers at Columbia University found that when people exercised regularly for three months, blood flow
increased to a part of the hippocampus, which is important for memory. In studies of mice who exercised on treadmills,
increased blood flow to the same part of the brain corresponded with an increase in the production of new brain cells.
The power of exercise seems far more impressive than that of brain-training software, says Sandra Aamodt, editor in chief of
Nature Neuroscience, a scientific journal on brain research, and coauthor of the forthcoming book Welcome to Your Brain. A
recent meta-analysis of numerous exercise studies found that, on average, faithful aerobic exercise might boost someone's
cognitive performance from average—say, from 10th place out of 20 people tested—to notably above average—say, to No. 5. But
cognitive training would boost the same person to eighth out of 20.
Why is exercise so good for the brain? Maybe for the same reason it's so good for the heart: its beneficial effect on blood vessels.
"It may be that a pretty significant amount of deterioration in brain function relates to disruptions of the cardiovascular system by
microstrokes," in the tiny vessels in the brain, says Aamodt. Exercise may help prevent them. It also stimulates the production of
proteins called growth factors, which promote the formation and growth of brain cells and synapses.
Certain nutrients, too, are thought to be protective. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables have been linked to improved
cognitive function; berries, for instance, seem especially beneficial in keeping brains spry. "Old neurons, like a lot of old married
couples, don't talk to each other anymore," says James Joseph, director of the neuroscience lab at the USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. "We have found that the berry fruits improve neuronal communication."
In November, Harvard researchers announced that men who took a beta carotene supplement for 18 years had slightly better
cognitive function than those who didn't—their memory scores matched those of people about one year younger. However, men
who took supplements for only one year showed no improvement, and several other studies have found no link between
antioxidants and mental performance. The Alzheimer's Association recommends a diet high in dark-colored veggies, like kale,
spinach, beets, and eggplant; colorful fruits like berries, raisins, prunes, oranges, and red grapes; plus fish like salmon or trout
high in heart-healthful omega-3 fatty acids.
Making connections. It has been more than two decades since Bill Harves, 90, quit singing in his church choir. Four years ago,
he joined the professionally led chorale that rehearses once a week at his Bailey's Crossroads, Va., continuing care retirement
community. The chorale gives several concerts a year, including one at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. He's gained in
breathing technique, enunciation, and music reading skills. "There's no doubt I've improved as a singer," he says.
Vigorous Exercise Can Really Roll Back the Years
By Christine Larson
Researchers focused on fighting the ravages of time can tell you how to keep your body young longer as
well: Eat less and move more. "Even elite athletes who keep up their regular training routine will lose
about 1 percent of muscle mass per year," says physician Steven Masley, author of Ten Years Younger,
a book on how diet and exercise battle aging. Since body fat increases at the same rate, he notes,
"basically, you turn from free range to prime cut."
By Christine Larson
Researchers focused on fighting the ravages of time can tell you how to keep your body young longer as
well: Eat less and move more. "Even elite athletes who keep up their regular training routine will lose
about 1 percent of muscle mass per year," says physician Steven Masley, author of Ten Years Younger,
a book on how diet and exercise battle aging. Since body fat increases at the same rate, he notes,
"basically, you turn from free range to prime cut."
A sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits accelerate that shift, putting the average person "10 years farther along the graph"
than he or she should be, as Masley puts it. Sedentary bodies produce a slow drip of cytokines—proteins that circulate in the
bloodstream and cause inflammation, among other things, says Henry Lodge, an assistant professor at Columbia University
Medical Center and coauthor of Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond. While inflammation is
important to healing, too much is linked to arthritis, heart disease, and a growing number of other diseases. Vigorous exercise
activates cytokines that promote cell repair and growth.
"When you exercise, you change the chemical makeup of your blood for eight to 12 hours," says Lodge. "So for a large majority of
that day, you're regenerating cells and building a better body and brain." Just last week, British scientists reported that people
who exercised about 200 minutes per week had telomeres—repeated sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with
age—as long as those of sedentary people up to 10 years younger.
The recommended dose: 45 minutes to an hour of aerobics most days and two or three weekly sessions of strength training. A
low-to- moderate-fat diet high in fruits and veggies and omega-3 fatty acids is in order, too. "If people followed this plan, they
would markedly decrease their chance of premature or accelerated aging," says Masley, "and stay vital until the end."
than he or she should be, as Masley puts it. Sedentary bodies produce a slow drip of cytokines—proteins that circulate in the
bloodstream and cause inflammation, among other things, says Henry Lodge, an assistant professor at Columbia University
Medical Center and coauthor of Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond. While inflammation is
important to healing, too much is linked to arthritis, heart disease, and a growing number of other diseases. Vigorous exercise
activates cytokines that promote cell repair and growth.
"When you exercise, you change the chemical makeup of your blood for eight to 12 hours," says Lodge. "So for a large majority of
that day, you're regenerating cells and building a better body and brain." Just last week, British scientists reported that people
who exercised about 200 minutes per week had telomeres—repeated sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with
age—as long as those of sedentary people up to 10 years younger.
The recommended dose: 45 minutes to an hour of aerobics most days and two or three weekly sessions of strength training. A
low-to- moderate-fat diet high in fruits and veggies and omega-3 fatty acids is in order, too. "If people followed this plan, they
would markedly decrease their chance of premature or accelerated aging," says Masley, "and stay vital until the end."
Submitted by Ron Larsen
| Alternatives Health & Fitness |
