The Neuroscience of Aging

There is a good chance that you might be wondering if your choices of today will allow you to live a healthy long life and ensure that you age well.

Most people place their attention on the body shape changes and organ function decline, mainly because our brains are very resilient organs and tend to give less trouble than the rest of our body. Nevertheless, it is still a common belief that as we age our brains will start to malfunction.

The truth is that despite a mild decrease in multitasking, recalling names or the ability to pay attention, aging also can bring some positive cognitive changes. Research has found that older adults posses more extensive vocabularies with deeper knowledge of word meanings compared to younger adults. Additionally, older adults treasure lifetime accumulated experience and knowledge that can give them an advantage over younger peers.

Another advantage is that older adults have an increased effectiveness of emotion regulation, which makes them better at avoiding negative affect and maintain positive affect, which is why studies show that this group become happier with time.

As long as you exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, eat healthy, remain mentally and socially active, you will be able to lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.