Your brain is fabulous! Around 100 billion nerve cells work together to keep us alert at all times. But as you get older, things can generally slow down a bit. Perhaps you forget appointments, or have to make a little extra effort to keep up with the conversation. This is not abnormal. But as with the body, you can also train the brain. Now researchers at NTNU have analyzed over 100 articles on brain health, and Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson has found an answer: – There are three factors that stand out if you want to keep your brain at its best, he says. It was Gemini who mentioned this matter first. Gray and white matter The brain consists, among other things, of gray and white matter. These are the keys to our nervous system. In short, the gray matter makes up the nerve cells and the contact between them. While the white matter links the brain cells together and carries the signals. And here things have to work if we are to be able to think quickly. The new research from NTNU has been published in the journal Brain Sciences, and has a total of 101 references to various academic articles. Everyone says something about how to keep the gray and white matter in check. And it is these three factors that stand out in particular: movement, relationships and passion. Heavy in the ass, slow in the head? The first point is perhaps the most difficult for many, the researchers point out. When you get a little lazy and take life easy, the brain tends to follow suit. – An active lifestyle helps to develop the central nervous system. It helps to counteract the aging of the brain, says Sigmundsson. So here there is no way around it – physical activity is absolutely necessary. The next point is about being social, say the researchers. – Having a relationship with other people, and interacting with them, contributes to a number of complex biological factors. These can prevent the brain from slowing down. Our brains simply get better through human contact. The last call the researchers have, perhaps stands out more. They believe that passion is essential. Hermundur Sigmundsson says the three factors that ensure good brain health are something you should strive for throughout your life. He encourages people over 50 to try something new, such as learning a new instrument. Photo: NTNU Lifestyle can determine Passion is defined as follows: A term that is often used to describe a strong emotional attraction to something or someone. It helps us maintain interest and become good at something, explains the NTNU professor. – It can be decisive. A factor that makes us learn new things. Over time, this can affect the development and maintenance of our neural networks. Much of what scientists believe works for the head is not dissimilar to what also works for our body. One must be conscious of training the brain if it is not to decay. But when should we start this brain training? From the start, says Sigmundsson. – Taking on a challenge is the key to development, he says to news. The researchers also believe that positive thinking has something to do with it. It is a mindset that leads to belief in one’s own abilities. It can be an underlying factor for strong interest and courage. Photo: Shutterstock – Aging does not start when you are 70 Anders Martin Fjell is a professor at the University of Oslo. He researches how the brain and our cognitive abilities develop in childhood and change in adulthood. He believes that the findings in the new article from NTNU sound reasonable, but that one should still take some caveats. – It is not easy to know what is cause and what is effect. If brain health is reduced, it is natural, for example, that the social activity one is able to master is also reduced. Then the motivation decreases. Nevertheless, it is assumed that activity is good, both physically and mentally, he says. – We can say that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain. Avoiding obesity and heart and vascular diseases will probably be smart to keep the brain healthy for as long as possible. We also know that cognitive training is effective, but the effects seem to apply primarily to what you train on, and to a lesser extent to general brain health, the professor continues. Fjell believes that perhaps it is the elderly who are most concerned with their brain health, but points out that the effort should be put in early in life. – Aging is not something that starts at 70. The brain changes throughout life, and what happens early will also have an impact on what happens later.
ttn-69
training, socializing and passion – news Trøndelag
