How can we become super-agers?
Src: Shawn Day Unsplash
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On one of our last FaceTime calls, my 90-year-old mother rested in her barcalounger in a baroque-style, floral caftan with her iPad on her lap.
Next to her, all within reach: a glass of water, medications, prayer books, her favorite rosary made from yellow roses my father gave her after she said yes, 3# purple bar bells, a journal to keep track of books she read with a rubber band around it, a blood pressure cuff, the daily paper opened to the crossword puzzle, Werther’s Carmels, a list of passwords and phone numbers in 48-point font in a plastic protector paper-clipped from a monthly photo calendar of her grandkids, and a joke book. She shared jokes every day with her caregivers.
It would have been on a Monday. She has 5 daughters and prayed extra for each of us on our day of the week. I’m the eldest.
She rattled on about her latest stats before pausing and looking off in the distance away from the camera.
“I think I’m fading away. Maybe that’s the way I’ll go…”
What is brain health? How can we protect ours? And why does it matter?
what is brain health?
Who isn’t interested in “all things brain?” For the last couple of decades, I’ve been drawn into learning more about our brains and how they work.
Ever since my strokes, I’ve had a fascination with the essence of who we are “inside” — as a presence, a magic trick of organic material protected within a hard skull. Like when I turn on a light switch but really don’t pay attention to how electricity gets here. I take it for granted. Like my brain.
There are so many automatic systems going on — which is good — otherwise we’d be overloaded with decisions to make, and life is full of enough of them.
In this month’s Thought Echoes Podcast, I speak with nationally recognized neurologist and a neuroscientist in the field of neuroplasticity, Dr. Majid Fotuhi. He’s the author of The Invincible Brain: Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline and Get Smarter at Any Age. A powerful call to action for any of us wanting to know how we can become super-agers — living well into our 90s and staying sharp and independent.
When I learned that his peer-reviewed research demonstrated Alzheimer’s and dementia are largely preventable… I admit. I was hooked.
In our conversation, Dr. Majid points out that if our parents develop Alzheimer's disease in their 50s, that is a concern. But — if our parents or grandparents didn’t/don’t develop Alzheimer's disease until their 80s or 90s, our risk is only 2% higher than it would have been otherwise.
Brain health is largely driven by our daily choices. And in the cases where there is a genetic predisposition, there are things we can still do at any age.
“We can slow the effects of aging on our brain. And it is possible to become a brain super-ager. It is possible to reach the age of 90 and be sharp and independent.”
how can we protect ours?
In his book, Dr. Majid outlines the 5 pillars of brain health, allowing us to set a realistic goal of reaching into our 90s, still sharp and independent. If we make small changes, we can reduce our risk over tenfold.
Who doesn’t want that?
As Dr. Majid says, “Your brain has an innate ability to change. Your brain can grow, and your brain can shrink, and it's your choices on a daily basis that determine which way your brain would go — shrink and rust and just go down the drain, or thrive, grow, and blossom.”
5 pillars of brain health
fitness: the most efficient lifestyle intervention grows your brain eg.5-10K steps/day, or doing what you love like running, swimming, or pickleball
nutrition: our guts feed our brains; quit sugar & eat more plants
sleep: get a sufficient amount; our brains are very active at night, organizing memories, cleaning brain waste, repairing injuries & processing experiences
mindset: manage stress by meditation, yoga & reframing thoughts into Positive Repetitive Thoughts (PRTs)
brain training: practice focusing for longer periods of time & learning something new, plus so many more options in his book
The one pillar that stuck out to me most was mindset. Dr. Majid refers to an old saying: depression is worrying about the past, anxiety is worrying about the future, and stress is worrying about the now.
He describes how “stress, anxiety, and worry are things we do to ourselves. They happen in our brains, not outside of us. Changing mindset can help lift these negative thought states.”
I knew about the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model emphasizing how behavior presents itself. “Thoughts lead to emotions, emotions lead to behaviors, and behaviors lead to more thoughts — and the cycle continues.”
Usually this presents itself as Repetitive Negative Thoughts (RNTs), but what I had not heard before is the opposite, Repetitive Positive Thoughts (RPTs). When you can change your thoughts to help modulate your emotions, it can help you change your behaviors, which changes your thoughts.
The other day, I was frustrated by something someone didn’t do. As I replayed thoughts in my head, I took a pause. How can I reframe and bring some fun into the mix? It resulted in an “I have an idea…” playful way to move past something that wasn’t done on purpose, but triggered hurt feelings on my part.
Dr. Majid goes on to advise that finding a way to view what happened from a different angle or forgiving is helpful. Our parasympathetic nervous systems will help protect our brain from further injury by being stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Of course, this does not apply to traumas, which need professional help.
why does it matter?
Dr. Majid makes the case that “intelligence is knowing how to live a happy life, and that building an invincible brain is worth every effort. Ultimately, you’ll not only know how to prevent Alzheimer’s, you’ll know how to build a brain that can withstand aging with grace and strength.”
Brain aging is not inevitable. Through the lens of neuroplasticity, daily choice, and purpose, Dr. Majid Fotuhi shows how our brains are constantly responding to how we live—and how we think.
Our brains change “a little bit every day at a microscopic level. Our daily habits determine whether it changes for the better or for the worse over time — and we can choose the habits that help it to thrive.”
***
Back on FaceTime, Mom wasn’t panicked when she talked about fading away; she was more introspective. As she looked off toward the bay windows, I imagined the bird feeder swaying outside.
After a few moments, she turned back and started asking questions about my eldest granddaughter, one of her little legacy grandbabies.
Why do some of us feel the drive to stretch life out into our 90s on a march toward the end — into an unknowable stopping of breath and brain? I know we all leave footprints along the way, and I wonder if I will live as long as my mother asking about my grandchildren as I too will fade away.
How long do you want to be around, and why?
If this reflection resonated, I’d love to hear your thoughts below.
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