How You Can Prevent Senility During Your Old Age
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by: ChristianGoodman
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You know the meaning of 'old sayings'. They use that when a saying has been proven to be true and have been passed around for years. One such old saying is "You learn something new every day".
It's fortunate for us that scientists are among the foremost people who actively pursue learning something new every day. Case in point: for years, most people have understood and accepted the fact that our brain cells die as we age and cannot be regenerated.
Scientists however have discovered that brain cells do grow in adults, specifically in the area of the brain called hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memories. They've also discovered that senior citizens can have the same number of brain cells as they did as teenagers.
The brain does shrink in size over time. After reaching full size at around age 20, it begins to shrink by about 1% every year. The decrease in size is not due to neuron (nerve cell) death, but rather to changes of the dendrites that branch out from the neurons and the synapses (the spaces between adjacent neurons) between them.
The main reason why our brain functions reduce as we get old is the change in the dendrites and their decrease in numbers. Dendrites are the once that connect neurons to each other, just like entrance ramps connecting surface roads to the interstate. If these entrance ramps are not in good condition, it will make it difficult for you to reach your destination.
Nerve impulses also experience the same difficulty of continuing on their path and often reach a 'dead end'. There is good news though, as we get older, our brain cells don't have to deteriorate.
When brain function, and dendrites are not used, they deteriorate. Use it or lose it, another old saying goes. This is particularly true of our body. Inactive neural pathways will slowly decrease in strength and function and will eventually stop performing correctly.
For example, do you know why elderly people have a hard time sitting on the floor? It is because at some point in their lives, they stopped sitting on the floor. When that happens, the movements required to lower oneself to the floor are not used, and the electrical signals of many neurons required for that movement become too weak and cannot carry the signal and the brain's memory of how to sit down can no longer be performed.
In order to promote neurogenesis (the making of new brain cells), we need to stay mentally and physically active. Note that stress can inhibit the formation of brain cells. Do you know what enhances it? Physical exercise.
In order to stay mentally active, we need to make our minds continuously learn new things, and we need to exercise them by doing crossword puzzles and brain teasers. We decrease our chances of decreased brain function by keeping our minds and our bodies active.
Warm regards,
Christian Goodman
About the Author
Christian Goodman is a popular researcher and the creator of the alternative health Blog. His various guides has already helped thousands of people who have hypertension, weight loss problems, TMJ, vertigo, and other diseases.
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