• Increased physical activityIt's boring as health advice, so go find something not boring to challenge and stimulate your brain.
• Blood pressure management for people with hypertension, particularly in midlife;
• And cognitive training.
That last recommendation [according to Dr. Kristine Yaffe, a neuropsychiatrist and epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, is] "really the concept of being mentally active... Find something you enjoy where you’re learning something new, challenging and stimulating your brain."
Of course, I recommend reading my blog, but what the blog represents for me is a lot of reading and thinking about what I've read and transforming that into writing. So you might want to write your own blog, following my approach. Use it to learn and get and stay interested in a wide array of things and to process what you take in and to do things with language (and pictures).
Something else I recommend — which works for at least 2 of the 3 recommendations (actually, there are only 2 recommendations for those of us who don't have hypertension) — is to listen to audiobooks while walking.
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Jordan Peterson mentioned this issue in the Tyler Cowen interview:
...One of the things I was interested in for the longest period of time was in the processes whereby you might maintain your cognitive function because — I don’t know if you knew this — but your fluid intelligence declines linearly from the age of 20 onward. It’s a pretty vicious curve, and it hits zero, by the way, when you die.
[laughter]
But your crystallized intelligence, which is a measure of how much wisdom you’ve accumulated, how much knowledge, rises. But it doesn’t rise as much as your fluid intelligence declines. That’s a rather unhappy proposition, so I was interested for a long time in technologies that would enable people to maintain their cognitive function.
There were those companies, like Lumosity, that promised that if you did their exercises, that you would maintain your cognitive function. That’s wrong, by the way; that doesn’t work at all.
One of the things that we found in the literature on cognitive function is that if you practice cognitive exercises, and you get very good at them, there’s no crossover effect to other cognitive exercises. We don’t know a set of cognitive exercises that you can do that make your cognitive function better generally. No one’s been able to find that. It’s like the holy grail for intelligence researchers, and no one’s had any success with it.
But one thing we do know is that if you exercise — and weightlifting and aerobic exercise both work — that you can restore your cognitive abilities at age 50 to approximately what they were at age 30. That’s almost all a consequence of increased physical fitness. It’s because your brain is an incredibly demanding organ, so if your cardiovascular system is in good shape, then it works better.
It’s so cool that the best way to keep yourself smart is to keep yourself strong and fit. That’s really worth knowing because you don’t want that cognitive decline if you can stave it off.
That reminds me. I better go run.
Do comments on the Althouse blog count?
I know one thing for certain, watching MSNBC and CNN makes me stupid.
Ann. Your blog is not challenging nor stimulating. I only read it because it is a window into a shallow liberal world
One of the things that we found in the literature on cognitive function is that if you practice cognitive exercises, and you get very good at them, there’s no crossover effect to other cognitive exercises.
That's the observation I've always heard. If you do mind puzzles to keep your mind 'fit' at best you get good at mind puzzles.
did you notice, that flyfishing;
gives you exercise
works your brain
lowers your blood pressure
see? get out there and Fish! Those trouts won't catch themselves!!
You are quite challenging, Althouse, and you love a good argument.
I think I'm winning 51% of the time!
In my late 60s, I've launched a new career as a piano accompanist for classical choral groups. That's been incredibly challenging. I've also expanded my work as a church musician. I've got three denominations as clients, and each has a very different hymnal and approach. I'm becoming a theology scholar.
Athletic and intellectual skills have to be imbued very early in life. That's the big challenge with grandkids. They're growing up in a culture that doesn't encourage discipline. My dad really worked with me (and made it fun) when I was young. Thanks, Dad!
I'm also skeptical on the cognitive exercises doing much. That is why I dress up like an Elizabeth-Warren-American and charge at kids in the park unleashing a war cry as I do.
I like reading multiple books on the same topic, and intertwine the reading. Reading the different writers makes the topic more...."3-D" to me, and produces more thoughts on it than if I read the books in a serial fashion, one after the other.
I ran a 15K race with my daughter yesterday. I feel smarter.
I occasionally feel stupider after reading comments on this blog, not always but sometimes.
I was having difficulty reading scores in hymnals.
Just bought a 12.9" iPad Pro. One of the reasons is that I can magnify the scores.
Reading glasses weren't doing the job.
Thank you, Dear Professor. Your mental agility shared on the Althouse Blog ihas been a blessing to me. There is always something new that I would never have seen or thought about without you daily efforts.
-15 here with residual ice covering the sidewalks and roads. Walking is downright dangerous this spring.
My wife works with dementia/Alzheimer's population and the research she read on cognitive training states that puzzles like sudoku and word search are good, while crosswords are bad. Crosswords are bad because you are focusing on memories and not new experiences...when you have Alzheimer's you are stuck in your memories, so crossword puzzles just reinforce what you already know.
sdharms said...Ann. Your blog is not challenging nor stimulating. I only read it because it is a window into a shallow liberal world
Care to expand? Sure, the prof. has her share of trolls, but that's hardly all this site has to offer.
so crossword puzzles just reinforce what you already know.
I do enjoy crosswords. I kind of consider them a carnival trick. Just for the explanation given. By the time you learn the three and four letter words used alot, then is just boils down to how wide your experiences are and size of you vocabulary. I did one in local paper at the Dr office the other day in about 15 minutes, The receptionist asked if I got stumped. Nope, finished. I don't consider that intelligence.
Now calculating battery size to compensate for the shortage of electricity caused by using wind, that's a sign of intelligence. #thegreenleapforward
It's been pretty easy to avoid those three things.
At 69, I must work harder on my body than I did to play organized football, basketball and baseball when I was a kid.
An hour of yoga every day.
The big struggle is to keep circulation strong at my extremities. Aerobic exercise, like bicycling, helps. Jump rope is great. I also do specific yoga postures for feet, toes, ankles and calves.
"The more conservative report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in 2017, relied primarily on large randomized clinical trials."
Here are their exciting results:
"Cognitive training
There is no evidence at this time to support a conclusion that cognitive training can prevent or delay MCI or CATD, and future research in this area will be important"
"Blood pressure management for people withhypertension
linked to ...it is plausible ...data have been inconsistent ...evidence suggests...encouraging but inconclusive"
"Increased physical activity
There is not enough evidence at this time to conclude wheth-er increasing physical activity prevents, delays, or slows MCI or CATD, as few studies examined these outcomes."
Note: the lack of progress should not be taken as a lack of progress:
"The fact that the report does not strongly support a public health campaign focused on actively promoting adoption of any type of intervention should not be taken to reflect a lack of progress or prospects for preventing or delaying the discussed conditions."
Mockery works for me.
Reading, writing, and physical exercise is it. I think about it often. I do it...eh...every once in awhile. I watch what you do, Ann, and I think...my God...I'm up at 5 anyway. Why don't I just write? Or go work out.
But I do neither and somehow the next thing I know it's 8:45, I need to get going on my work, and the dog wants to go for a long walk now.
Routines can make you healthy or unhealthy. I need to change mine.
Mens rea in corpore sano.
" I ran a 15K race with my daughter yesterday. I feel smarter."
You are.
I have been drawing more - something I haven't done in years unless I had to. Designing patterns, drawing realitically - would seem to be excellent brain exercise.
"Mockery works for me."
Until your family can't find anyone to toilet you on account of your mockery.
I have just spent the last six months doing flashcards daily for language training and I can now remember phone numbers and other strings of digits more easily even though I never practiced that. Not to mention that I can get along somewhat in a new language. Listen to podcasts, watch movies in that language. I doubt that it would stave off Alzheimer's, but it does seem to demonstrably sharpen the mind.
It was a lot of work though, similar to an intense college course. Learning chess or playing bridge would probably work too.
Read The Power of Habit.
Play towers of hanoi. Gradually raise the number of disks.
Ann, I have absolutely no doubt you stay 'cognitively busy'. Which is why I'm surprised at your audio-books while walking' option. I would think walking would be the rare but perfect time for you to ratchet down the cognitive 'noise' and get a bit of Zen time activity. Think of it as battery pause/charge time? Anyway, the subject is a important one for most people to ponder and act on.
Try eating vegetables with a high nitrate content like beets, greens, arugula being one of the highest in nitrate content. Helps your body produce nitric oxide that relaxes blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. Better yet, drink 8 oz of beet juice a day, has been proven to lower BP. Tastes awful, so I add 4oz of cherry juice and put it in a big drinking container with ice and sparkling water and sip on it all day.
Nitrates in vegetables
I can't stand the beet juice no matter what I add. Lemon is what I use to "cut" it. But still, ughhh...
I also eat some protein with it to slow the sugar/insulin spike.
Get sleep apnea cured, too.
Low blood oxygen is a bad thing.
“I can't stand the beet juice no matter what I add. Lemon is what I use to "cut" it. But still, ughhh...”
Cherry juice isn’t as tart as lemon juice and naturally sweet, so it might help. Plus putting it in flavored sparkling water also helps cut the taste. Some folks like beets, so I guess they’d like beet juice. Not me, hate beets but I have lowered my BP with drinking it for the last two months. Also nitric oxide helps with keeping pain levels down as it helps decrease inflammation.
Good suggestions from the NYT.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY I'm pretty active in the spring through fall with gardening, walking, hiking (which is different than walking). Bending, digging, pruning trees, lifting, climbing, carrying heavy things. Winter is a problem because the weather is so bad that all exercising is indoors. I wish I had the space and $$$ to build an exercise room, but..wish in one hand...... So. I use more weights, resistance bands, and walk up and down the stairs a lot and try to stay active indoors.
BLOOD PRESSURE NO MEDICINES!!!! Those contribute to dementia. Eat right. Keep the weight off. It never has been a problem for me anyway. I take no prescriptions.
COGNITIVE TRAINING. NUMBER ONE.
1.) VIDEO GAMES that require strategy, problem solving, reflexes and hand eye coordination and often social interaction with other people. You just have to get up and exercise more though because the sedentary nature of those games.
2.) Crosswords.
3.) Puzzles. Jigsaw,old fashioned kind and even online jigsaw puzzles.
4.) Quilting. Requires math/geometry. Color selection. Planning. Assembling.
5.) Knitting. Same as quilting with the math. And manual dexterity.
6.) Reading NON Fiction books. I am currently reading much of the new literature in the field that was my original study in College. Anthropology/Archeology and specifically the theories refuting the Clovis First Theory. New DNA analysis of Amerindians in South America and discoveries of artifacts that might indicate an ice age European source from long before the Clovis people, possibly from the Solutrian Culture assemblage.......ahem....but I digress :-D
I've been a long-time reader but never felt the need to comment before because someone else chimed in with my point. So far, no one else has here.
If you are older, there is an intriguing possibility that MCT can stave off the symptoms of mild cognitive disorders and Alzheimers. It seems the brain's fuel can be glocose OR ketones. MCT oil or coconut oil is ketones. When you get older your brain can't process glucose as well for fuel. It CAN process ketones so the ketones can make up the deficit. This has been confirmed by SCANS and not by questionnaire. The video below is the scientist presenting his work at a conference. Heavy scientific documentation.
https://youtu.be/OU26epaihmw
There are other videos that show individuals being helped as well but this one should be seen first.
This also makes a case for a low carb diet. And here is another scientific video about fat that questions the accepted wisdom that fat is bad, although I hate studies like this.
https://youtu.be/sFSf_UI8354
I work in communications for a senior organization. Although outside of my job description, I created a training program for caregivers to use Alexa devices to try to decrease their caregiving burden.
If this can be slowed down...
I like dumb, sci-fi movies with a lot of special effects, but here's the trick: I watch them in Spanish. i actually improve my mind and language skills by watching Transformers and Spider-Man movies.........I don't know if you gain in wisdom as you grow older, but libidinal energy fades. Most really bad decisions are the result of an energized libido.......I always liked sports and exercises, but, nowadays, my arthritic knee is urging me to take on a more contemplative life. Also, I have trouble differentiating between my innate laziness and the limitations of age. That said, I don't think anybody on their deathbed ever regretted taking an afternoon nap. I'm sure that further research will show that afternoon naps are the best way to prolong cognitive function.
Dust Bunny, what book is that? Is it the David Reich book? I'm reading in that area too, always looking for more.
Anyway, 70ish ain't bad. Mid 80s is when things start to get nasty.
“Keep the weight off.“
While this is a factor, it’s not the only factor. Thin people also get high blood pressure. The blood vessels stiffen and are no longer as flexible with the aging process.
Diet does play a role and eating only muscle meats drives up Arachadonic Acid driving up inflammation. Eat plenty of folate rich greens. Eat liver once a week (no more often) for the Vitamin A. Add meats on the bone, make bone broths, eat gelatin. Or buy cheap glycine (an amino acid) supplements (very safe, do your own homework) if you don’t like sinewy meat or meat on the bone. Plus you don’t need massive amounts of protein.
Play chess - while on a treadmill.
“My wife works with dementia/Alzheimer's population and the research she read on cognitive training states that puzzles like sudoku and word search are good, while crosswords are bad. Crosswords are bad because you are focusing on memories and not new experiences...when you have Alzheimer's you are stuck in your memories, so crossword puzzles just reinforce what you already know.”
Lost my father a couple years ago. Was just thinking of him, as his 97th birthday is coming up. Mother of a good friend of mine is 97. My father was sharp until maybe 94, still running the family corporation, then a grain tumor got him. She still is sharp. Actually started having dinner parties again. They had two things in common. One was crossword puzzles. The other is reading the Economist. Which is nice for me, because I refuse to pay their ridiculous prices. I used to get his read copies, but then my brother, handling his affairs didn’t renew his subscription. Then I showed an interest in hers, and she saves them for me. Part of my father’s crosswording was building spreadsheets of three and four word answers. Would update them at least once a month.
Surprisingly, my Sudoku is getting better. A couple years ago, I worked on recognizing missing 2 and 3 numbers out of 9 in my pattern matching portion of my brain. Not perfect yet, so I sometimes count real fast 1-9 to see what is missing, but more and more, I just know. And I am getting better and better at remembering where I was, so I can go back, when I sprint off filling in one number or another. Sometimes I can go back another level or two. Improvement is slow, but sure. I don’t really see the improvements until I fly, and do the puzzles in the SWA magazine. I also push myself for speed, but have to back off sometimes, because the puzzle I use on my iPads only allows two mistakes before restarting the “run” I have going, and I sometimes fat finger the touchpad when pushing too hard. One iPad hit 3900 wins a night or two ago.
I worry about both of us here. We walked a couple hours almost every day until a couple years ago. Winters in Colorado and forest fires in Montana ended that. I keep pushing to get going again, but we don’t. She had worked up to 3-4 hours of walking a day by the time we met almost 20 years ago, after moving away from dance because she couldn’t keep an eye on her two small kids.
Oh one more thing. Keep your Omega 3 fats more even with Omega 6 fats. If you don’t like fish oil or fatty fish and use vegetable oil for cooking, even olive oil, try taking a Omega 3 supplement in the form Algae Oil. An imbalance of Omega 6 (too much of it) to Omega 3 is a huge driver of inflammation. If one has had cataracts its might be a hint to you that you might want to take a look at your diet, two of the factors. Think phytonutrients.
“Factors that increase your risk of cataracts include:
Increasing age
Diabetes
Excessive exposure to sunlight
Smoking
Obesity
High blood pressure
Previous eye injury or inflammation
Previous eye surgery
Prolonged use of corticosteroid medications
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
Choose a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. Adding a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet ensures that you're getting many vitamins and nutrients. Fruits and vegetables have many antioxidants, which help maintain the health of your eyes.
Studies haven't proved that antioxidants in pill form can prevent cataracts. But, a large population study recently showed that a healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals was associated with a reduced risk of developing cataracts. Fruits and vegetables have many proven health benefits and are a safe way to increase the amount of minerals and vitamins in your diet.”
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cataracts/symptoms-causes/syc-20353790
@Wild Chicken
Across Atlantic Ice by Dennis Stanford. A lot of archeological and tool flaking stuff. Very dry.
Articles and books by Tom Dillehay. Most recently I read The Settlement of the Americas Huaca Prieta Where the Land meets the Sea (Probably have to find that at a library...the book is expensive!)
Wiki article on the Solutrian Hypothesis
Kennewick Man by Owlsey Peopling of Americas Publications....lots of information.
I haven't read the Reich book yet. Thank you for the suggestion!
Even back in my college years 1970's I thought the Clovis first theory as an exclusive idea of how people populated the Americas only from the Siberian pathway.... was just full of hot air and inflated egos.
But...but, what should you do when your mental powers so far exceed everyone you spend time with. Then you have to talk over their heads or just keep you thoughts to yourself. Asking for a friend.
“Play chess - while on a treadmill.”
I have been working on my partner to start playing again. At one level, we are opposites. She was elected prom queen, and turned it down, because she didn’t want to attend. She was the girl every guy wanted. I was the nerdy science student who rode the bus, carrying his French horn. I never went to prom or home coming because my GF my last year in HS didn’t believe in them. Turns out though that we were both on our chess teams in HS. We have (from her) very nice chess sets at both houses, but never play. I think that I would be happy if I could get her walking a couple hours a day, taking her supplements, and playing chess again.
First though, the chess set is set up in the loft, which is covered with stacks of books waiting for new bookcases that are scheduled to show up later this month. My goal is to finish that room (though the bookcases will join the ones already in my office) and her sitting room before we head north for half a year. I have told her that we aren’t doing that until then - but I tend to get outvoted in this matter, despite being the only one driving. Got the spare dining room set finally out of the kitchen and family room (gave it to the step daughter) last weekend, so all we have left downstairs is to buy 4 kitchen chairs. Two years now, and we haven’t completed moving in.
Which is why I am looking for land up north of town, to build a slightly bigger house. I have some design programs, so have started working on floor plans. We (most importantly she) like(s) this floor plan, so I am thinking right now that the inside will probably be almost identical, with maybe a couple more feet in the living and dining rooms and kitchen, but then tacking on another two car garage with a guest suite above it, and a shop behind. Also a gun room safe. Every home needs one of those. And setup for the installation of an elevator. Cheapest to put it in when you build, but neither of us wants to be able to rely on it yet. Maybe we should add a chess room too. I was surprised, looking at MLS listings, that the value of this house has gone up by roughly 20% since we bought it new a bit over two years ago.
@ Wild Chicken
Sorry for the formatting. Huaca Prieta is a different site than Monte Alban. Where the Land Meets the Sea. Different book.
FWIW
PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone)
protects the brain from neurodegenerative diseases, stroke damage, and effects of traumatic brain injury.
beneficial regarding neuroinflammation, excitotoxicity, glucose-induced damage, malformed brain proteins
...and one more thing that warrants repeating (in case you 'forgot')
To forestall senile Dementia
Purchase some Althouse Rodentia
You'll be satisfied
when the order's RATified
...and just tell 'em Meade Sentia
I'm in my mid-sixties have done consulting work for many years. I get parachuted into new situations with new people and problems all the time. I am fairly certain my brain works better today than if I had just been on a regular accounting/finance career pattern.
“Ann, I have absolutely no doubt you stay 'cognitively busy'. Which is why I'm surprised at your audio-books while walking' option. I would think walking would be the rare but perfect time for you to ratchet down the cognitive 'noise' and get a bit of Zen time activity.”
If I walk without an audiobook, I have a lot of thoughts. I don’t just go blank. With an audiobook, I’m in one continuous stream, and it’s a big difference from the jumping around way I read at home. Also I don’t feel stressed by my reading or my thoughts. I don’t worry or have racing thoughts. It doesn’t feel noisy to me at all. I’m looking for good things to do with my mind and I select books that enhance life for me. I look for beauty and depth and things that are very different from the news.
Geez, AA, the NYT doesn't need to advertise you do it for them????
I'll put in a plug for an online chess site.
https://lichess.org/
I have no financial interest in this site. It's free, and enables you to play chess against people around the globe. It will match you with other players of your skill level. It doesn't matter if you suck at chess, I sure do. But it's entertaining and stimulating. Did I mention it's free?
For cognitive engagement and growth I make stuff, usually out of wood. Currently finishing a small, shaker style side table. Turn bowls and other things such as salt cellars, pepper mills, and pens. Made my daughter and son-in-law a bespoke rustic coffee table (it is yuge!) that required that I learned new skills and techniques.
You have to plan these things, select the wood, expose and align it in such a way that it shows it in the most visually pleasing way. There is the style element to be considered - I've made contemporary and craftsman style mantle clocks; they each have a style element that must also be formed in such a way as to accept the clock works.
And i read and comment here, read fiction and non-fiction, and remain actively employed in a job that requires lots of attention and analysis.
Hopefully that all helps. Then the news about Luke Perry arrives. It could happen to anyone. Even if that is true, I wouldn't change a thing.
A fun way to keep sharp is to try random problems from “Baby Rudin” an analysis text from the late great U W Madison math prof Walter Rudin. He had a FL Wright Usonian home in Madison. Most I can remember how to start off on but they all are a challenge to present a nice formal solution for.
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