Brain Power and Age
At the beginning, I am terribly sorry for the delay in submitting the theme for March. When I was asked for the next chairpersonship of Eager Beavers at a regular meeting in September last year, I also received that my turn of the moderators would come around in a short interval in December and March, but this time I was too delayed. There is only one reason. I was ashamed to forget it completely. When I got a private email from one of the members, I finally realized it, but to be honest, I even forgot to open it for a few days. Maybe I should be ashamed of myself again, shouldn’t I?
Not limited to this case, now that the 60th birthday is just around the corner, I often feel that I have a tendency to forget things easily these days. Sometimes it's hard to remember names, or it's also hard to recall them. While going upstairs to pick up something, I suddenly came up with the idea and kept the room tidy, and forgot what I came to pick up. When talking with carefree friends of the same generation, we often talk about our health problems, and "forgetfulness" has become one of the common topic recently. Then we can't help but feel our aging. It's nice to be able to laugh at one another, saying, "We're having a senior moment, aren’t we?" but sometimes we can't even laugh. Although it is unavoidable that the older we get, the worse our memory get. On the other hand, it is everyone's desire to have a younger brain as well as to have a younger mind and a younger body. For instance, one of the main reasons I learn English is to keep my brain young. Do you agree? At that time, I came across an article that would send me an ale. This time, I would like to introduce it to you and exchange opinions on "anti-aging of our brains" through individual experiences. Why don’t we read the article below?
Scientists in Germany have cast doubt on a previously believed assumption that the processing speed of our brain starts to decline from the age of 20. Until now, it has been thought that our cognition level peaks when we are 20 and declines thereafter. Lead researcher doctor Mischa von Krause, of Heidelberg University, offered hope to older people who worry about increasing forgetfulness or reduced brain power. He said cognitive skills were still powerful at the age of 60 and do not diminish before then. He wrote: "Our finding is encouraging, as our results show that average levels in mental speed in contexts demanding fast and forced decisions do not decline until relatively late in the lifespan." The study was based on data from over 1.1 million people, aged between 10 and 80 years old. The results show that our mental processing speed remains relatively constant until the age of 60, but does start to decline from our seventh decade. The researchers said people's mental processing speed actually increases in their 20s and remains high until 60. Dr. Von Krause said: "Until older adulthood, the speed of information processing in the task we studied barely changed." He added that older people do take longer to make decisions, but said this was because we become more cautious, and less impulsive and reckless as we age. The study could cast light on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's
Sources:
- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/17/brains-do-not-slow-down-until-after-age-of-60-study-finds
- https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-human-brain-doesnt.html
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2308810-your-brain-doesnt-slow-down-until-your-60s-later-than-we-thought/
<Questions>
- What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'brain'?
- Do you think you use your brain effectively?
- Would you prefer to keep your brain active or relaxed?
- Do you worry about your brain slowing down?
- Would you say that your brain is powerful?
- When is the most active your brain has been?
- What do you do to look after your brain?
- Do you take a long time to make decisions?
- Please talk freely about “brains” and "mental."
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