Brain Aging: Signs and Symptoms of Mental Decline & What You Can Do About It
By J. Wall
Introductory comments
By Royane Real
Author of: “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative”
When should you be worried about increasing forgetfulness? In your twenties? Your thirties? Your forties? How can you tell when your increasing forgetfulness is normal, and when is it a serious warning sign of some sort of serious brain disease such as Alzheimer`s?
These are tough questions to deal with when you get concerned about your forgetfulness.
Can you slow down brain aging? Can the symptoms of forgetfulness that come with aging be stopped or even reversed?
In some kinds of learning and memory experiments, seniors actually outperform people who are decades younger.
When problems due to an aging brain show up, usually the first thing you will notice is that your short term memory will start to falter, although your long term memory will generally work as well as ever. In the very early stages it's not possible to determine if this is general age related decline that is not serious, or if it is the early sign of serious brain disease.
There are many factors that can contribute to memory problems in later years. A lot of these problems are due to damage to brain cells caused by free radical molecules.
Free radical molecules are unavoidable. Our body inevitably produces free radicals as a part of the many chemical processes that are required for us to live. Free radicals will cause cellular damage that can eventually lead to cell death.
Our body tries to repair free radical damage as fast as it occurs. To do so, it needs a good supply of antioxidants it gets from our food supply. Brightly colored fruits, berries, and vegetables are excellent sources of antioxidants that can help repair and slow down free radical damage in our brains and in other parts of our bodies.
Our brains also require a steady supply of the right kinds of essential fatty acids. Unfortunately the diet of most people today who live in Western nations consists of very bad types of fatty acids, such as saturated fats and transfats. The bad fatty acids damage our brains and other organs and tissues in the body.
Can nutritional supplements actually help the brain? The research on these products is still in its infancy.
If you are going to take supplements to help your brain remember better, first do your homework. There are many supplements that may help boost your brain, and many that are useless.
Not all brain changes that come with aging are bad. In some ways our brains can improve with time. Due to a lifetime of experience, our judgment can become much better as we grow older. Our vocabulary improves. Our command of the language will usually stay intact. We have a bigger bank of wisdom to draw on.
If you are interested in learning what can help boost your brain help, you can get a lot of helpful information in my book, “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative” available at http://www.lulu.com.real
As well, you can find a lot of information to help your brain work better in the many articles on this website.
The following article by J. Wall discusses some of the symptoms experienced with an aging brain as well as some of the strategies you can use to overcome it.
( The introductory comments above were written by Royane Real )
Feature article:
Brain Aging: Signs and Symptoms of Mental Decline & What You Can Do About It
By J. Wall
The signs and symptoms of brain aging are not always as obvious as the outwards signs of aging. Some symptoms are difficult to notice on our own, while others may be painfully obvious. However, there are things you can do to stop or at least slow down the aging process.
Many people would say that forgetfulness is one of the signs of an aging brain. While it is true that forgetfulness is a symptom of aging, it is also true that people forget things all the time...especially as the pace of our lives gets busier and increasingly stressful. Hectic schedules, job or home stress and lack of sleep can all contribute to why we forget things.
However, we usually remember them later. What tends to distinguish age related forgetfulness is that age related forgetfulness tends to increase in frequency as a person age, and the ability of the mind to remember later what was forgotten decreases. Brain aging is marked by this type of forgetfulness.
Studies seem to indicate that reduced circulation to the brain and damage to cells caused by free radicals may play a role in why this happens as people age.
Another sign of an aging brain is a reduced ability to perform tasks or skills that once were easy. This is similar to age related memory decline. The brain's functions are impaired and the recall needed to perform the task is hampered. Again, this may be related to poor circulation, free radical damage or even reduced levels of neurotransmitters (the chemicals responsible for communications between nerve cells).
Brain aging can also produce fluctuations in mood. Imbalanced or reduced levels of various brain chemicals and neurotransmitters can seriously affect our personality or mood. Diet can be a factor as can cellular damage.
Many of the same root causes are shared among these signs of an aging brain. Poor circulation, free radical damage, diet or improper nutrition and brain chemical issues all contribute to the decline of our minds as we get older. The next question is: what can we do about it?
Proper diet and exercise are foundational to helping our bodies maintain all systems including the brain. The circulatory system needs exercise to continue to function efficiently as we age. The brain requires more oxygen and food energy than almost any other organ in the body. The circulatory system is the only way for your brain to get both oxygen and nutrients...it is the delivery mechanism.
We also need to ensure we are eating foods that provide brain friendly ingredients. Brain aging is more severe in people who have high fat diets and do not eat enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains that provide the right vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The brain needs vitamin E and B complex vitamins to keep nerve cells healthy, fight damage from free radicals, and burn foods effectively for energy. They need vitamins C, E and other antioxidants to keep cells from damage. Brain cells also need Iron, so eating modest amounts of lean red meat is also important.
Brain chemical and neurotransmitter levels are more difficult to regulate, but it can be done. Eating right can help the brain to produce sufficient levels. However, it may be necessary to provide your body with compounds like huperzine A, which helps prevent the breakdown of neurotransmitters in the body. Also amino acids like L-Tyrosine help the body to produce certain brain chemicals.
You may get some of the vitamins and antioxidants you need from eating, but may need to look at using natural supplements to ensure you get things like huperzine A and L-Tyrosine. There are even some supplements created to combat brain aging that provide these as well as the vitamins and antioxidants mentioned above along with herbs like Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng.
These herbs help improve circulation in the brain, improve mood and enhance memory functions. By using these as well as improving diet and exercise you can begin to tackle the problem of age and its effect on your brain.
About the author: J. Wall has an avid interest in natural remedies for the treatment of memory loss. He is a regular contributor to the Aging Brain section of http://www.memory-enhancement-guide.com, a site dedicated to improving mental ability and cognitive function
Article source: InnoArticles.com
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