5/10/2014 Use It or Lose It!

| Psychology Today
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-third-age/201405/use-it-or-lose-it-1 1/3
There are no drugs to prevent you from getting Alzheimer's disease at
this point. But, there is quite a bit of evidence that lifestyle greatly
modifies the downward trajectory of cognitive performance as you age. A
growing amount of research, including that done by Rohwedder and Willis
(1), proposes that maintenance of cognitive performance takes practice,
however. Evidence of this is most stark with regard to the effect of
retirement. There is an impressive decrease in cognitive performance that
comes with retirement, which researchers suggest is because when we
stop engaging in cognitively complex tasks, the brain is no longer
challenged enough to maintain cognitive function. It has been proposed
that retirement is problematic because it results in a shift in environmentin
which we are no longer using our brains at a high level on a frequent
basis. While staying in the work force longer might be an option and worth
while for some, is it possible to do something to prevent this decline from
occurring when we do go on to retire?
Scientific evidence on this issue is still emerging. Some studies suggest,
for example, that volunteering at a very high level (i.e., 15 hours or more
Use It or Lose It!
Exercising your mind becomes even more important in old age.
Published on May 5, 2014 by Dawn C. Carr, MGS, Ph.D. in The Third Age
For several decades, people have used the term "use it or lose it"
to aptly describe the best way to off-set the problems that come
with aging. As overly simplistic as the idea sounds, scientific
studies continue to show that if you disengage in later life, things
fall apart. This has particular relevance when we're talking
about cognitive performance.
For years, we assumed that cognitive performance declined
substantially as a part of normal aging. However, recent research
suggests, in fact, that is not the case. It is true that individuals with
abnormal brain function who end up going on to
get dementia show decline in cognition beginning as early as in
their 40s and the decline during later life can be steep. But for
those with normal brain matter, function, and activity, the average
person does experience cognitive decline but there is potential for
this to be quite modest. As we age learning new, novel information
takes a bit more effort and time than earlier in life, but our
foundation of knowledge and wisdom is far greater allowing us to
understand a deep level of complexity about subjects we know
well. So what can we do to greatly reduce decline whether it be
due to impending pathology or normal aging?
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5/10/2014 Use It or Lose It! | Psychology Today
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a week) may be a pathway for maintaining cognitive performance in post-
retirement years (2). However, the research assessing the effect of
volunteering on cognitive performance is inconsistent, probably because
it depends on what kind of volunteering you're doing, and how much time
you're doing it. What about brain games? There are others on this site
who have discussed this at greater length, but a consensus of experts
suggest that there is little evidence that brain games work (3). If they do
provide a buffer to cognitive decline, it is not a robust long-term effect,
and there is a potential cost that comes from engaging in brain games
over other things that do positively effect your quality of life.
So if you're going to do something to help maintain your cognitive
performance after you retire, what provides the greatest bang for your
buck? Exercise. The effect of exercise on cognitive performance is
impressive. Walking 200 minutes per week on average at age 70 has
been shown to not only maintain (or improve) cognitive function, but it
also results in an increase in the size of certain parts of the brain at a time
when the brain is rapidly shrinking (4). In effect, exercise seems to
reverse the effects of aging on the brain. And exercise is not only good
for your brain. As long as you are engaging in ways that do not place you
at risk for injury, exercise has the potential to treat your physical health as
well or better than prescription drugs designed to manage chronic
conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and is one of the
single best ways to maintain your mental health, which also has an
important effect on cognitive performance (5).
So, it isn't just about doing something relative to doing nothing as you
age. Some ways of doing are better than others. Although the research is
still underway, for those of us who are actively studying these issues, the
best we can offer is this: working longer may not only be good for your
finances and sense of purpose, it will also help you maintain your brain.
Regardless of your age or retirement status, however, exercise is as
much a way to stay physically fit as it is a way to stay mentally sharp.
References:
1. Mental Retirement. Rohwedder, S. & Willis, R. 2010. Journal of
Economic Perspectives 24(1):119-38. NIHMS. doi: 10.1257/jep.24.1.119.
2. "Health outcomes of Experience Corps : A high-commitment volunteer
program." Hong, SI & Morrow-Howell, N. 2010. Social Science and
Medicine, 71, 414-420. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.009.
3. http://longevity3.stanford.edu/brain-health/expert-consensus-on-b...
4. "Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and
improvesmemory. Erickson, et al, 2011. PNAS. doi:
10.1073/pnas.1015950108.
5. "Comparative effectiveness of exercise and drug interventions on
mortality outcomes: metaepidemiological study. Naci, H. & Loannidis, J.
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5/10/2014 Use It or Lose It! | Psychology Today
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-third-age/201405/use-it-or-lose-it-1 3/3
2013. British Medical Journal. doi:10.1136/bjm.15577.