Brain Health Expert: Patricia Faust
If you want to protect your brain in your 40s and 50s, now is the time to take action; because cognitive decline doesn’t wait until old age.
Why It’s Crucial To Protect Your Brain in Your 40s and 50s; Before the Decline Speeds Up:
When I first learned about brain health, I was middle-aged. The research and discoveries about the aging brain and brain health were relatively new. I was learning at the speed of light (or maybe close to that!). As I learned, I took the information to those of us in our fifties. Brain health was met with a luke warm response.
I worked hard during those years to get Boomers to understand that I was giving them fountain of youth possibilities for their brains. As I was doing that I aged right through middle age to older age. My focus was on the aging brain but instead of concentrating on brain losses sustained in middle age I shifted to losses sustained by older brains. The fear increased among Boomers over these losses and changing the brain became a more difficult challenge – although not impossible.
One day I was with both of my sons, who are in the middle-aged group (ackkk!). Noticing that they were experiencing some aging brain slips I did a look back at the brain aging changes that occur in the forties, and fifties. It was enlightening because I had never looked specifically at certain ages and the changes that occur and the brain functions that are affected was more detailed than what I remember studying back then. Some of the findings were predictive of future brain health.
Brain Changes Through Middle Age:
Our brains change more rapidly at various times of our lives. Childhood, adolescence and very old age are good examples of this. Yet, for much of adulthood, the life clock seems to tick regularly. However, there may be a stage in life when the brains clock starts speeding up. The brain starts changing without you even noticing it. This state of brain aging during your 40s and 50s, or middle-aging, may even predict your future health.
Studies by psychologists have revealed that our mental faculties gradually decline with age starting in our 20s and 30s. However, when assessing people’s memory of everyday events, the change over time appears to be especially rapid and unstable during middle age. This suggests that the brain may be going through accelerating, as opposed to gradual change during this period.
Several structures of the brain have been found to change in midlife. The hippocampus, an area critical for forming new memories, is one of them. The hippocampus shrinks throughout much of adulthood, and this shrinkage seems to accelerate around the time of middle age. Areas like the frontal lobe and hippocampus, which are responsible for cognitive functions, shrink more than any other areas. Other changes include less effective communication between neurons, a decrease in blood flow, and an increase in inflammation.
Connections Between Brain Cells:
The connections between brain cells allow the brain to carry out its functions. These connections are the white matter. They mature slowly throughout adulthood, especially the ones connecting area of the brain that deal with cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, and language.
During middle age, many of these connections go through a turning point, from gaining volume to losing volume. The brain is shrinking. This means that signals and information cannot be transmitted as fast. Reaction time starts deteriorating. The brain becomes less efficient. This included the types of thinking that requires fast processing, juggling multiple pieces of information at the same time, and remembering new information that doesn’t have any sort of inherent structure or meaning.
These tasks are complex and require a lot of coordination between different parts of the brain and different networks. There is evidence that very gradual declines in these areas can start in a person’s 30s, even though you may not notice them for a few more decades.
Through white matter connections, brain areas talk to each other and form interconnected networks that can perform cognitive and sensory functions, include memory or vision. While the sensory networks deteriorate gradually throughout adulthood, the cognitive networks start deteriorating faster during middle age, especially those involved in memory.
Normal Middle-Aged Brain Changes:
- The ability to master new technology: “Ugh, I just got a new phone, and I have no idea how to work it.”
- Mental math: Estimating how much the groceries in the basket will cost, or calculating a tip – may take a little longer
- Middle-aged movie review: “Oh, we liked the movie we saw last week – you know, the one that stars what’s her name and the other guy from that show we used to watch?”
- Tip of the tongue experience: It’s not coming to your mind right now, but it might pop into your head 20 minutes later or three days later.
Why Did I Just Walk In Here?
Walking into a room and forgetting why you went in there is a classic example of a normal sign of brain aging. That happens to me often and I think a lot of people can relate to it. This is a normal sign of aging and not cognitive problems. But when things start becoming very frequent or interfering with your ability to carry out daily activities, that is concerning, and it is a good idea to talk to your provider.
How To Protect Your Brain In Your 40s And 50s With 6 Lifestyle Shifts That Work:
When you are in your 40s and even your 50s, brain health is the last thing on your mind. The changes occurring in your brain are invisible and they are all still subtle. But this is the start of the loss of brain volume. That will continue, whether you believe it or not, as you age. Worst case scenario, cognitive decline will increase, and dementia and/or Alzheimer’s will be a result.
What can you do? You can change your brain. Starting early in your 40s and 50s will allow you to replace brain volume losses instead of recover brain volume losses. It is so much easier to do when you are middle-aged.
The solution is to live the Brain Healthy Lifestyle: Physical Exercise, Mental Stimulation, Nutrition, Socialization, Sleep, and Stress Reduction.
1. Physical Exercise: Provide 20% Of Carbs, Oxygen, And Blood From Each And Every Heartbeat:
- This provides nutrients and energy source for the brain
- The flush of blood to the frontal lobe of the brain initiates BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) which stimulates the production of neural stem cells — you are creating new brain cells!
2. Mental Stimulation:
Learning something new elicits an electrical charge to the brain. With repetition and consistency, you will create new nerve fibers and increase the volume of your brain.
3. Nutrition:
The brain is specific on the nutrients it requires to function. The MIND Diet provides the right foods to give your brain what it needs to function on a high level.
4. Socialization:
We are hard-wired to connect. By socializing with others, you can increase cognitive reserve.
5. Sleep:
There are two major functions that occur in our brains while we sleep:
- The Hippocampus, center of learning and memory, consolidates and encodes memories that have come in during the day.
- The Glymphatic system incorporates cerebral spinal fluid to flow through channels throughout our brains and flush toxins, cell debris, and other metabolic waste products. We have our own cleaning system!
6. Stress Reduction:
There is good stress, Eustress, that keeps our brain functioning at a high level. But chronic stress is dangerous, and the cortisol released damages our brain. We must learn methods of stopping the chronic stress cycle.
Think about it, f you are in your 40s and 50s now, is a perfect time to keep your brain healthy and high functioning. You may not think it is necessary but the aging changes are already occurring, and you will pay a price if you ignore this warning. Longevity is a given now and that is great if you are healthy. But if you don’t take care of your brain health now you could be one of ten who has Alzheimer’s in your seventies or even one in three if you are in your eighties. Get control of your aging brain while you are younger!
References:
Allard, S.D.H., Nolan,Y. (March 19, 2014). The middle-aged brain changes a lot – and its key to understanding dementia. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-middle-aged-brain-changes-a-lot-and-its-key-to-understanding-dementia-225412
Upham,B. (April 8, 2024). Your brain at 40, 50, 60, and beyond: what to expect as you age. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-health/your-brain-at-40-50-60-and-beyond-what-to-expect-as-you-age/
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About the Author:
Patricia Faust is a gerontologist specializing in the issues of brain aging, brain health, brain function and dementia. She has a Masters in Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University in Oxford Ohio. Patricia is certified as a brain health coach and received a certification in Neuroscience and Wellness through Dr. Sarah McKay and the Neuroscience Academy. My Boomer Brain, founded in 2015, is the vehicle that Patricia utilizes to teach, coach and consult about brain aging, brain health and brain function. Her newsletter, My Boomer Brain, has international readers from South Africa, Australia, throughout Europe and Canada. She has also been a frequent guest on Medicare Moment on WMKV and Cincy Lifestyles on WCPO.
