The biological process of ageing of course gets in the way of our development in retirement age. As people get older their productivity declines but their knowledge base is great. Older folks may lack speed and agility but they got invaluable experience. Just to think of some 80-90-year olds at the helm of some great companies is an example.
If you think of aging, you think of it happening at 60. However, there are at least two aspects to aging, aging of the body and aging of the mind. There is scientific belief that the mind starts aging from 20. Scientific studies confirm that simple tests like recalling objects begin to decline past 20 years of age and worsens at age 40. However, the acquisition of knowledge at work or school is supposed to counter that decline somewhat.
The human brain is a complex machine and the brain is the most complex of all. The Japanese were once trying to make a machine to function like the human body. If I hear anything further on that, I will let you know. There was evidence that keeping the brain active delays cognitive decline. However, this theory is now been countered. The bad news is the new finding that nothing that can stop the biological process of the aging brain. For the good news is a new theory that mental decline depends on the mental reserves an individual may have. Staying at work delays cognitive decline say some experts. Taking on a second degree (BA, MA, and PhD) at 40 or 50 can add tremendous reserves to the brain. However, the older we try these big mental challenges the harder is the effort. Perhaps, it is better to build these reserves at an earlier age.
Let me explain this in nonprofessional language, as I am neither a scientist nor medical professional. Let us say that your brain is like a reservoir. At age 40, you have 40 micro gallons (mg) in the reservoir and another person at the same age may have 30 mg. Ignoring all other variables and assuming a 5% annual decline in cognitive function, in 25 years you will have 11.8 mg left and the other will have 8.8 mg or 75% of what you have. On the other hand, if you keep refilling your reservoir more than the other person does, then by age 60 you may have more mg for later years.
The Wall Street Journal article (Oops! Mental Training Crosswords Fail to Slow Decline of Aging Brain; Sharon Begley, April 21, 2006) explains that even in the most mentally charged elderly – expert chess players, professors, doctors – mental function declines as fast as those who only watch TV the whole day. However, these mentally engaged individuals enter old age with a brain functioning far above the minimum (meaning, they have higher reserves) so their reserve capacity will last a longer time. To make my illustration more complete, it is then better to think of the brain like a battery than a reservoir. The more you use it, it recharges somewhat and slows the progress of decline.
I consulted with a neuroscientist before posting. He agreed that the law of diminishing returns does not apply to any part of the body if that part is normal, and its use planned and paced out. One interesting observation he made was that we all have physical limitations, so how does one differentiate overuse from abuse of mind and body? On the large mental reserves, the neuroscientist also thinks that while some of it attributes to hard work and the environment in which we grew up, but much of it relates to genetics.
Do we not fuss a lot in the industrialized world? The case of laborers working with their body for long hours with little concern of overuse or abuse is amazing. There are 60-70 year-old village folks in Sri Lanka who will climb a coconut tree in minutes. They may not have great mental reserves of the doctor, lawyer, and other professional, but they have the knowledge how to survive from a small patch of ground and the waters around them. So, would less educated peoples brains recede faster than the more educated? Perhaps not, as the developing country laborer is always using his brain to find ways of surviving. Did someone say, use it or lose it?
Let us agree on one thing though, it is quite apparent that it is better to keep the brain in use and challenge it with some mental stimulation, according to own ability and knowledge. Even relearning mathematics is fascinating. Tease your brain, is my advice to you. Just the other day I heard some words of advice on the radio which I thought was good to share with you. Where did I leave my keys? That is a familiar question you ask yourself. Be focused when you are putting things away and always recap your last few steps. The best lesson I have learned is that, the shortest pencil is better than the longest memory. Write down things that you must remember.
We are all looking for a less bumpy ride to the rest of our life. A little cushion can go a long way. Mentally engaging yourself during your entire life is the same as being physically active your entire life. Those who are physically active have greater reserves of youth when they hit old age than those who are inactive. Therefore, the physical active have reserves that help them live longer independent lives than the physically inactive. The brain works the same way. After all, the brain is also a part of your body and the most important part of it all. Keeping the brain active and playing board games, cards, crossword puzzles and other mental challenges that slow down the development of memory is a strong belief that may hold true. No wonder some people keep saying things like he or she is still doing this or still doing that, like people must change as soon as they age. And we all like to keep on doing the things we used to do in a determination to slow the aging process or at least show that we are not as biologically old as the chronological age..
It is amusing to end on the still syndrome from reading the obituary of the great economist John Kenneth Galbraith (Economist, May 6-11, 2006). About ten years ago, Mr. Galbraith lamented that old age brought infuriating burden that he called the "Still Syndrome." People would look at Mr. Galbraith and say that he was "still" doing things: "still" interested in politics," that he was "still" drinking, when he had a drink, or he was "still" that way when he looked at the opposite gender. We have the still syndrome in our home ever since I retired from UNICEF. When someone asks my wife about me, she says he is "still" the same: "still" biking, "still" swimming, but not 'still" running. In my own case, each weekend, I "still" bike up the same old hill, to see whether I can "still" do it. I hope you too, can "still" do the things that you used to do while the old man "still" does some of the things that he used to do.
We do exercise a lot and always think of the body, notwithstanding that a healthy mind that makes a healthy body. It is the mind (or brain) that reminds us how to do routine tasks and even drive a car or run and walk even without thinking about it. If our memory fails, we can even forget how to feed ourselves, as happens with Alzheimer's patients.
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