 Hi, this is Tracy Tejama Espinosa, and this is a video on use it or lose it. This is the core concept of neuroplasticity in the brain. Basically, the idea is that your brain is complex and when you use it, it's in great shape. But when you stop using it, when you stop learning, then the neural connections are lost. That's the core idea. So the focus of this video is to talk about different things that serve as protective factors to stop that natural cognitive decline in the brain. So everything really centers around neuroplasticity. So the idea is how to use it so as not to lose it. One of the main researchers in this area, Michael Mezrinich, has been really a great leader in not only doing specific research in the University of California in San Francisco, but also in suggesting different types of training that people can do to continually stretch their memory, stretch their attention capacity, stretch their ability to develop and rely on executive functioning. We talk about use it and we talk about lose it. We're really talking about building neuroconnections, creating these new and extra dendrites that lead off to different types of synapses versus the lack of use which would actually impede continual dendrite growth. So Mezrinich says, you know, the basic concept is simple. The brain changes physically, functionally, and chemically as you acquire an ability or skill set. But as you're doing that, you're actually creating these new connections in the brain. And what he suggests is that we start to go downhill pretty quickly by the third or fourth decade of life because basically, my theory is that we stop studying, you know, formally, we stop going to school. You stop going from a period of acquiring new information, making these new connections, and that you basically sort of go on automatic pilot. You use habituated behaviors that have been built up over the first few decades of your life, and that's all you use from there on out. So Mezrinich suggests that what would happen if we were more proactive in the later stages of life, if we continued to learn, if we continued to pay new attention to new information and to construct additional neural connections in the brain. So the basic advice returns this idea of stop being an automatic pilot and doing things always in the same way because they're comfortable. Get out of that comfort mode, stretch yourself a bit. And that area of discomfort is when you're actually learning something new, you'll actually grow and continue to keep your brain active. Michael Rava has some very complementary ideas to Mezrinich's and I'd like to share a video with you about this basic concept of use it or lose it. It may be the secret to successful aging, remaining physically and mentally active. Exercise has been universally beneficial. When people exercise their body, they increase brain factors that make the nerve cells in their brain healthier. They increase the number of new nerve cells that are being generated. Dr. Michael Robb is a geriatrician with Lee Memorial Health System. He focuses on memory disorders. New research shows combining physical and mental exercise helps maintain the brain, much more than doing either one exclusively. Doing Sudoku puzzles, card games, dominoes, jigsaw puzzles, even playing computer games are things that you can get better at and coupling that with exercise keeps your brain healthier longer. Use it or lose it. When it comes to boosting your brain, some exercises work well for seniors. Tai Chi is one that works both mind and muscle. People call it moving meditation. One, it's tight alignment, balance, a tremendous amount of focus. People who practice Tai Chi believe it blends the best of both worlds. The exercise should also include movement, complexity and memory, which Tai Chi does. Staying fit for life. It's helping seniors live better, longer. That's what makes the 60 the new 40 or 80 the new 60. For Lee Memorial Health System, I'm Amy Osher. So, core idea I guess is pretty intuitive to most of us. We realize that staying active and healthy is really good. But the key idea is understanding the neuroplasticity behind this. The idea that your brain can continue to make new connections throughout the lifespan when it learns new things. Doing things, again, just sort of parenthetically, there was a mention there of doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles, things like that. Very interesting. Maybe Tai Chi is even slightly better because there's an additional steps there. Not only is it a cognitive understanding of the steps and the alignment, but there's also this physical balance of things. But even more so, we've talked a lot in this class about the importance of possible strengthening by learning a foreign language. So learning another language is actually even better than Sudoku crossword puzzles or even Tai Chi. So do consider that. Another element to consider is the types of cognitive exercises that we're doing. One of the things that Mezrenic really focuses on is that his particular games, looking at brain HQ and the positive science brain training that he works on, it's very important to understand that none of these brain trainings improves your intelligence. All of them improve some aspect of cognition. Now, cognition as a whole, the main ideas there are memory and attention. And you can have brain training that improves memory and or attention. You usually don't have a single thing that does both, right? So I want to share a video with you that summarizes some of these core concepts and offers specific advice about how to stave off cognitive decline. Hi, I'm Julie Anwasil and you're watching OTV, where we provide solutions for living. In this episode, I'm going to talk to you about some of the proven ways we can stay sharp as we age. Our brains are made of billions of neurons which interact with each other to complete specific tasks. Singles are sent from one neuron to another along neural pathways. And these determine our thoughts, emotions, insights, and so much more. Each task relies on a different neural pathway. So the pathway for reading a book, for example, is different than the pathway for putting on our shirt. The more we use a pathway, the stronger the connection becomes. These neurons have the ability to physically change themselves when faced with new and difficult experiences. This ability is called neuroplasticity. As we are exposed to new areas, tasks, or information, or experiences, neural pathways are formed and existing ones are reshaped. This will continue throughout our entire lives as we learn. As we have experienced through practicing a musical instrument, memorizing our shopping list, or recalling a friend's phone number, if we consciously focus and train our brains in a certain area, they will become faster and more efficient at performing those tasks. So how can we use this knowledge to try and combat age-related cognitive decline? Here are a few ideas. First, the old adage is true. Use it or lose it. Like the atrophy you would see in your leg muscles if you stop walking, your brain will respond the same if you reduce your engagement in cognitive activities. Staying sharp requires you to find interesting or new things to do with your brain. Learn online banking, take a class, or a course. Play a challenging board game with a friend. Shop at a new grocery store. Take a different route to get home. All of these simple things will challenge your brain to keep its connections and networks firing on all cylinders. Second, while there are many forms of online cognitive training, the important thing to remember is that the best use of your brain is just doing things, anything. Stay active, be involved, and if you have extra time, you can consider spending it playing online games that are designed to challenge areas of your thinking, like attention, memory, or concentration. But just be warned that the skills you require from the game might not necessarily translate to you using your brain better or differently when doing other daily tasks. For example, if you score really high on a memory game, that does not mean you will be better able to remember your grocery list. Really, the best way to improve your completion of daily tasks is to just keep doing them. Third, you've heard this before and you'll hear it again. Exercise is good for more than just your muscles. A healthy lifestyle filled with regular physical activity helps provide oxygen to your brain, which in turn helps to improve cognition and slow the signs of aging. And yes, your diet also matters. How do you fuel the most important organ in your body? Research shows that a diet low in fat and cholesterol, filled with antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables, and omegas from fish and nuts can help fuel your brain and ward off issues later in life. And these diets are also great for your heart and reduce the risk of diabetes. Of course, sleep is important too. As people age, they tend to experience greater issues falling asleep and staying asleep. Yet lack of sleep is another important cause of poor cognition. Make sure you monitor your sleep patterns and habits and try to ensure you are well rested. Take a look at our other OTV video on sleep if you want some pointers. And what about medications? Many medications have side effects that can cause a cognitive fog. Understanding what these are and if there are alternatives is a good step in the direction of staying sharp and alert during the day. Lastly, stay social. Keeping an active social life in your senior years is very important for your overall health, including your brain. If you're looking for activities to engage in, check with your local library or senior center to find a group with activities you can join. Many of these are available during the day and are inexpensive or free. In the end, remember that each person, each environment requires a unique solution to any given problem. Seek the services of an occupational therapist if you have a functional problem to solve. Well, that concludes this episode of OTV. Remember, OT is no stuff. So why is all this important? General well-being is influenced by the state of your mind, of the state of your brain. And we know the older you get, the less active we tend to become physically as well as mentally. And this creates the perfect storm for a cognitive decline. However, we can put that off if we are able to insert more physical and mental activity into our lives. We realize throughout midlife, we should all expect to be pretty strong, you know, cognitively healthy. And then there's natural cognitive decline, which will kick in in later life. And the likelihood of dementia, major neurocognitive disorders increases with age. Well, it's very interesting about this particular article from the Swiss Medical Weekly, is that there's this idea that there are things we can do. There are risk and protective factors in our lives. There's ways that we can prevent cognitive decline. There are things you can do in young adulthood, midlife, and in later life that will increase the likelihood of well-being into later life. Some things that have come to light as clear risk factors, poor nutritional states, other medical conditions like diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, these things can contribute to cognitive decline later in life. But other studies looking at socioeconomic factors or other toxins in the environment, as well as genetic predispositions for cognitive decline, have been studied for many, many years. And they generally sum up to look something like this. There's general increase in risk for cognitive decline and dementia if you have traumatic brain injury, midlife obesity, midlife hypertension, if you're smoking, diabetes, if you have a history of depression or sleep disturbances or hyperlipedema. But you also can have a decreased risk or protective factors in other things. For example, the number of years that you've had formal education is a protective factor. General physical activity and having a good diet or doing any of these cognitive training exercises to extend your working memory capacity or your attention. And having moderate alcohol consumption can actually be a protective factor, as is social engagement. All of these would decrease your risk for cognitive decline. One of the very interesting things to observe about a lot of these things is that aspects such as formal education and cognitive training, for example, as well as social engagement, very clearly related to increased white matter track, increasing new connections and evidence of neuroplasticity. But an additional factor that has recently come to light and is said by Kim and colleagues, shows that having a purpose in life protects against cognitive decline in older adults. So in their study, they looked at the same thing. They wanted to figure out if the gender or the race of an individual, the level of education or what kind of health status they were in or if they were employed or not, other medical conditions that they might have. They also looked at smoking and drinking, for example. But they also looked at things like, did your income or the number of siblings or the structure of your household have anything to do with your ability to stave off cognitive decline? In addition to these general demographic scores, they also ask them some other questions. For example, I enjoy making plans for the future and working to make them a reality, definitely a protective factor, right? But if you think my daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me, well, that's kind of a risk factor, right? Or I'm an active person in carrying out my plans that I set for myself, right? That's positive. Or I don't have a good sense of what it is I'm trying to accomplish in life or I sometimes feel as if I've done it all, there's nothing left to do, right? Kind of negative there, right? Or if you have directions, if you make plans, all of these things can be indicators of your sense of purpose in life. And Kim's work basically showed then this mental, this psychological aspect contributes to your neural physiological wellbeing, to staving off cognitive decline. So in summary, this Swiss medical weekly and also at this large international conference in Copenhagen tried to understand, well, what is cognitive reserve? How can we build up cognitive reserve so that you do not suffer from these natural effects of aging? And they summarize this as understanding the physical things you do to your body, exercise, nutrition, the level of education, having a social support system and positive affect in your life, participating in stimulating activities and novel experiences, things that are new and different in your life and even participating in cognitive training, rehearsing working memory, for example, will improve and serve as protective factors in your life. So that while the onset of dementia can occur at any time, but most likely in late mid-life until later life, and the average person will be able to stave off the threat of dementia until later life, those people with protective factors have a better probability of not suffering from cognitive decline because they have high cognitive reserve and high cognitive reserve has to do with taking steps in this direction, incorporating these things into your life, continually using your brain so that you don't lose those neural connections. So bottom line recommendation is definitely keep active, keep learning new things, keep connecting different things. It doesn't matter how old you are that you can always continue to learn. But the key idea is to get out of your comfort zone, to do things that are more challenging to you, which really changes our mindset about old age, right? We used to think, okay, well, you're older now, go ahead and relax, chill out, do whatever you feel like doing. Well, the main idea here is to not allow yourself to become too comfortable. Yeah, go and travel, but guess what? Also learn the foreign language of that country you're gonna go to, or yeah, go back and study. Go back and learn something that you had always wanted to, but had not had the time for before. So once again, this big idea is use it so as not to lose it. The big idea is to maintain the levels of neuroplastic connectivity that you've created in your brain, but also to enhance it with new learning. The core physiological process is that this white matter track built up over years of learning can deteriorate with age. But there's important steps you can take to proactively stave off this natural decline. And with that, we'll end here, use it or lose it. I'm looking forward to your questions when we meet up. Thanks.