What Have You Done for Your Brain Lately
by Susan Dunn, MA, Emotional Intelligence Coach & Consultant
“The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn’t need its brain any more so it eats it! It’s rather like getting tenure.” ~David Dennett, “Consciousness Explained”
Anthony is a tenured professor, head of the department, who tells me he’s “going out of his mind.” He’s deeply dissatisfied with his life, and wants to change careers.
He’s desperate for new experiences, for meaning and purpose, and for something new in his life. He is “hamstrung” by a high salary and a less-than-30-hour week with long vacations, but is beginning to see the “price” is not worth it.
Though Anthony happens to actually be a tenured professor, he is representative of many clients I have who are 50 or older.
As more Baby Boomers “come of age,” the studies about aging continue to pump in lots of new information to counteract former stereotypes. Science is discovering that “old” rats given new toys and new playmates start growing new brain cells, and better brain cells. Imagine!
And, right on-point, these are the two things Anthony laments the most about his current position – the fact that he isn’t encouraged, or allowed, to innovate within the department; and that there’s no camaraderie.
Let’s take a look at some myths about aging and the brain, to encourage you to keep learning, and to keep acquiring new toys, and new playmates. And, oh yes, get toys that give you a good workout, both physically and mentally. That’s one of the keys to resilience as you age!
MYTH No. 1: Once you’re born, all you can look forward to is a long and steady loss of brain cells (aka neurons).
REALITY: “Stem” cells in the human brain can create new neurons indefinitely, and relatively idle neurons will extend their branches to carry signals to and from other neurons indefinitely, under the proper circumstances.
MYTH No. 2: We can’t get smarter as we age.
REALITY: Mice (are we like mice . you be the judge) in an enriched environment, with interesting toys and playmates, showed an increase in 4000 new neurons in the hippocampus (crucial to memory and learning) compared to 2400 in the control group with no toys or playmates. And older mice’s brains also got bigger and better! And quickly! (Diamond and Rosenzweig, Elizabeth Gould, Princeton)
MYTH No. 3: Creativity diminishes with age.
REALITY: According to Ralph Warner, author of “Get a Life: You Don’t Need a million to Retire Well,” “older artists often do well, commonly experiencing a sustained burst of exciting creativity after 65.”
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This entry was posted on Monday, June 28th, 2004 at Monday - June 28, 2004 and is filed under General Health.