There are elderly people in the family who all feel that as they grow older, the memory of the elderly in the family is getting worse and worse. When asked a question, they take longer than explicitly to respond, and no matter how simple the question is, sometimes it takes a while to answer. Therefore, many people think that the older you are, the slower your reaction is, and the older you are, the more serious the brain aging. Is this really the case? Let’s find out.

Is it true that older people react slower?

Nature·Human Behaviormagazine not long ago saw a new research report, breaking the fact that the older the person, the slower the brain shackles of thinking. Studies have found that the brain’s thinking speed only drops sharply after the age of 60. Before that, the brain’s reaction speed is not much different from that in the 20s and 30s.

Scientists analyzed the data of 1.2 million participants and found that people’s thinking speed develops and changes regularly.From the age of 10, it gradually changes. It will accelerate until it reaches its peak around the age of 30, and then there is a relatively stable plateau period, and it will not drop sharply until the age of 60. Like a U shape, there is a long-term constant period. Another factor that affects a person’s responsiveness is the degree of prudence in decision-making.

People between the ages of 10 and 20 are not special when making decisions prudent, so the response is very fast. As you get older, your decision-making becomes more prudent, and it appears to be slow to react. This kind of decision-making prudence has always had such external manifestations and laws until the age of 80.

Which behaviors accelerate brain aging?

1. Unhealthy eating habits

Eating habits are closely related to brain health, unhealthy eating habits will speed up the brain senescence. “Alzheimer Municipal Association” magazine once published a related article, strict adherence to the MIND diet can reduce the risk of the disease by 5% . Ask to eat more green vegetables, eat more nuts, beans, fish, poultry, healthy fats and other ten kinds of food.

2. Excessive drinking

Excessive drinking can also affect people’s memory and learning ability, and promote brain aging. A related experiment in rats, simulating moderate to heavy drinking, found that in the hippocampus of these rats, nerve cells decreased by 40%.

3. Long-term lack of sleep

The healthiest sleep time is 7 Hours or so, long-term sleep less than 7 hours, the brain aging very fast. People who sleep less each day experience a significant decline in cognitive performance.

4, sedentary

Many people in life are sedentary, spending a long time in front of the TV or computer. American Medical Association Psychiatry research shows that people who sit in front of the TV or computer for more than three hours a day without moving for more than three hours a day have twice the risk of Alzheimer’s disease than the general population.

5. Habit of obesity

A new study by a research team from the University of Miami, USA , found that the higher the body mass index, the faster the brain aging. Body mass index reflects the degree of obesity in the human body. The higher the body mass index, the thinner the cerebral cortex.

What are the characteristics of brain aging?

There are 6 characteristics of brain aging.

• First, the recognition and spatial positioning of objects in the three-dimensional world becomes unclear.
• Second, the ability to express language declines, making it difficult to understand or fully express.
• Third, they cannot properly control their emotions, lose interest in things around them, and become emotionally unstable.
• Fourth, the ability to perform is reduced, and it is impossible to complete multiple tasks at the same time.
• Fifth, unable to concentrate on work, easily distracted, and significantly reduced concentration.

How to keep the brain young and active?

German psychiatrist Gary Small, who proposed a recipe for healthy aging, pointed out a way to keep the brain young and active.

• First, keep doing physical exercise and do brisk walking for at least 20 minutes every day.
• Second, eat healthy, don’t eat too much greasy, pay attention to diet control, eat more foods that are good for brain health, such as fish, nuts, etc.
• Third, don’t let yourself be in a high-pressure state for a long time, learn to decompose stress and decompress yourself.
• Fourth, train your brain regularly, take part in more social activities, and keep learning.

Message from the doctor

60 years old In the past, the brain would not be too old, and she would have a longer plateau period, and her abilities would decline sharply after the age of 60. However, this does not mean that everyone can be indifferent and prevent brain aging, the sooner the better.

Family doctor online feature, unauthorized reprint