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Aging the brain gracefully

Move the body to keep the brain sharp

Ever since Kitty Fong retired four years ago at 58, she’s been taking Zumba class regularly to keep her weight in check after packing on extra pounds right after she stopped working.

Fong and friend Amy Lam 63, were beaming and chuckling as they exited their one hour class at Collingwood Neighbourhood House. Both women were touting the overall benefits of exercise to their physical and emotional health, and as a place to meet friends.

“Actually when we were doing exercise, [we had] no worry – nothing... I feel young,” said Fong. Both women plan on keeping a regular exercise routine for as long as
they’re mobile.

“Try to move as much as you can,” added Lam. “Doesn’t matter what you do but as long you move, walking is good, too. For some people, they might be just around the neighbourhood.”

For Catherine Roscoe Barr, these women are helping start a revolution.

Barr, an anti-sedentary proponent, wants people moving as much and as often as possible. She is a wellness coach who teaches her clients how to optimize brain chemistry with the combination of exercise, nutrition and stress management.  

Like other organs in the body, the brain changes in physical structure and so do its abilities to carry out certain functions as a person ages. A recent report released by the Institute of Medicine in the U.S. equated aging with inherent “cognitive aging.”

The term “cognition” covers a range of mental abilities like decision-making, memory, attention and problem-solving. These elements could potentially affect a person’s ability to live independently or pursue activities, such as driving and making sound financial decisions. Unlike a disease, “cognitive aging” occurs in every individual, according to the report, but some feel the effects more than others. “At this point in time, when the older population is rapidly growing... it is important to carefully examine what is known about cognitive aging, to identify the positive steps that can be taken to promote cognitive health,” the report says.

The report recommended three steps to promote cognitive health.

  • Be physically active.
  • Reduce and manage cardiovascular disease risk factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking.
  • Regularly discuss and review with a healthcare professional health conditions and medications that might have a negative effect on cognitive function.

Other actions that may promote cognitive health include:

  • Being socially and intellectually active and continually seeking opportunities to learn.
  • Getting adequate sleep and seeking professional treatment for sleep disorders, if needed.
  • Taking steps to avoid a sudden acute decline in cognitive function (delirium) associated with medications or hospitalizations.
  • Carefully evaluating products advertised to consumers to improve cognitive health, such as medications, nutritional supplements, and cognitive training.

When it comes to the importance of exercise, Barr referred to her first job in a retirement home as fitness director after obtaining a neuroscience degree. There, she worked with people who were as old as 102. “It was night and day between people who sat around their arm chairs all day and the people who got up and moved,” she says.

Those differences showed in their attitudes. Active residents had a more positive and resilient attitude, observed Barr. Even those with mobility challenges or who are in a chair are encouraged by Barr to move any body part they can to retain their range of function.  

Not only does exercise improve mental health, it increases heart rate, which pumps more oxygen to the brain. It also aids the bodily release of hormones, all of which participate in aiding and providing a nourishing environment for the growth of brain cells.

“There’s so much power in lifestyle – how you think, how you move, how you eat in the health of your brain,” said Barr. “Individuals hold the power of what they’re going to be like when they’re 60, 70, 80, 90. The health of your brain is something you have a lot of control over.”

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