Build a Better Brain at Any Age!

A Review of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s book: Keep Sharp

Article Courtesy: Ken Brown

What incredible years we Baby Boomers have lived through! In just the past twenty-five years, we have all witnessed a series of dramatic developments, including the rise of the Internet and social media, the establishment of the cell phone and the arrival of electric and autonomous vehicles. In addition to all the technological innovations we’ve seen, recent innovations in biotechnology and health care have the potential to keep all of us alive much longer.

Although research is surging forward in all areas of medicine, those of us with brains are particularly interested in neuroscience. As dementia and Alzheimer’s increasingly invade our lives, this 3.3 pound organ that consumes 20% of our energy has rocketed to medicine’s centre stage.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon (brain) and CNN medical correspondent, published Keep Sharp to bring us all up to speed: what the brain needs to work, what we now know about its well-being, and perhaps most importantly, what we need to do if we wish to keep our brains working efficiently.

Here’s a heads up before you read the following summary of five cardinal needs for brain health. This short book will not bury you with terminology or facts. What it will do rather well is separate myths from solid science and leave you with a sense of why we need to pay attention to the best 3.3 pounds we have.

Five Musts for Brain Health

Games and mind puzzles (Wordle, anyone?), short of speed games, apparently do little to keep the brain (as a whole) sharp. Without fail, what brain research is revealing falls into several categories, with which most VRMNCers are already familiar. They are:

MOVE   
                
~ The only thing scientifically documented to improve
                    brain health functioning is movement.

NOURISH
              
 ~ Nutrition, with particular emphasis on vegetables and
                  fruit in our diets

DISCOVER           
               
~ Brain use involving problem solving, especially areas of
                   great interest ranging say from a software program to a
                   new hobby.  Anything new. 

RELAX:     
      
        ~ includes sufficient sleep, avoiding multitasking, stress
                   reducing activities, meditation

CONNECT 
             
   ~ If crosswords or Wordle get a B- on improving overall
                   brain function, this one gets an A. Apparently, it improves
                   brain plasticity, helps to preserve cognitive abilities,
                   reduces stress, and boosts our immune systems.

VRMNC’s pub lunches, post activity coffees, bridge, billiards and our other many “people talking to people” events all contribute to this health-giving aspect of brain health.

If you want a digestible survey of recent research as well as plenty of reliable myth-busting and practical advice for keeping your gray matter in optimum condition, this enjoyable read is for you!

– Ken Brown

Gregory Bosecker

VRMNC Newsletter Editor.