REDUCE AGE RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE

For many, brain aging does lead to a decline in function: problems with attention and remembering new information, slower thinking, reduced problem solving. But this does not have to happen to you.

Experts from the pinnacle of neuroscience are very clear: by making planned use of the brain's amazing ability to reshape itself, which neuroscience calls neuroplasticity, you can get sharp and stay sharp as you age. Take for example, Michael Merzenich, world renowned neuroscientist from the University of California San Francisco, who is interviewed in the UCSF Science Cafe in a story entitled Why Old Brains Never Die:

"The good new is that the brain is plastic until you die. That means you can count on it staying vibrant and alert if you stoke its electric engine with novelty and challenge. The goal is to drive our aging and less efficient brains in a positive and corrective direction...Don't rest on your laurels. Quit complaining and buck up."

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA

Scientific research is increasingly showing that by taking active steps to maintain your mental fitness as you age, you gain protection from the severe effects of brain pathology such as Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia. It is believed that by staying mentally active, you develop what scientists call a cognitive reserve that allows you to function normally even if your brain is showing the physical signs of a brain disorder.

For example, one project studied a select group of subjects who had remained especially mentally active as they aged. The brains of these individuals showed all of the physical signs of Alzheimer's Disease. But because of their mental fitness, they did not show the mental symptoms of the disease. In fact, they scored better than 80% of individuals who did NOT have Alzheimer's Disease. Mental fitness protected them from the ravages of the disease, even though it was unquestionably present in their brains.

See what MSNBC has to say about how to Fight Alzheimer's with an active brain.

WE TRACK AND EVALUATE THE SCIENCE SO YOU CAN STAY SHARP

The neuroscience of aging has not yet identified exactly what kinds of activities and experiences result in the mental fitness that protects you from dementia. Still, a consensus is emerging that mental fitness in general results in the development of a cognitive reserve that protects against decline in mental function due to aging and due to Alzheimer's Disease.

As new research emerges detailing what type of mental exercise is most helpful, you can count on the the professional staff at the Stay Sharp Mental Fitness Center to carefully monitor and evaluate this research and then work with you to effectively build this type of activity into your mental fitness workout.

The Stay Sharp Mental Fitness Center brings you science you can use to get sharp and stay sharp.