Use It or Lose It

When we talk about skills we’ve built, or knowledge we’ve gained, we know that we have to use it, or we won’t maintain the ability. Learning a language is a perfect example of this, as we study and practice to attain some degree of fluency but, if we don’t find ways to use it or continue to practice, the knowledge fades and, often, disappears.

The Alzheimer’s Association published a recent study entitled “Brain Health in America: Understanding and Supporting Lifelong Cognitive Health.” It’s a fascinating document on many levels as it both lays out the “prescription” for brain health and shares data from a broad survey of individuals, aged 40 and above, as to what they are, or are not, doing/willing to do about brain health.

Data from US Pointer, the first large-scale clinical trial in the United States, that addressed brain health, was the basis for development of the US Pointer Brain Health recipe. Perhaps you have already guessed the elements, there are four components, physical exercise, health monitoring, nutrition and cognitive exercise.

Physical exercise is defined as 30-35 minutes of aerobic activity four times a week, coupled with strength and flexibility training twice a week. Health monitoring includes regular medical visits and tracking key indicators like blood pressure and weight. Nutrition favors the MIND diet, which includes many of the elements of a Mediterranean diet such as olive oil, vegetables, leafy greens, fish and more. And cognitive exercise means using computer-based training, and other tools, to help keep the mind active and engaged.

None of these elements are really daunting, each achievable with, for many of us, minimal effort. And yet, the survey results indicate that, while 88% of those surveyed ranked “maintaining brain health” as very important as they age, and 99% judged it as important as physical health, only 9% indicated that they knew “a lot” about how to maintain brain health.

The truth is that we all know “a lot” about how to help ourselves and how to keep ourselves physically and mentally sharp. Movement is as simple as lacing up your sneakers and taking a walk around your neighborhood. Weights can be soup cans that you use for arm curls that you do during commercials and flexibility is easily practiced by doing some simple squats at your kitchen counter while you wait for your coffee to brew.

Food is the same. Again, there is no magic. We’ve all heard the phrase “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,” that Michael Pollan coined more than 30 years ago.  Simple fresh food, unprocessed, low in sugar and fats, this is a truth we all know when it comes to living a healthy life.

Medical checkups, managing key factors like blood pressure and weight are also something known to everyone. And finding ways to stimulate our brains, from apps to word games on our phones, all are available.

All of us want to live lives that are healthy. We want to keep our brains working, keep our minds active, avoid losing cognition and capacity. And while there are genetic and medical factors that can change our path, much of this is in our power.  Use what you have, use it every day, use it so that you can continue to be who you are long into the future.