IF YOUR MEMORY ISN'T AS GOOD AS IT USED TO BE, YOUR CONCENTRATION IS FLAGGING AND YOUR MIND IS NOT SO SHARP, YOU MAY BE ANOTHER VICTIM OF A WIDESPREAD EPIDEMIC OF BRAIN DRAIN. AT BEST, YOU MAY BE FAILING TO REACH YOUR FULL POTENTIAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH.
AT WORST YOU MAY BE ONE OF 4 MILLION PEOPLE NOW THOUGHT TO BE SUFFERING FROM AGE-RELATED MEMORY DECLINE-REDUCED COGNITIVE FUNCTION TOO YOUNG,AND AN INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE LATER IN LIFE. WITH AN EVER-AGEING POPULATION,THE PREDICTION IS THAT, BY 2030, 20% OF POPULATION OVER 65 WILL HAVE ALZEIMER'S.
The good news is that mental decline is not inevitable and you can boost your memory and mental alertness at any age.
Research shows clearly that healthy, well-nourished and well-educated people show no signs of declining mental function with age. What's more, while it is true that brain cells die with age.How? By feeding your brain, both with the right nutrients and the right information.
HOW YOUR MEMORY WORKS
Memories are not held in one, but several networked brain cells.These links between brain cells, hardwired by a network of interconnecting neurol dendrites (see figure), are stimulated by learning new information. Rats put into a highly stimulating ''Disneyland for rats'' rapidly grow new dendrites within four days,according to by Dr William Greenough at the University of Illinois. Stress does the opposite. High levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, makes dendrites shrivel up, according to Professor Sapolsky of Stanford University, whose research found this effect became noticeable after as little as two weeks of stress. Fortunately, dendrites grow back once cortisol levels decline. In other words, use it or lose it and stay cool.
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