What exactly is Brain Age and how 'old' is mine?
What is Brain Age?
As we age a major health concern that we have is losing our independence and mobility, our ability to get around on our own and do what we want. This loss of independence and mobility can be caused by many things. It can come in the form of decreased balance or feeling unsteady. If we are unsteady, then we may tend to fall, trip, or stumble. A fall can result in broken bones, strained muscles or even worse, a head injury.
Another example could also be a loss of memory, concentration or focus. When we lose our memory, concentration or focus it can become unsafe for us to live on our own and perform some tasks that we used to take for granted. A seemingly simple task like cooking can quickly become unsafe if we forget to turn the burner off.
But these are just inevitable signs of aging right? NO!
Aging can come with many issues, aches, and pains. However, it isn’t normal for us to lose our balance or our memory. Conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are out there but they are just that, conditions. And even they are preventable and manageable if caught early enough. In fact, if we catch the early warning signs of what we call neurocognitive decline or a declining brain, there is a lot that can be done.
Did you know that with diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s there is about a 15 to 20-year window when you are developing the disease but have not started showing the obvious signs and symptoms. You know the ones that we all associate with those conditions like choppy gait, tremor and dementia, just to name a few. However, there are more subtle signs of decline, that if we pay attention to and don’t ignore can help us to get early intervention and maybe even stave off the progression of neurocognitive decline.
Cookies lost their smell? This could be an early sign of neurocognitive decline.
Research has pointed to many signs and symptoms of early brain decline. One that has gained notoriety as of late and is even featured on the Fox Foundation website is anosmia or loss of smell. Did you know that the first sign of neurocognitive decline is anosmia? If you notice your sniffer isn’t what it used to be this could be an early warning sign that you are starting a decline. But as I said earlier if you catch it at this early stage there is a lot that you can do to help it.
Another early sign that you may be headed toward early decline is constipation. If you have regular constipation this is nothing to ignore and just chalk up to stress or something you ate. If you have poor gut function, research is showing a consistent association to poor brain function as well. So, if you are backed up, don’t ignore it, it could be a sign that you need to take control.
Poor posture is also a sign that your brain is headed in the wrong direction, toward the floor. One of my favorite quotes is that posture is the shadow of the brain. If you notice that your posture is suffering, and you have more back or neck pain it could be a clue.
Bilateral shoulder pain is another sign of this. As our posture declines our shoulders roll forward. Once they start to roll forward, we begin to get little nagging pains at first that can turn into clicking and popping and more severe pain. Because we go where our head goes and if it starts going forward and then looking toward the floor, we are headed there too.
Weakness in the hands is also a sign. This poor posture will also cause changes in the spinal cord and this will show up early as a decrease in grip strength and fine motor control. If you are having more trouble opening the pickle jar or buttoning your shirt then this may be a sign that things are declining. In addition to trouble with things like open a jar or buttoning your shirt. If your handwriting becomes sloppy or looks very segmented and irregular. This is sign of breakdown as well. This means that your brain is having trouble connecting to your body properly.
When your brain doesn’t communicate well with your body, you will notice that you have more difficulty walking. Before we start falling or really losing our balance, we can notice shuffling or tightness in the calves. This means that we are starting get that forward slumping posture. We first start walking more on our toes and having dizziness when we stand up. Again, if caught early we can slow or even reverse this. Thai Chi has been proven to help with balance and coordination. So finding a class can be good to work on balance and being a class also expands our social circle.
One early sign that is a difficult topic to talk about sometimes is incontinence and sexual dysfunction. I know that there are a lot of medications and adult diapers on the market to help with this, you can’t seem to turn on the tv at certain times of the night without seeing a commercial for one of these. However, they just take care of the symptom. We need to understand it as what it is. And that is a sign that things are not going well. Both of these are indications of breakdown in the brain and spinal cord. They are reversible without the use of pills and diapers.
The last subtle sign that your brain is declining is when you find it difficult to engage in conversation with friends and family. This usually shows up as difficulty in following the conversation or in remembering what you want to say. It also shows up as difficulty in coming up with a word. You know that feeling like the word is always on the tip of your tongue, or worse, you can’t think of the word at all. This can cause you to withdraw from friends and family. This withdraw seems like a way to hide and limit the problem but it is actually the worst thing for brain and nervous system.
If you start showing some of these early signs and symptoms, it isn’t too late. There a lot things that can be done to help slow and even reverse the progression.
First being social is important for our brains. We are one of the only animals on the planet that need social interaction to be healthy. There is actually new research showing that having friends actually decreases the likelihood of neurocognitive decline. Specifically, those that have 5 or more friends at age 60 are less likely to show signs of early decline. Unfortunately, Facebook friends don’t count. We need actual physical and emotional interaction.
Walks in nature are a great way to hang with friends, and the walk and nature are both beneficial for slowing the aging brain. Research shows that being around trees and other natural environments can be beneficial. And I think we are all well aware of the benefits of exercise. But don’t be overwhelmed, thinking you have to run a 5K. A walk is a great start.
In addition to social interaction and exercise, our diet plays a big part in our brain health. There are many diets out there, and it can be difficulty sometimes to sift through what is good and bad. A good rule of thumb is to eat natural foods. Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables and in lean meats and fish. Eat foods that come from around the outside of the grocery store. This means that you generally stay away from or limit foods that come in a box or bag or are frozen. No matter the current fad, eating whole, fresh foods is always a good first option.
If you have made all of these changes and feel that you are still having trouble, don’t worry. There are health care providers that can help. If you have questions or aren’t sure, it is always best to get checked out. The earlier you identify what is going on, the better the result. Ignoring that you have some of these early warning signs will mean that you actually decline more quickly.
If you have or know someone that is showing any of these early warning signs contact us below to schedule a consultative screening: