Neurology Specialist Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ made an assessment of brain health and healthy brain aging in his statement on the occasion of Brain Awareness Week.
The theme of Brain Awareness Week, celebrated by the Turkish Neurology Association this year between 13-19 March 2023, was determined as “Love Your Brain, Change Your Life!”
What is the theory of superaging?
There is a two-way interaction between genes and the environment in brain aging. In recent years, the “super aging theory” has come to the forefront in order to prevent brain aging. Super-aged people are people who are over 80 years old but show a performance of 50-55 years old in memory tests. These people usually have an active lifestyle, are social, pamper themselves from time to time, and are optimistic about life and events. Their IQs are within the normal age average. Super-aged people appear to be a group where genetic factors are more dominant and environmental factors integrate this.
Signs of premature brain aging
People with premature brain aging experience the following problems: Difficulty in learning new information, difficulty adapting to new conditions, prolonged traumatic effects of past events, difficulty making plans and programs, forgetfulness of names and numbers, and anger management problems.
Common characteristics of super-agers
With their positive and optimistic personality structure, super-aged people do not have difficulty in adaptation, and they continue to learn new information. At the age of 85, books are written, projects are carried out, and pictures are made. In super-aged people, there is a memory of 25-30 years ago. Therefore, they continue to make plans and programs.
What can be done to delay aging?
You can learn new hobbies such as reading and writing more, developing your own hidden talents, taking marbling lessons after the age of 50, taking piano lessons. Spending time with groups different from your own age, and the environment created by values such as the confidence, status, opportunities and money in your pocket that your age provides is called your comfort zone and you need to be able to go beyond it.