Much like social interaction-both positive and negative-mental stimulation or engagement is individually defined. That is, whatever stimulates you to think, reflect, learn or engage in any other active mental process, is your version of mental stimulation. On the other hand, what may really interest or engage me may totally bore you.
The science of mental engagement
The science is pretty simple: mental activities such as thinking, learning, creating, etc. are really good for our aging brains. The form and content of that activity doesn’t really matter as long as you’re engaging, forcing that gray matter to work.
Mental development enables our aging brains to “work out,” similar to how physical exercise enables our bodies to work out. This mental exercising strengthens our brains- it enhances our l brain and it delays or even rolls back cognitive decline.
The brain’s resilience
As we age, we lose brain cells, neurons. When we engage in activities that stimulate us mentally, we increase what’s called plasticity; the scientific term is neuroplasticity- the ability of our brains to compensate for the loss of neurons by forming new connections (called synapses) between existing brain cells. Something pretty amazing that I learned is that if part of the brain is damaged, plasticity enables the brain to transfer the functions of the damaged part of the brain to another part of the brain. In some instances, plasticity has even enabled the brain to produce new neurons. Although I really don’t have an aptitude or much interest in science, neuroplasticity got my attention. The bottom line is that we older adults can further increase our brain’s growth and resiliency through mental stimulation and engagement.
It makes no sense to take a cookie cutter approach to mental stimulation or engagement. For me, there is a broad range of things that get me thinking, or curious, or interested. I tend to go down a lot of rabbit holes, i.e. I go off the tracks a lot when I’m reading or watching television or just sitting around. The other day I was reading an article in the Athletic, a daily online sports newspaper or magazine, I’m not sure exactly what to call it. Anyway, I was reading an article about the tragic death of Tyler Skaggs, a young pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, who overdosed on opiates and alcohol. While reading the article, it occurred to me that I wasn’t sure if the Angels were the Los Angeles Angels, which they were when they first began as an American League expansion team in 1961, or the California Angels, which they were known as for several years. Anyway, this reminded me that there was a team known as the Los Angeles Angels that was one of the teams in the old Pacific Coast League (PCL), the absolute best minor league in baseball until major league baseball, in the form of the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, abandoned New York for the west coast. I googled the Pacific Coast League and spent some time reading about it, and learned a lot, and it really enjoyed doing it. On the one hand, I wouldn’t call this big-time mental stimulation-I wasn’t learning about anything important, but I was engaged and thinking, I enjoyed doing it and therefore it was good for my brain.
Lifelong learning
“Lifelong learning” is a term that has many possible meanings. To me, it means being open to learning about things a person didn’t know about until they learned about them. It may be in a formal learning situation, i.e. college courses, or informal, just picking up something that sparks some interest and following up by learning about it. I use myself as an example:
I have too much formal education, and I never intended to go back to school. However, after my career as a union staffer ended (not by my choice) and I could see that I wasn’t going to be hired to do union work anymore, I began trying to figure out how to get a job doing advocacy work for older adults. During the course of my search, someone pointed me to the Gerontology Program at Portland Community College. I met with the Chair and based on that meeting I decided to take the introductory course. Right away, I was engaged: this is a course of study in which I was effectively studying myself.
Continuing education
The unemployment department determined the field of aging was one in which I could readily find employment, so they paid my tuition for my first year. Full disclosure, I have a Bachelor and a Master degree and a Juris Doctor. I never ever really enjoyed any those academic experiences. However, I was totally engaged in Gerontology. It was so relevant to who I am now in my life that the program kind of blew my mind. Also, the classes were online, which was an added learning experience and I loved that some of my classmates lived in Minnesota, North Carolina, California and Brooklyn. I recently completed my Associate Degree, but I will probably be auditing classes in the future because there are still things I want to learn about aging. Virtually all of the posts I write and (hopefully) you read have some starting point in the stuff I learned studying Gerontology. Going back to school, even though that wasn’t my plan, really worked for me in terms of lifelong learning. I think it helped my brain a lot.
Another opportunity to jump down a rabbit hole
Another example: I have been watching a British TV show, Peaky Blinders on Netflix. The show is about an Anglo-Irish gang in Birmingham who over the course of years continues its criminal activities while engaging in above ground endeavors. The leader gets elected to Parliament, where he encounters another member of his party, a guy named Oswald Moseley. I had heard of him, and I thought because he was a prominent British fascist during the period around World War II but I wasn’t sure. Spotting another opportunity to jump down a rabbit hole, I googled Moseley and spent an hour reading about him. Again, there was no import to what I was doing. I just got curious and allowed my curiosity to take me on a short trip through the internet.
Finally, I do crossword puzzles, sort of. I don’t look up answers, but I do use the internet to find information that will lead me to an answer. For example, if there’s a reference to a geographical location, I may look at a map to find the answer. If one of the clues is the actor was nominated for best supporting actor in 1962, I’ll google Oscar nominations 1962 and I’ll find the answer. You may call it cheating, I call it research but it’s really probably low- level cheating. However, by doing it, I learn and I enjoy finding the answer. So, sue me.
These are a few examples of my way of stimulating my mind and by doing so keeping my brain limber. The point is it’s important that each of us older adults do something that gets our brain going, whether it’s an individual or group activity. Each of us will hopefully find things that spark our curiosity, our imagination, or our creativity and follow up with them. Feed your brain, keep it strong.
– Edward from McMinnville, Oregon, a FAR customer who is finding purpose in this new stage of his life.
Edward
Edward writes for FAR and is also a customer. He is 73-year-old, born and raised in and around New York City. After college and a little graduate school, he took Horace Greeley’s advice and went west. Edward lived in several cities throughout California and currently resides in Oregon. He practiced law for a few years as part of a law collective doing what they called “people’s law,” but spent most of his career working as an internal organizer for the unions.
When Edward’s career ended with the unions, he was determined to become an advocate for older adults. He enrolled at Portland Community College studying Gerontology. He learned a lot about aging and how it applied to his own life experiences and my own aging process. Much of Edward’s writing is related to what he learned in his Gerontology studies.
* The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Finance of America Reverse (LLC).
This article is intended for general informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as financial or tax advice. For more information about whether a reverse mortgage may be right for you, you should consult an independent financial advisor. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.
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