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Mental Sharpness declines as early as 45

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CaseAgainstFaith:

--- Quote ---The brain's abilities to reason, comprehend and remember may start to worsen as early as age 45, a new study from England suggests.

Researchers gave tests of thinking skills to about 5,100 men and 2,200 women between the ages of 45 and 70 years over a 10-year period. They found people ages 45 to 49 years experienced a notable decline in mental functioning.

"'Senior' moments that people often joke about are true," said Dr. Gary Small, geriatric psychiatrist David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved with the work.

"If you follow people over time, you'll see there are structural changes that happen in the brain as they age," he said.

The study was published today (Jan. 5) in the British Medical Journal.
About 1 in 8 older Americans have Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. They anticipate the numbers will grow each year as more and more people continue to live longer.

Though the age at which cognitive decline begins remains unknown, researchers say the new study demonstrates the importance of a healthy lifestyle, particularly paying attention to cardiovascular health, which may help stave off the effects of brain aging.

"A decline in mental function is inevitable," said Steven Ferris, a psychologist at New York University's Langone Medical Center, who was not involved with the work. "Following a healthy lifestyle can help a certain degree of mental functioning, but there requires more research to prove this."

A healthy lifestyle includes exercising, which increases blood flow to the brain, providing it with much-needed nutrients. Eating foods that are good for the heart, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains is also important, because it could protect brain cells from age-related decline.


--- End quote ---

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/06/mental-sharpness-begins-to-decline-in-middle-age/

Well now I never want to get older than 45.....or 40 really if I had a choice haha. I like my mental sharpness and I certainly don't want to lose it. 

Vene:
Then make sure your heart is healthy and do things that force you to think.

MaybeNever:
The alternative is to make sure your heart is really unhealthy so you kick off at 44.

Osama bin Bambi:

--- Quote from: Vene on January 06, 2012, 06:54:35 pm ---Then make sure your heart is healthy and do things that force you to think.

--- End quote ---

I prefer intellectual exercises such as brain teasers, Ace Attorney games, chess, and thinking of ways to get away with murder. You'd be surprised how hard the last one is.

Cataclysm:
Posion darts.

But hopefully they will find a way to slow down or cure this effect in the future. Kind of like the new PoTA movie.

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