Ageing always reminds me of a quote by Grace hopper
“You don’t get old with age, you get wise with age”
Grace hopper
This is a quote from a pioneering computer scientist and Navy admiral.
And this is my thought on ageing too. Is that true? Let’s look at the science behind it.
This was in the news lately and suggests that aging brains may be smarter in certain aspects. It goes against the general misconception that mental abilities decline as you age. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of scientists in Washington aimed to work on this theory.
In what ways could they be smarter?
Better at difficult problems
Even though a young person may ace a math problem or have a better memory, an older person can solve the more difficult problems in life, like navigating through tricky situations or having a larger vocabulary. They even have a deeper understanding of the meaning of certain words. The knowledge and experiences gained over several years appear to have made them smarter. They were found to be better at processing new information and focussing on what is important.
Crystallized intelligence vs Fluid intelligence
On the same note, their general knowledge seemed higher. They may not be able to solve complex math problems but they can pretty much learn a new task very well if given time. The need for extra time is quite normal especially if they age. In other words, older adults tend to have crystallized intelligence rather than fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence is when we use knowledge acquired in school or certain motor skills to solve a problem. Despite a decline in alerting, older adults can learn new skills, ace their language skills, and form new memories.
Studies from around the globe
Bilingualism and ageing
An interesting study from NIMHANS, Bangalore suggests that bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia. Being the first study by far to show the effect of bilingualism on dementia, it also focuses on the different subtypes of dementia. Bilingual patients developed dementia around 4.5 years after those who did not speak two languages.
Early education and ageing
A doctor from Mumbai’s premier GS Seth medical school found that early education protected adults (especially women) from memory loss. But, she also added a point that “even a slight change in routine or even neighbourhood can strongly affect the ageing brain“.
Alertness and ageing
A team from Georgetown studied three principal processes of brain networks– altering, orienting, and executive inhibition. The results reveals only one of the three principles declined with age and that was alerting. It is a state of being highly sensitive to incoming external stimuli. Eg: alerting while driving a car means being prepared when you reach a junction/ crossing.
Orienting is when you select the right information from the input. Eg: when you have to shift your attention to an unexpected movement like a pedestrian. Executive function involves resolving conflicting ideas between thoughts, responses, and feelings. Eg: when you have to stay focussed and stop all other distractions like birds and billboards.
Local research on Ageing
Dr. Anitha Mahadevan, a well-experienced and decorated professor at NIMHANS, Bangalore emphasizes on the pressing need for local research. With most of the research publications being from the West, a different pattern is likely to be seen in India. This is because aging is related to diet, nutrition, exercise, and education which dictate our lifestyle.
The Science Behind Getting Smarter with age
As you age, a few things happen:
Bilaterelization
The brain has two hemispheres, each specializing in its functions. Up until middle age, we just use one hemisphere of the brain. After middle age, we start using both hemispheres of the brain in a process called bilateralization. This allows us to bear the entire spectrum of our brain power, thus making the older population smarter.
Our brain never stops growing
Initially, it was known that our neurons stop growing at one point. But, it is not true. Our brain keeps reshaping itself as we learn new things. This results in the growth of grey matter in the brain which is involved in processing visual information. An interesting study published in the Journal of Neuroscience observed this growth in grey matter after teaching 60-year-olds how to juggle.
Sharper reasoning and problem-solving skills
Both laboratory studies and real-life examples have proven this. According to a study, middle-aged and older adults are better at making financial decisions.
Their focus on the upside
Many older people seemed to have a positive outlook and greater emotional stability and this could be attributed to the emotion processing center in the brain called amygdala. Laura Carstensen at Stanford University works on this by recording the emotional states of subjects ranging from 18 to 94 for a week. After repeating the same experiment for five years, she observed a more positive well-being in the older population
Constantly improving people skills
They are better at solving inter-personal dilemmas. They do not get into an argument unless needed
Clearer priorities
As they age, they become aware that their time on earth is limited and they make better choices like spending time with a smaller yet close circle of friends and family. They focus on the positives
Constant addition of knowledge and abilities
The accumulated knowledge obtained from job and other experiences continues and makes the person better and better at what they do
See the bigger picture
While young people can focus on details and exclude their surroundings, older adults can focus on the bigger picture. It is because of the increase in branches of dendrites allowing them to detect relationships between many sources of information thereby getting a bigger picture
In control of emotions
They have more clarity about their feelings and have higher control of their emotions
Instant expert in new situations
Due to their life experiences, they gain more wisdom compared to the younger generation
As we age, our body changes and this includes the brain. What changes happen in the brain? Let’s find out.
- Certain regions including those required for learning shrink
- Decrease in the effective communication between neurons
- Decreased blood flow to the brain
- Increase in inflammation
These changes can affect the way the brain functions.
It is not just the change in our brain but changes in physical health also affect the brain function. According to a study led by Klodian Dhana, among 3000 older adults who followed a healthy lifestyle like more physical activity, less drinking, less stress, and a healthy diet were 40 % less likely to develop Alzheimer’s compared to those adults with an unhealthy lifestyle.
What should we do to get smarter with age?
- Keep learning– keeping your mind active is an important factor. Learning doesn’t necessarily mean attending classes at university or courses. It could involve learning a new skill like a dance or painting. Even watching documentaries counts. The hands-on experience matters
- Social life– as we age, we tend to stay at home for the time. Social interactions like heading out with a group of friends or traveling will help keep your brain alert and make you smarter. As discussed in my previous blog post, social distancing has implication on social life
- Healthy diet– the impact of a healthy lifestyle and diet cannot be stressed enough. A diet containing good fats like fish and plants. These good fats make up the myelin sheath of neurons. As we age, the myelin sheath of neurons starts to wear down. Supplementing good fats through our diets helps replenish the fat layer surrounding the neurons
- Exercise– good physical fitness has been associated with a late onset of dementia. Exercise releases Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNT), the building blocks of all neurotransmitters required for brain function
Following these can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Risk factors for dementia according to the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention have given the following risk factors: alcohol consumption, air pollution, brain injury, hypertension, less education, hearing loss, smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, depression, diabetes, and low social contact. In addition to these, high blood pressure along with diabetes and smoking in the middle-aged showed an increased risk of dementia.
Comment down below what you think of this notion of getting smarter as you age.
Great insights! Thanks for sharing.