According to Professor Salthouse at the University of Virginia, therapies designed to prevent or reverse age-related conditions may need to start earlier than we thought, long before people become pensioners.



In other words, that old adage about "use it or lose it" applies to our brain fitness much earlier in our lives than previously thought.

So what can you do today, especially if you are beyond the ripe old age of 27, to not only prevent cognitive decline but enhance cognitive performance?

Their are four or five areas of attention which require regular effort for our brains to stay sharp.

Alvaro Fernandez at Sharp Brains says that the four pillars of brain fitness involve good nutrition, stress management, novel learning challenges, and physical exercise.

Simon Evans, Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt, Ph.D. add in the area of sleep to the above list.

If we take care of getting our brains the nutritional ingredients they need and provide the intellectual stimulation, our brains will continue to grow new synapses and dendrites, our brains will incorporate new neurons (neurogenesis) into existing neuronal circuits, which offsets the neuronal deaths that happen every day from ordinary wear and tear, let alone tax season, and if we provide novel challenge, like learning a new language, a new instrument, or any new topic, our brains will very easily handle what Professor Salthouse describes in his work.

If we do not provide novel learning experiences to our brains, they will prune new neurons and synapses to utilize resources somewhere else. So learn something today.

Perhaps the most important part of keeping brains at their best is physical exercise. Yes, jumping jacks and burpees, home made high intensity interval training with equipment as simple as a balance ball, which gets you breathing at least deep enough to make it hard to talk or even sing while exercising, will keep your neurogenesis strong, offsetting the declines Professor Salthouse notes.

Our brains are the most energy intensive organ we have, and they do not store energy, so energy and nutrients have to constantly be supplied to neurons, and exercise gets extra blood with its nutrients to the brain, and helps brains increase the number of available blood vessels.

The body will build what we need, and pare what is not being used.

Nutrition must include eating lots of fruit and vegetables, vine ripened, hopefully locally grown, which contain anti-oxidants, phytochemicals, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Try blue berries.

If you need supplements, a good multi-vitamin and definitely omega 3's are mandatory to keep neurons healthy, and connecting away.

Lots of important consolidation and hormonal activity happens in our brains when we are sleeping, and if you shorten your sleep unnecessarily, then those consolidations are not completed and brain deficits happen. So get your sleep.

Last but not least, there are a number of brain fitness programs available which stimulate neurons in novel ways.

Take advantage of them to help keep your brain going full tilt until it is way older than 27. Some of the research on those programs is nothing short of miraculous, at least to this 61 year old brain.

Use them sitting at your computer before and after your work out, your nap, and your big salad full of colorful vegetables, and then send a note to Professor Salthouse about your progress.