How to Deal With an Aging Brain?

An anonymous reader writes "I'm sure this is something all older Slashdotters are aware of: as I get older my once-sharp brain is, well, getting worse. In particular, I'm not able to remember things as well as I once did. As a geek my capacity in this area was always what defined me as a geek. Nowadays things seem to go in OK, but then leak out. A few weeks later I've mostly forgotten. So, I ask Slashdot: how do you cope with your mind getting older? What's your trick? Fish-oil? Brain Training on the DS? Exercise? Or just trying harder to remember things?"

Comments

Your choices are not complete

[zappepcs]

Choose 'all of the above' and anything else that keeps your mind active. Brain health is a topic with a huge volume of data on the Internet. Recent additions to the pile of info is that cannabis (THC) may help retard onset of senility. There are many things you can do. Your wetware is chemically based, and so any particular concoction that works wonders for anyone else many not work at all for you. The goal would be to match physical traits of yourself to those that benefit most from various remedies. If you are overweight, look for brain health options that seem to work for diabetics etc.

That's what I'm doing. Find best matches and experiment. So far so good. I think.

Re:Your choices are not complete

[spaceman375]

What's been proved is that people who smoke pot tend to drink alcohol too. Alcohol kills memory MUCH faster and more extensively than pot does.
Just sayin.' Watch your sources and prejudices.

Piracetam & Other Nootropics

[slifox]

I recommend Piracetam: the first Nootropic ("smart drug").

It is extremely safe, and is widely used in Europe to help reverse the effects of aging and to help against the deterioration of memory, among other things (note: I am not a doctor).

There are numerous forums and communities on nootropics, both for anti-aging and productivity-boosting needs. However, make sure you take the advice from those places with the appropriately-sized grain of salt, and always double-check everything with a proper medical resource (i.e. peer-reviewed studies).

I won't get into the details here, because I already did that in an older post (related to stimulants, but it is nonetheless relevant here too). Yes, I guess this qualifies as karma whoring ;)

My previous post on Piracetam: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=562684&cid=23523554

Wikipedia on Piracetam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracetam

Erowid on Nootropics: http://www.erowid.org/smarts/

Re:Piracetam & Other Nootropics

[MillionthMonkey]

I'm not sure but I think Piracetam has been asociated with anxiety and irritability, although it's generally considered to have minor side effects.

I took another one of the racetams (Levetiracetam, trade name Keppra) for epileptic seizures. Besides being an anti-epileptic drug, Levetiracetam is considered a nootropic, and I do remember feeling that it made me a little sharper. It's structurally similar to piracetam- it has an extra ethyl group. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to take this stuff to get more intelligence. The psychological side effects are just too nasty.

Not everyone reacts to it the way I did. Some people experience no side effects at all, and really like it. But for me this was an amazing drug. I would take it, note the time, and brace for it. After 20 minutes, thoughts would start to fill my head- first reflective thoughts, then bittersweet thoughts, becoming morose ones, and an hour later it was a full blown depression. It felt like I was being crushed by a little pill, if that makes any sense.

I actually was able to focus well on this drug, but I was really pissed the whole time. I was angry that I had to do whatever I was doing, even if I could do it well. I did more chores and resented every minute of it. At work I would snap at people and have to apologize an hour later. That got old really fast. I gave things to my wife and asked her to hide them from me, because I would get overwhelmed by sudden impulses to smash whatever I was holding against the floor. It changed the importance I attributed to things- so that I would get incredibly annoyed by the stupidest little stuff. If something was even a little annoying without Keppra, it became intolerable under its influence. This is a well-known symptom; it even has a name: "Kepp-rage". I caused a lot of trouble.

After months of this my emotions sort of dulled out and faded away, except for occasional hostile impulses that I was able to recognize as the drug. It was a little helpful with the seizures. But then I went to my next doctor appointment and as soon as he saw me he took me off of it. "I can see you have a flattened affect." No kidding, it was flatter than Kansas.

First thing, Ouch...

[Rachel Lucid]

Secondly, I wonder if this testosterone effect is the same / similar in women. (I'm pretty sharp, but I'm also suffering from excessive testosterone... well, for a chick anyway.)

Replace memorization with wisdom and intelligence

[xzvf]

Can't say more than that. I've seen many young hotshots that can run rings around me as day to day sysadmins. What I've became good at, as a sysadmin, is fixing something once and then automating the fix. I forget pretty quickly how I fixed the problem before, but I can always read the comments in the script I wrote to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Re:perspective

[techno-vampire]

I'm 59. I can still remember things just as well as I did when I was half my age. Sometimes. Sometimes, I can't remember things I need, but I can still remember things I no longer have any use for, if I ever did. That's the way memory works. A few weeks ago, Jerry Pournelle talked about how his memory is working. (Scroll up, slightly, into the previous day.) Not as good in some ways as it had been, but still good enough for every day use.

Don't worry, though, there's hope for us all yet. Just a few days ago, my mother (88) told me how she'd met General Patton while she was taking a walk in April '45, a story I'd never heard before.

Re:Supplements

[nixman99]

Either your diet is *terrible*, or you're taking pills you DO NOT need. Don't believe me? Do some minimal research.

I suggest you do some minimal research on vitamin absorption and aging. (hint - it doesn't get better). You are correct that most under 30's don't need vitamins, but by the time you hit 40, B12, C, and D aren't absorbed as well. For mental functioning, B12 is the big one. You can Google "vitamin absorption aging" and your favorite vitamin, or read a few of these:
B12
B12
C
D

It's Google that causes it ...

[Lazy Jones]

Seriously, not having to remember things while you are sitting in front of your PC because you can always google for it is very bad for your memory ...

Technology replacement

[pwizard2]

In my case, I simply use technology.

I'm 25, and I have a neurological condition called Dyspraxia which causes short-term memory problems, among other things. (My long term memory works fine, and you wouldn't notice anything unusual just by looking at me) On any given day, I can usually remember only one or two pieces of information at a time in my short term memory, and I used to constantly forget about assignments, appointments, things I was told to do five minutes ago, etc. Over the years, I've had to adapt to this problem by devising workarounds.

I used to write things down in a planner book and keep it with me, but I kept losing it or forgetting to bring it with me. To solve this problem once and for all, I began using a tool called Taskfreak after a former co-worker told me about it. I have Taskfreak running on my server, and since it's a web app, I can check it from pretty much any location and at any time, unlike other software planners I tried in the past. Plus, its impossible to "lose" Taskfreak since it's never really in my possession to begin with. This tool has practically replaced my short-term memory, since the only thing I have to remember is to check it often. (The browser start pages on all my computers point to my taskfreak installation, so I see it every time I start Firefox or any other browser)

Depends on how much money you want to put into it

[Hojima]

You can try neurofeedback which is a direct way to train the brain. Research this since there is a lot information out there, both for the expert and layman.

Re:Growing up, not older.

[cbiltcliffe]

I could not imagine not pushing myself mentally, regardless of how old I get.
Sitting around doing nothing would bore the crap out of me after a few days, and I'd have to go fix something.

Re:Growing up, not older.

[puto]

Really most studies show that mans brain power peaks at age 39, and I can say as someone approaching that age, I have never been more mentally capable as I was in my mid to late 30s. And I am 39 next month. Mylein peaks and then degenerates after 39, in recent studies, so mid 20s is out the window. I learned spanish fluently at age 31. Granted I was in Colombia and that was all I could speak. My father went to lawchool at 46, graduated at 52, top of his class, and, three years later had a phd in philosophy, again top of his class. Your mid 20's is nothing but hormonal and easy to get over hangover age. I did not come into my own physically and mentally until I passed 30.

Re:I use gun.

[turgid]

That has given me an excellent idea.

When I used to work for Sun, they brought in a new motivational and cost-reduction tool: the 10% rule. It came from GE.

Every year at appraisal time, the staff would be ranked in order of righteousness. The bottom 10% would be fired. No ifs, not buts, just fired. Luckily I got downsized rather than 10%ed. (I was actually ranked fairly high.)

We need something similar for society. Every year, your employer, doctor, family and friends should send an appraisal to the government. The bottom 10% of society could be put to sleep. Just watch productivity grow! Think of the savings on welfare, health costs etc. All slacking would be virtually eliminated over night! No more dead wood, just a continually improving bright, shiny nation of go-getters and successful people. Low taxes, homelessness, drug addition, alcoholism eliminated! Only the wealthy would reproduce. Everyone constantly vigilant striving to improve!

Re:Maybe improve your diet and exercise?

[yog]

There is evidence that physical exercise helps to improve memory. It's not known exactly why, but one can speculate that enhanced circulation will bring more oxygen and nutrients to the brain, keeping neurons well fed.

Also, using the brain is strongly correlated with intellectual acuity:

Do calculations in your head. E.g. add up grocery prices at the store.

Use mnemonics. E.g., your friend introduces his two sons Sam and Bill. Bi l l is the o l der one.

Read books. Unlike the single-screen attention span required for web reading, books require a longer span. Think about the book and discuss it with friends afterwards.

Get off google. Looking things up that you "used to know" encourages mental laziness. Make yourself really think back and reconstruct (i.e., refresh old neural pathways) and you will be surprised at how much you can remember.

Meditation, prayer, yoga, hypnosis. These are activities that turn off the mental chatter and help improve concentration.

Challenge your mind. My mother-in-law, in her 70s, does a sudoku puzzle every day. There is evidence that such exercises contribute to improved acuity. Sudoku, crosswords, other puzzles all can be helpful.

Review. First thing in the morning, look at your schedule, look over the specs, study the code, whatever info you might find helpful to recall later that day, instead of reading the Times or the sports news.

Get off drugs. Reduce coffee and alcohol intake and detox your brain. Especially, alcohol and recreational drugs have a numbing effect on the mind and destroy memory capacity.

Herbal supplements. This is controversial at this time. Some claim positive effects from gingko and other herbal extracts, and others claim no effects have been found. It may help you.

Good luck! The brain does change over time, but it's possible to youthen your brain through conscious effort. Ultimately you can enjoy the advantages of the wisdom born of age and a strong intellect and clear memory.