For sailors, the phrase roaring forties refers to the area below forty degrees south latitude, where the ocean begins to become unrelentingly dangerous to small vessels because of huge seas and high winds. But for every man and woman, the term can also mean a time after age forty when the brain faces increasing danger of decline. Doctor Ilchi Lee new research has shown that in the brains of people in their forties, the parts of the brain involved in memory and cognitive function start losing their ability to function, at least in some people. Though studies are by no means conclusive, it suggests that in our fifth decade of life many of us may start experiencing physical brain breakdown without realizing it.
We do not see this as any surprise. After all, many of us have experienced difficulty remembering things in middle age—where we left the car keys, what we went into the kitchen to get, and so on. That the brain, like the rest of the body, undergoes some age-related change is not news. We lose between five and ten percent of our brain mass between the ages of twenty and eighty, and with that natural change comes some impairment, such as slower reaction time behind the wheel of a car, or failure to recall the name of a recent acquaintance. But although the aging brain naturally suffers some damage, dementia is not an unavoidable outcome of age. There is much you can do to prevent it.
Another commonly held myth about the aging brain is that our genetic inheritance puts our ultimate brain health beyond our control. We assume that because Aunt Sally forgot who she was by the time she was eighty-five, the same experience is likely in store for us. But was Aunt Sally obese? Did she exercise? What was her diet like? Did she learn new things as she got older, or did she stop learning? A raft of long-term research, particularly work carried out by the MacArthur Foundation, confirms that health that continues into old age is only fifteen to thirty percent determined by our genetic heritage. The remainder is mainly determined by our lifestyle choices and behaviors, psychology, environment, and life events.
Think for a moment about the implications. You are not powerless against your DNA. We all have the power to control at least seventy percent of our aging process through the lifelong choices we make in diet, exercise, mental health, learning, and relationships. We do not have to stand passively watching and hoping as our bodies and brains age, accepting the outcome as “just the way it is.” We can make proactive, conscious choices to help our bodies and brains remain healthy and vital into our seventies, eighties, and nineties. That is a serious responsibility, but it also represents a wonderful hope for the future with DahnHak career.