How to Age-Proof Your Mind

It's entirely possible to keep your mind in good shape much longer than anyone thought possible—even 10 years ago. There's solid evidence that deterioration in mental function can actually be reversed. It's certainly true of laboratory animals. It seems to be true of humans as well.

Engaging in mental activity makes nerve cells sprout new connections with other nerve cells. Nerve cell connections shrink when the mind is idle, making it difficult to remember...whatever it was.

In the new picture of aging, it's not just a matter of use it or lose it. The brain retains some ability to regenerate throughout life.

Take reasoning ability. Not everyone declines at the same rate. After age 60, there are vast differences between individuals. By age 80, everyone shows some loss in reasoning skills. Those with an active mental life fare much better than others.

Living in an enriched environment is good. It helps to have an assortment of gadgets and toys that catch your interest. In animals placed in environments with an assortment of wheels, ladders and other toys; studies show that after just one month the whole cerebral cortex has expanded, as well as its blood supply. But even in the enriched environment, animals get bored unless the toys are varied.

One of the most profoundly important mental function is memory—notorious for its failure with age. But it's already clear that many aspects of memory are not a function of age at all. They are a matter of education, and continuing education.

Surprisingly, it turns out that holding onto information in the memory has a lot to do not with a person's age but with the duration of instruction. In one study, people who had taken several courses in Spanish spread out over a couple of years could recall, decades later, 60% more of the vocabulary they learned. Those who took just one course retained only a trace after three years. The long-term residue of knowledge remains stable over the decades.

If you're 30 and want to learn to play the piano, you'd be better off taking one lesson a week for a year than two weekly lessons for six months. And instead of practicing for seven hours on Sunday, practice one hour every day.

Here's a short To Do list for how to keep your mind going.

• Keep your job. Don't retire. Ever.
• Stay physically healthy.
• Become an expert in something—anything.
• Take up the piano. Take a course in something.
• Learn to roll with the punches.
• Do crossword puzzles.
• Go out with friends and find new playmates.
• Learn French in four years, not four weeks.
• Turn off the TV.
• Stock your life with rich experiences of all kinds.
• Play with toys. Lots of them. Different ones.
• Skip bingo. Play bridge instead.