Aging Successfully Through Brain Health

Aging is something we absolutely cannot stop. There is no elixir of eternal life and youth. But the truth is that we can age successfully, actively, productively, and healthily. Aging of the brain is a physiological process that can be carried out without disease. It will depend on the genes that we have inherited. Children of long-lived parents will generally have a longer life. That, and the lifestyle we develop.

In searching for information for this post, I came across some advice from a neuroscientist. Santiago Restrepo. Teacher and graduate of UPB.

• Playing sports makes people happier.
  Doing moderate physical exercise is beneficial. Maintains an adequate supply of nutrients. Intervening in glucose and oxygen homeostasis. In addition to the processes of cerebral vascularization.
  
  Exercise optimizes the functional efficiency of neurons by intervening in processes of neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity.
  
  
• Socialize
  Adequate mental health begins with having harmonious and functional relationships with others. Those who have friends and live with a partner, adapt better to changes.
  
  
• Adequate abdominal breathing Abdominal
  breathing favors the secretion of hormones such as serotonin and endorphin. Serotonin is in the tissues of the body. Including the brain, blood, and mucous membranes that line the stomach and digestive tract.
  
  Studies conducted in the last decade, it has been confirmed that serotonin plays an essential role in the regulation of sleep, appetite, temperature, tone of blood vessels, secretion of certain hormones, and pain perception. So it affects a wide range of conditions. Such as headaches, depression, and sleep disorder.
  
  
• Smoking is bad for brain health
  Smoking can cause strokes and decline mental functions. Nicotine causes memory loss, atrophy and can cause premature neuronal death. In addition to increasing oxidative stress.
  
  
• Get a good night’s sleep
  Waking is associated with mitochondrial stress. And without getting enough sleep, neuronal degeneration develops. Sleep is necessary for the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis in the brain. Stability and internal balance
  
  

Combining this with a good diet gives us hope of living a longer life. Or better yet, successfully aging!