Live long with a young brain

How does our brain change as we age? Is some age preferable to another? Can we choose how to age? Go to the end of the document for practical tips.

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The perfect age

Most men would love to 27 years old and most women would love to be 24. The exact number is not that important: it is usually between 20 and 30. If you ask teenagers they really want to grow up, and if you ask elderly adults they would love to younger.

What is so special about this age? Around 26 years old the brain reaches its maturity and full potential.

There are additional benefits. The metabolism is fast and the immune system is strong enough to deal with toughest challenges. We are probably in peak physical shape, or near it. Quite likely we acquired enough skills to claim complete freedom from parental control, and quite often our family is small enough to be a pleasure rather than a heavy commitment.

So here is the question: can we get the same feelings earlier and keep them longer? There is only a partial scientific consensus, but I will argue we can.

The brain before 26 years old

Most of the brain connections we need form by the age of 18. This is the age we are ready to start the adult life, responsible enough to hold weapons or drive cars yet versatile enough to choose our future.

Then between 18 and 26 something happens. Everything somehow gets easier. We choose our specialization (college and internship), family type (girlfriend/boyfriend),  hobbies. Strangely, our brain reflects these changes and loses the connections in never used. This speeds up the existing connections and makes the brain more effective.

Basically, before the age of 18 we are not sure what we want. After 26, learning gets harder. So we should use a very small time window between 18 and 26 to acquire all the major skills we want in our life. The sooner the better. We need to learn a new profession/s, reach full mastery of our hobbies, acquire all the financial and self-help skills we are likely to use. The early we do this the better, as the unallocated brainpower begins to shrink when we are 18, and shrinks faster after we are 21 years old.

21 years old is considered to be the earliest age to acquire bad habits without serious damage to the developing brain. This is the best age to start experimentations, as by the age of 26 we should be pretty focused. Most of our memories and skills are formed before we are 26 years old.

Mature brain

Somewhere between the age of 40 and 50, there is a hormonal spike and the brain changes. This is often called a mid-age crisis. Between 26 and the mid-life crisis is our most mature and productive period.

Most huge technological breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and artistic masterpieces are done by mature people. As women tend to take care of their families at this age, the vast majority of top achievers are men. The necessity is more social than biological, and we may expect more equal representation during the next century.

This is the time of career growth, investment in our families, excellence, and leadership. The brain reflects this process and changes ever slightly. Around the age 26 the brain is optimized for spatial perception and math (think of the top-level athletes), but then around the age of 32 it is in its top shape for conducting experiments (think of biologists who need focus and patience), and around the age of 40 the brain is optimized for leadership (consider economists and finance specialists).

The physical functions slowly degrade in this period, and we see athletes becoming coaches. The brain does not slow down, it is slightly shifting to accommodate our career growth. Quite possibly the career growth follows some archetypical positions common for human history: from light warrior focused on lightening fast skirmishes, through medium-armed warriors acing pitched battle, finally to battle-hardened veterans in heavy armor and leaders.

Aging brain

From 50 years old the brain functions degrade. Reaction speed degrades first, followed by sensory processing, and so on. Linguistic skills actually improve until 70 years old. Significant memory degradation starts around 70, and touch stays approximately the same until we die.

The mechanisms responsible for cognitive decline are not clear. The initial decline is probably caused by slowing metabolism. Some decline is caused by the aging immune system. It can be slowed down by lifelong consumption of coffee and antioxidants. Another kind of decline happens when we stop learning new things and having transformational experiences: this tends to slow down neuroplasticity. Clearly, stepping out of the comfort zone and acquiring new skills might help.

What’s going on evolutionary? I speculate that the elderly adults were the living memories of the clan. They did not need to fight or give birth and did not have the competitive edge required to get protein. So they had to step aside and slow down. Instead, they remembered the old ways and trained new generations. Only very few of them used to live more than 70 years old, and nature did not enforce a winning strategy above that respectable age. So we simply allow people above 70 to retire and populate country clubs, at least until we find something better to do with them.

Final years

Paradoxically, happiness decreases until the mid-life crisis and then it starts to increase. Those of us lucky enough to reach the age of 70 and beyond in good health tend to enjoy their lives. The greatest asset they have is freedom. They are not expected to do anything or achieve anything, to earn money or take care of kids, so they can become truly mindful and enjoy the small pleasures of life.

Memory, as the key indicator

For me, memory is THE key indicator of brain wellness. The faster we acquire life experience and the longer we keep neuroplasticity the better we are. My recommendations here are not different from what I recommend in all of my courses, but I try to differentiate the focus of the activity by age. Since I am 45 years old when writing this post, my own perception might be biased.

An alternative approach might include focusing on cardio and keeping the heart young. Since heart disease is #1 killer, this makes a lot of sense. Maybe in some other post…

Optimization for young people

How can we optimize the life of young people? I would say the key is an investment in executive functions and learning skills. If a person is capable of organizing a good schedule and being productive, he will experience every comfort of productivity before 26. It also makes sense to conduct many short experimentations, instead of long and dubious adventures. A goal like getting a PhD before the age of 26 may focus and speed up the process.

Optimization for mature people

1. Take yourself less seriously. Being productive and responsible is hard enough. Find the funny sides, and do not press yourself. If you invest your efforts wisely, you are likely to achieve reasonable success. It does not really matter if the path took a couple of months extra.
2. Focus on creativity. Creativity and innovation keeps the mind young, activating surprising connections. It can also reduce stress, as your productivity is not directly linked with effort investment.
3. Invest your money wisely. Seriously, this is the best favor you can do for your future self.
4. Develop work-life balance. This will probably happen anyway. It’s simply a pity not to participate in the most important years of our kids. Also, it is important not to give up hobbies to support the immune system and neuroplasticity.

Optimization for the aging brain

• Enjoy getting older. This will happen anyway after the age of 60, so there is no point in getting depressed in 45.
• Learn something new and step out of the comfort zone. This slows down the degradation and may revive your brain for decades.
• Eat healthily and use supplements. This is a good age to support decreasing metabolism with some chemical aids. The actual mix is very personal. Consider the most popular choices: vitamin C, Omega 3, Q10, ginkgo biloba, zinc, melatonin, magnesium…  Possibly once a week rather than daily, and doing blood tests from time to time… Also consider electromagnetic brain stimulation.
• Invest in philosophy. Great philosophers tend to be old. This includes wise teachers, experienced advisors, interesting journalists. You are the living memory of society. Leverage wisdom, real and perceived.
• Use the extra time you may have on aerobic and cognitive training. Hard to say what is more important. It is wise to invest in both.

Optimization above 70

• Practice mindfulness. This is something that offers you a natural advantage.
• Generate purpose. If you feel good enough, you may want to volunteer and help others. The more you give, the more you get.
• Practice brain games. No compromises here. Puzzles, chess, bridge or dedicated brain games…
• If you can do arts, do them. Leverage your freedom.  Late-bloomers are not rare in literature and arts,  jazz or classical music. Mindfulness generates certain minimalism and light touch, which come with age.
• Experiment. This might be the perfect age to try marijuana, cross the country in a mobile home and step out of the comfort zone