Health expert shares practice that could make your brain ‘50 years younger’

As we get older, many bodily functions and organs start deteriorating, for most people – including their brains. In older ages, you may have a shorter attention span now, it might take you longer to learn new things, and you don't remember information as well as you used to earlier. Worried?

Researchers have found out some tricks that can help to make your brain as much as 50 years younger!

Speaking on his podcast, the doctor said: “Scientists have studied people in their 70s and found they were able to perform as well on memory tests as someone decades younger.” To achieve substantially younger brain power, all you have to do is learn three new skills simultaneously.

Dr Mosley invited Dr Rachel Wu from the University of California Riverside on his podcast, who conducted this research.

Speaking about her research, she said: “The design of the latest study involved having a group of older adults that came in to do at least three new skills at the same time, and they came in for three months. They ended up spending about 15 hours a week doing homework and also sitting in the classes.” The ages of these participants ranged from about 60 years to mid-80s.

From new languages like Spanish to skills such as photography, the subjects were learning in both creative and academic ways. It was important that they were not taught something they already knew a lot about. The idea was to challenge them to learn something new.

Dr Wu said, “We found that by the end of the intervention, they were performing in their cognitive abilities at the level of middle-aged adults 30 years younger than them.”

One year after the intervention ended, "[The people] were performing more like younger adults, so 50 years younger,” the researcher added. During this learning time, the memory as well as attention span of the participants improved.

You make your brain younger and sharper based on this research, make sure the three skills you pick are not overlapping or related. A good combination could be – one language, one musical instrument and one sport.

Dr Wu added: “What we encourage people to do is take as much time as you can in your daily life to be able to learn new skills and the effects that you can see will be dependent on how much time you can put in, so the more time you can put in, the more benefits you might be able to see."