To prolong youth, train your brain
Batteries for intelligence"Smart people live longer!" – say American scientists.
Our expert comments on this statementMila Blinova, "AIF Health"
The head of the Laboratory of Systemic Mechanisms of Human Adaptation of the P.K. Anokhin Research Institute of Normal Physiology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Evgeny Umryukhin tells.
Brain chargingNot all people consciously strive for longevity – they eat right, follow the regime, move a lot.
Unfortunately, there are practically no doctors who would deal with health – doctors are more interested in diseases, coming into play only from the moment when the patient already needs to be treated. Of course, physical activity and healthy foods prolong life and improve its quality. But another thing is indisputable – there are many people who, without any additional effort, do not age in body and soul until they are very old. Of course, genetics plays a big role in such cases, but perhaps the main factor in their longevity is an unquenchable interest in life, intense work of thought. As long as a person does not stop creative activity, he feels needed, useful, gets satisfaction from it and is recharged with vital energy. He does not break away from the world, does not fixate on himself and on his illnesses (real or imaginary), he lives a full life at any age and enjoys it. And positive emotions can be safely called the main "elixir of youth"!
A certain intellectual potential is inherent in each of us, but the human brain is not a dusty storeroom in which you can lock different things for decades, and then pull them out, shake them, and they will be like new. If the brain is not constantly exercised, it atrophies in the same way as unclaimed muscles. How to properly "pump up" intelligence? It is impossible to give universal advice, a person must choose his own route (whether to study foreign languages, solve math problems, compose poetry or just read and think about good books) and persistently move along it, regularly "recharging" from four batteries.
The first battery: desireIn order to learn something, an emotional impulse is needed.
This is explained by physiology: in our brain, the so-called subsystem B (designated by E.A. Umryukhin in the model he created) is responsible for intellectual processes (awareness, understanding, formation of thoughts and long-term memory, etc.). – Ed.), which is not directly connected with the outside world, but receives all information from it through subsystem A (our subconscious: motives, instincts, images, feelings). That is, to the voice of reason, not supported by emotion, we are all deaf, and only at the level of desires and emotions can we force ourselves to do anything. The main engine of the thought process is a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself. Just do not reproach yourself: "Why do others know how, but I don't?" It's better to ask yourself the question: "What prevents me from learning?". With the answer to it, we begin the training of intelligence.
Battery two: interestA person can achieve real success only in those areas that are really interesting to him.
From the point of view of intellectual development, it makes no sense to force yourself to study accounting if you like composing music more. At any age, it is not too late to realize your hobbies, and do not be afraid if at first glance they seem too complicated or radically different from what you were doing before. Modern technologies open up extraordinary opportunities for learning and creativity, and the brain will only welcome such a turn of events! The main thing is to think, to try to create something new, because the development of intelligence is primarily the construction of a clear system of knowledge. It is no accident that memory preserves various curious, vivid facts only if they are directly related to the sphere of our interests. Information that is not tied to anything is quickly erased, and you should not artificially interfere with this, for example, by constantly solving crosswords – scraps of unnecessary information pulled from them only clog the brain, and do not train it. The same applies to the so–called intellectual games ("Who wants to become a millionaire", etc.) - their participants and viewers "jump" for meaningless questions for them, like a kitten for a bow.
The third battery: confidenceEveryone can learn anything they want.
Neither age, nor gender, nor character are obstacles to mastering computer skills or speaking three languages. It all depends on how much time and effort you are willing to spend on it. Of course, some people "grasp" faster and others slower, but no one can say that fast is necessarily good, sometimes it means "superficially". Armed with the magic words "I can!" and clearly imagining ourselves already able to do what we are learning, we will certainly defeat the main enemies of our intellect: self-doubt, doubts, fear of the new. It is important not to try to solve global problems right away, but to move gradually, rejoicing in intermediate successes. It is no coincidence that many adults and children are so fascinated by computer games, because on the monitor screen you can immediately see your success, unconditional and visual.
The fourth battery: systematicTo train any part of the body (and the brain is no exception), regularity and proper organization of the process are necessary.
If you practice constantly, skills are easily acquired and automated, but it is worth taking a long break – and you need to start all over again, and the older a person gets, the faster you can lose what you have acquired.
But this does not mean that you need to exhaust the poor brain with endless exercises. Overexertion threatens complete loss of interest and even depression. It is important to take a closer look at your intelligence, to understand its capabilities and needs – after all, one person can work hard for 5 hours a day, another is enough for 2 hours, and then it gets boring, attention dissipates.
In order to give the brain a rest, it is not necessary to go to bed (by the way, our brain is working energetically in a dream, it's just another, little-studied type of activity), you just need to change the occupation, as we change the position of the body to stretch tired muscles. Studies using magnetic nuclear resonance show that as soon as a person begins to solve other tasks, there is an instant change in the foci of activity in the brain.
InterestingAmerican scientists have come to the conclusion that our longevity is only 5% dependent on physical activity, 15% – on proper nutrition, and 80% – on the level of intelligence! (I wonder where the author of this article – or one of the editors - heard this ringing and what actually meant in Who are these British American scientists?
But let's leave it as it is, just recall that articles about science in the presentation The media should be read carefully – VM.)By the way
One of the main causes of memory impairment, dizziness, insomnia is a violation of the blood supply to the brain.
But, fortunately, today there are safe and well-tolerated drugs that can solve this problem. They help to clear the vessels of atherosclerotic plaques and blood clots, dissolve cholesterol and keep it in a dissolved state, improve blood composition, reduce prothrombin and blood sugar, create the necessary conditions to get rid of vascular spasms, dizziness, head noises, and also contribute to the normalization of blood pressure, improve memory and sleep. And the additional effect of taking them – they serve as prevention of diseases of the cardiovascular system, including heart attacks and strokes.
Our helpEvgeny Alekseevich Umryukhin is preparing to celebrate his 75th birthday in 2010.
He is slender, agile, tells fascinating stories and laughs contagiously. In his spare time from scientific work, Evgeny Alekseevich is fond of artistic photography, literature, history, enjoys classical music, swims in an ice hole and rides downhill and water skiing. He is fluent in four foreign languages, which he studied according to his own methodology.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru17.09.2009