Neuropsychologist Erik Scherder: Lifestyle & Brain Health
Thirty years ago, people often laughed at conferences when I talked about how important lifestyle is for a healthy brain. At that time, they mainly thought of predisposition and genes as the cause of health or disease. The idea was: you are given your genes and there is little you can do to change that. Fortunately, we now know better.
Major studies clearly show that the way you live has a major influence on your brain health. Your lifestyle can even reduce the risk of dementia. Of course, your genes provide your brain with a basis and partly determine what your brain looks like and what it can do. You have little say in that. But just as important is what you do with those possibilities afterwards.
The environment in which you grow up has a great influence on how your brain develops. An environment that challenges you and in which you continually learn new things has a major positive impact. This makes a big difference to your brain, especially in the first 30 years of your life. And you will benefit from this for the rest of your life.
Listen to now The Consultation Hoursthe podcast in which Erik Scherder and Leonard Hofstra answer reader questions about healthy living from the head and from the heart. Want to ask a question yourself? Email to hetspraakuur@quest.nl
Everyone sooner or later faces setbacks. Resilience is then indispensable: it helps you remain flexible. That resilience increases if you build up more cognitive reserve in your brain. That’s actually a kind of mental buffer. Research shows that people who continue to challenge themselves, learn new things, are socially active and stimulate their brains, build up a greater reserve. Although this effect is greatest in your first 30 years of life, this applies to young and old.
So for all people over thirty: a stimulating environment can continue to help your brain for you too! By challenging your brain, you also strengthen the networks that help you deal with emotions and stress. And that is good for your heart and blood vessels, for example. Of course there are always exceptions, but on average an active and healthy lifestyle, where you continue to stimulate your brain, yields a lot.
Also interesting: Is learning a language exercise for your brain?
So it is never too late to change something. At any time in your life, you can slow the decline of your brain with mental and physical effort. My most important tip? Keep making an effort! We live in a time where technology makes many things easier: if you have a question, ChatGPT will know. But you are doing your brain a big favor by thinking for yourself first. Doing your own puzzles, making music, learning a new language, that keeps your brain sharp.
It doesn’t have to be all at once. Making your brain put in a little effort every day is already a nice thing. Together with some genetic luck, you build a healthy, strong brain that helps you deal with setbacks in life.