Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp

by John Medina

Overview

How come I can never find my keys? Why don't I sleep as well as I used to? Why do my friends keep repeating the same stories? What can I do to keep my brain sharp? Scientists know. Brain Rules for Aging Well, by developmental molecular biologist Dr. John Medina, gives you the facts, and the prescription to age well, in his signature engaging style.

With so many discoveries over the years, science is literally changing our minds about the optimal care and feeding of the brain. All of it is captivating. A great deal of it is unexpected.

In his New York Times best seller Brain Rules, Medina showed us how our brains really work, and why we ought to redesign our workplaces and schools to match. In Brain Rules for Baby, he gave parents the brain science they need to know to raise happy, smart, moral kids. Now, in Brain Rules for Aging Well, Medina shares how you can make the most of the years you have left. In a book destined to be a classic on aging, Medina's fascinating stories and infectious sense of humor breathe life into the science.

Brain Rules for Aging Well is organized into four sections, each laying out familiar problems with surprising solutions. First up, the social brain, in which topics ranging from relationships to happiness and gullibility illustrate how our emotions change with age. The second section focuses on the thinking brain, explaining how working memory and executive function change with time. The third section is all about your body: how certain kinds of exercise, diets, and sleep can slow the decline of aging. Each section is sprinkled with practical advice, for example, the fascinating benefits of dancing, and the brain science behind each intervention.

The final section is about the future. Your future. Medina connects all the chapters into a plan for maintaining your brain health.

You may already be experiencing the sometimes-unpleasant effects of the aging process. Or you may be deeply concerned about your loved ones who are. Either way, Brain Rules for Aging Well is for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780996032674
Publisher:	Pear Press
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	390,446
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, has a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organizes information. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School — a provocative book that takes on the way our schools and work environments are designed and Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five. Medina is an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two boys.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What causes us to age

How the brain is wired

Why old age can be some of the happiest years of your life

Social Brain

1 Your Friendships 15

Vitamins for the brain

More parties, less flu

Where social isolation leads

Video chats

The human touch

2 Your Happiness 39

Happier or grumpier?

Roller-coaster grandpa

Gullibility and the Highway to Hell

Dopamine and depression

The power of gratitude

Thinking Brain

3 Your Stress 65

The thermostat of the stress system

How you feel about aging changes the way your brain ages

Gender differences

Stress and mindfulness

4 Your Memory 87

Many types of memory

What declines, what stays robust, what improves how the brain battles back

Mikey likes it, and you will too

5 Your Mind 109

How processing speed changes

Problem-solving abilities vs. intelligence drawn from experience

Stunning results from playing video games

6 Your Mind: Alzheimer's 129

What your doctor cant tell you

Mild cognitive impairment vs. Alzheimer's 10 warning signs

The amyloid hypothesis and the Nun Study

Predicting Alzheimer's in your 20s?

Body and Brain

7 Your food and exercise 153

A little exercise goes a long way

Less food, longer life?

Two diets that improve working memory and lower the risk of Alzheimer's

8 Your sleep 175

Why do we sleep? two breakthroughs

The battle of the sleep cycle

How sleep fragments as you age

A good night's sleep starts four hours before

Future Brain

9 Your longevity 201

What Super Agers can teach us about long life

A gene found to extend life

How cells know to die, thus avoiding cancer

A pill for aging?

10 Your retirement 219

Retiring from a job raises your risk of disability, disease, depression, and dementia

Nostalgia is good for you

The Blue Zone

An hour-by-hour plan for retirement

Acknowledgments 253

Index 257