Superagers seem to have cracked the code that enables them to maintain the brain health of much younger people. Even as they pass their 80th birthdays and beyond, they stay sharp. What do superagers have to teach the rest of us?
The science in this area is still developing, and experts say they don’t yet have a specific recipe to follow, but there are some clues. By definition, superagers are at least 80 years old and have the cognitive abilities of someone about 30 years younger.
“I don’t think that there has to be one pathway to superaging,” says Emily Rogalski, head of the SuperAging Research Initiative, which is based in Chicago and enrolls people in multiple states and in Canada. “Some people may have had a luckier roll of the dice with the genes handed down to them from their parents, while others may have made lifestyle choices that are more important for their trajectory.”
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Superaging rules: start with the basics
Generally, the standard rules apply: Get enough sleep, exercise and a healthy diet. But there are exceptions.
For example, experts recommend eating healthy foods like the Mediterranean diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. But Rogalski says that while that’s true for many, some superagers love to eat hamburgers and fries.
Similarly, while studies have shown a strong relationship between cognitive and physical abilities, Rogalski says, “Anecdotally, I can tell you that some of our superagers need a wheelchair or a walker, but their memory is pristine, while others have great physical function and are biking hundreds of miles a week or doing high intensity water aerobics.”
Social connections matter
Some factors have emerged as particularly important. Among them are connections with other people, especially younger people.
“We do know that intergenerational interactions are really good,” says Lee Lindquist, chief of the Division of Geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “One of my favorite patients said, ‘I try to talk to a new person every day.’… Always making new friends is a great way of keeping your brain active.”
Adds Lindquist: “If you’re active and you’re socializing, your brain is getting stronger, but if you’re not interacting with people, it’s just going to go to fudge.”
Stacy Andersen, who co-directs the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, recommends avoiding isolation by finding new social networks as you lose other connections.
Stay excited about life
Lindquist also advocates active learning. This is “not just reading a newspaper or a book, but actually reading something and then talking about it, whether that’s with your spouse or a book group or people around you. That’s been shown to really work the brain as a muscle.”
One idea Lindquist says she has seen is a walking book club, where people talk about their books while on a walk.
Andersen says, “maintaining a purpose in life, a reason to get you up in the morning and get you excited about each day, really seems to be a consistent factor in longevity, but also in avoiding Alzheimer’s disease.”
Andersen says she did a small pilot study that found that centenarians work about 10 years longer than their peers. It’s not clear if working exercises the brain or if healthy brains enable work. “That’s another thing that we’re looking into is why do people stop working? We want to know how their cognition changes after they retire. And then, kind of similarly, why do people stop driving?”
Yaakov Stern, a neuropsychology professor at Columbia University Medical College, says exposure to certain chemicals and difficult life experiences can negatively affect cognition later in life.
But Rogalski says many superagers have persevered through traumatic experiences, such as surviving the Holocaust or losing a child at a young age. Their resilience and adaptability serve them well in their later years when they lose the ability to lean on their peers.
Are you a superager? Join a study or take a test
Get screened to participate in:
The SuperAging Initiative: https://haarc.center.uchicago.edu/join-our-research/
Email: superagingresearch@uchicago.edu
Phone:773-795-1111
The Centenarian Study: www.bumc.bu.edu/centenarian/radco/
Email: agewell@bu.edu
Phone: 1-888-333-6327
Bonuses:
Here’s a website to help plan your life ahead: www.planyourlifespan.org/
And a calculator using scientific data to see if you could live to 100: https://www.livingto100.com
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that’s right on the money.