Learning new skills is one of the best neuroprotective strategies you can implement for long term brain health. It’s is one of the most powerful things you can do to protect your brain and keep it strong as you age. According to the Journal of Clinical Medicine, Neurodegenterative disease (ex. Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis) is prevalent in 15% of the population. This number is expected to double in the next two decades. There’s something powerful we can do to help protect our brain against these scary diseases. 

Exercise has been shown to be one of the best prevention strategies for neurodegenerative diseases due to its impact on glucose metabolism and the cardiovascular system. Blood sugar regulation and neurovascular health are two very detrimental problems that cause neurodegenerative disease processes to start. 

Another tactic to neuroprotect your brain is learning or, as neuroscientists like to call it, neuroplasticity. The brain is plastic which means it is able to change. Learning is what produces new connections between your neurons. The more you learn, the more new connections you make. If neurodegenerative disease starts to develop, you still have ample connections between your neurons from consistent learning through your lifespan; the more pathways your brain has to stay connected, the less limited you will be by neurodegenerative processes. From learning, your brain actually has more options for ways to send messages so it is able to communicate more effectively. 

Now let’s put these two things together to combine the benefits s of exercise and learning. We can extrapolate that the most impactful thing we can do to protect our brains is learning new activities! Pick up a new sport, try a new exercise class, study a new piece of exercise equipment like steel mace or sandbags, come to SPC to learn new functional movements and how to use kettlebells, or anything else you can think of. Most importantly, have fun with it! My next adventure for learning new activities the studying/practicing the ultimate sandbag and doing my first triathlon! 

What is something you’ve been wanting to try but you think you’re too old for it? Do not limit yourself because of your age. Don’t let someone tell you you’re too old to try something new. AND definitely don’t tell yourself you’re too old to try something new. Find a coach, mentor or partner to help you navigate this new adventure.