The importance of brain health is not all in your head. In fact, there are many ways to boost brain health and to acquire cognitive reserve. First, let’s define what exactly is cognitive deserve.
Cognitive Reserve contributes to preserve function in the face of brain injury and decline. It refers to the ability to make flexible and efficient use of available brain reserve in performing tasks.
Wait… Brain Reserve? What is Brain Reserve?
Brain Reserve contributes independently from cognitive reserve. It is connected to brain features, such as number of neurons and synapses. However, brain reserve also involves a deeper understanding and looks at both molecular and supramolecular biological factors.
How do these relate you may wonder…
Cognitive Reserve refers to the ability to make flexible and efficient use of available Brain Reserve in performing tasks. When brain reserve is enhanced, cognitive reserve will also be enhanced and an increase in the following may be noticed:
Neurogenesis: the generation of new neurons allowing for enhancement of communication between areas in the brain
Gliogenesis: the production of glial cells, such as astroctyes to provide structural and functional support to neurons, or oligodendrocytes to regulate neurotransmission along myelinated axons
Angiogenesis: the development of new blood vessels to provide a healthier vasculature that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the neural tissue
Synaptogenesis: the formation of synapses between neurons allowing for modification and refining of pre-existing neural circuits and improvement of neuronal connectivity
A number of factors can be responsible for these changes at the cellular level. All of which involve an enriched environment that engages our brain.
Mental Exercises: Mental fitness activities, such as a crossword puzzle or a game of scrabble, can help lead to build new neural connections in the brain and improve cell function. As we age, taking part in mental exercises can act as a way to enhance cognitive reserve because of its impact on maintaining brain function. Using a combination of learning new things, problem solving, and recall of long term interactions can be crucial in acquiring cognitive reserve. Continual mental exercises will strengthen our brain, thus increasing neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and synaptogenesis.
Healthy Diet: A healthy diet, such as a high adherence to a Mediterranean diet or dietary intake of antioxidants and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, have been connected to an increase in cognitive reserve and a decreased risk of developing dementia. Hippocampal neurogenesis has been shown to be modulated by manipulating calorie intake, meal frequency, meal texture, and meal content. Overall, a healthy diet can be a factor of an enriched environment. Thus, eating healthy can positively impact cognitive reserve by playing a role in neurogenesis, angiogenesis, gliogenesis, and synaptogenesis.
Being Active: Similar to a healthy diet, physical activity has been shown to increase cognitive reserve and decrease the risk of dementia. Physical activity has also been shown to affect neurogenesis through increasing cell proliferation and cell survival. Physical activity increases gliogenesis in the neocortex and hippocampus. This gives reason to believe being activity can play an important role in memory consolidation. Finally, physical activity has been shown to increase total dendritic complexity and spine density.
Along with performing mental exercises, eating healthy, and being active, we can also acquire cognitive reserve by being safe and decreasing the risk of head injuries, steadying our nerves, and respecting our bodies. We are all aging. Many of us do not like to think about it. However, we can make the aging process much easier by practicing these effective solutions. Acquiring cognitive reserve can start now and a healthy brain will lead you on path to live a happy life!
For more information on how these solutions can lead to cognitive reserve, follow:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28827089
