Defend your abilities against the passage of time

Defend your abilities against the passage of time

Let's start by imagining that the brain is a muscle. A wonderful muscle is full of potential that needs to be exercised, that the more we use it for different actions, the more resistant and in better condition, it will be maintained over time. The analogy is simple.

Our brain is therefore a multidisciplinary and tremendously plastic organ that captures all kinds of stimuli, which processes all kinds of information ... This continuous activity allows you to stay active and become strong, move forward over the years in a suitable state to deal with certain diseases, developing that known as “cognitive reserve”. Would you like to keep it at an optimal level for your physical health? and psychic? Ahead.

COGNITIVE RESERVE, PROTECTOR OF OUR BRAIN

Cognitive reserve is the ability of human beings to cope with the deterioration that we can suffer from certain diseases, including old age, and also to demonstrate our mental agility and ability in cognitive processes such as problem-solving, memory, innovation, reasoning, imagination ... etc.

There are clinical cases in which after the death of a person, and only after the autopsy, it is discovered that he suffered a certain brain disease, a serious disease that strangely was never intuited in life.

This shows us the ability and plasticity of the brain to find new routes with which to supply a deficit, for example, people who, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, take much longer to show the disease due to their "cognitive reserve", to those structures that have developed more than normal to enable it and make it strong in the face of progressive neuronal wear, in the face of terrible oblivion ...

Having a good experimental load, having maintained an intellectually active life, being interested in things, having an open mind, exercised and curious, makes us create continuous neural connections, which in turn create new paths, new structures with What to make of this fabulous organ by calling the brain, a muscle of great strength.

GET A HIGH COGNITIVE RESERVE

It is true that the cognitive reserve is often associated with genetic and environmental factors, the availability of a facilitating context that helps us to develop our cognitive abilities, to find new stimuli, to keep alive our interest to learn, to experiment ... We could say then that the bases that determine a good cognitive reserve would be the following:

- Anatomofunctional properties of the brain.

- Intellectual capacity, duration, and quality of education received.

- Professional or work performance we have had in our lives.

- Leisure activities, personal interests, social relationships ...

The cognitive reserve is therefore the result of a process that begins in the early stages of our life, and that continues throughout it, is a capacity that can and should be stimulated overtime for our own benefit. Keep a curious vision, ask us questions, read, have a good circle of friends with whom to dialogue and exchange ideas, feel emotions, excite us, undertake projects, enhance other skills such as music, painting, writing ...

All this makes our cognitive reserve establish new neural connections, building new structures and defining a stronger and healthier brain, which will cope with possible diseases of the future, which will help us to be in good condition to remain happy in our old age. It depends on you.

So ask yourself the question, how are you doing on cognitive reserve?