Page 227 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy
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Enjoy Your Ageless Mental Agility  •  211

                                ing.” When checked on seven years later, they still demon-
                                     2
                                strated a distinct advantage compared to those who had not
                                received the training.

                                     After seven years, without further training, these se-
                                  niors maintained this improvement.

                                   You may recall from earlier chapters that how much you,
                                as an individual, decline is dependent on many things, such
                                as genetics, disease, level of activity, and so on. Some of
                                these factors, such as genetics, you obviously cannot
                                change. K. Warner Schaie identified six of the factors associ-
                                ated with retaining strong mental functions that you may be
                                able to control:

                                 1. Absence of cardiovascular and other diseases
                                 2. High socioeconomic status
                                 3. Involvement in complex and intellectually stimulating
                                    environment
                                 4. Flexible personality at midlife
                                 5. High cognitive status of spouse

                                 6. Maintenance of high levels of perceptual processing speed
                                   In Chapter 6, we talked about how to control the first
                                five factors in the list. We are going to discuss number 6 and
                                readdress numbers 3 and 4 in this chapter within the context
                                of training, exercising, and rejuvenating those brain cells.
                                   In this chapter, you will have an opportunity to take a
                                preassessment test, experience a set of training exercises,
                                and then retest to assess your gains.
                                   In general, to combat the effects of cognitive decline,
                                you can

                                 1. Accommodate: You alter the activities you used to per-
                                    form. You may start to write things down to help you re-
                                    member ideas that you are reading about.
                                 2. Compensate: Use additional processes to supplement
                                    your abilities and maintain your usual activities. You
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