03 Nov Your Brain: Less Could Be More!
When it comes to brain health, less activity could lead to a longer life. We curated an article from EcoWatch, written by Dan Gray for Heathline.
Image, courtesy EcoWatch.
• Newer research links “quiet” brains with longevity.
• Researchers theorize that a less active brain uses less of the body’s energy.
• Experts say there are a number of ways to calm your brain, including meditation, active listening, and mindful eating.
Everyone wants to stay mentally sharp as they get older — and it stands to reason that one way to do this is to maintain an active brain.
But new research suggests that less may be more when it comes to your brain activity.
In a study published in the medical journal Nature, researchers from Harvard Medical School report that a calm brain with less neural activity could lead to a longer life.
After analyzing donated brain tissue from people who died at ages from 60 to more than 100, researchers said they noticed that the longest-lived people had lower levels of genes related to neural activity.
A protein, REST, that suppresses neural activity was found to be associated with neural activity and mortality.
In experiments on worms and mammals, boosting REST led to lower neural activity and longer lifespans while suppressing it did the opposite.
“This study shows that daily periods of slowed activity, whether spent in meditation, unitasking, or simply being still or sleeping are as important for brain health and longevity as activity and exercise,” Gayatri Devi, MD, a neurologist and psychiatrist at Northwell Health in New York, told Healthline.
“The brain is the most energy-hungry organ in our body, consuming nearly a third of our energy, although it weighs only about one-seventieth of our body weight,” explained Devi. “For our brains and our bodies, less is more and rest is best.”
In a world that often feels like it’s moving too quickly, what are some of the best ways to quiet the brain?
Maryanna Klatt, PhD, a professor of clinical family medicine at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, specializes in stress-related chronic illness and is trained in mindfulness, running a program called Mindfulness in Motion.
She shared some strategies, 6 in all, for your brain with Healthline.
Tune into Your Body…
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