Health Spectator

There’s little doubt that stress—and your body’s tendency to react to potential stressors with a stress reaction—are linked to impaired cognitive function in old age.

An article in the June 12, 2007 issue of Neurology presents a convincing study that shows a linear relationship between a tendency towards neuroticism (general stress reactions) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in old age. Worriers proved to have almost a 40% greater chance of developing MCI, which can be thought of as a precursor condition to Alzheimer’s disease. (Incidentally, the extent of this tendency was wildly misreported in the general press.)

So the question isn’t “does chronic emotional stress lead to at least mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in old age,” but rather, “what can you do about it, especially if you’re already getting on in years?”

So glad you asked.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take, even if you’re beginning to feel the effects already. First, of course, you can begin taking supplements that are believed to help, if you aren’t already doing so. Ginkgo biloba, for example, has been shown in several studies to improve mental alertness and memory function. These effects are generally believed to be related to the herb’s tendency to increase peripheral circulation, thereby feeding more blood to the brain.

Other supplements have been shown to have a more general effect in combating our physiological reactions to stress. Anything that reduces the body’s cortisol production, for example, is a potential help. In this category, place supplements such as DHEA, which we’ve extolled previously. Studies performed at the School of Neurology of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK) showed that DHEA administration led to a reduction of evening cortisol levels and improved mood and memory.

But at least as important—and the main focus of this article—are the ways we can avoid the emotional stress in the first place. It seems the Buddhists and the yogis have been onto this for a long time.

Practicing meditation is a big plus. But even if you think that sitting and meditating sounds like a waste of time, it might be helpful to discuss one of the underlying features of meditation: Mindfulness. Mindfulness simply means paying attention to what’s going on right now in this very moment. It means being aware of the thoughts that cross your mind, whether constantly—like obsessions—or fleetingly.

In fact, most forms of meditation that are taught to beginning yogis and Buddhists consist in simply sitting and focusing the attention on one’s breathing. The idea is not to control the breath, but to observe it. One may focus on the breath as it passes through the nose, or on the movement of the diaphram and the lungs; the level of focus is not really important. What is important is the attention.

Indeed, once one has become able to follow one’s breathing for any extended period of time (at first, following more than one sequence of inhalations and exhalations may prove difficult) one can extend the awareness to surrounding sounds, still following the slow in/out of the breath.

The result of this increasing sense of mindfulness is an indescribable sense of calm. Dealing only with the present moment has a soothing effect on the psyche. What’s more, we gradually become aware that the stuff of our worries, which generally involve the future and sometimes the past, are merely thoughts occurring in the present. Thus revealed, they generally have less power over us.

So working now, whatever your age, to develop the practice of mindfulness and meditation can reap health benefits now and in the future, not to mention the sense of calm they may gradually introduce into your daily life. Indeed, lifelong practitioners may wince at the notion that others would take up meditation purely for health benefits.

Practicing yoga, which generally involves performing slow, graceful exercises punctuated by possibly prolonged periods of inactivity in which one adopts a specific pose or asana serves to stretch and strengthen the muscles. The stretching in particular causes a sense of relaxation and well being as blood returns to the stretched muscle. This effect can be prolonged and may result in a sense of euphoria.