How to maintain clarity of mind in the “silver” age, said the psychologist

The brain must be constantly evolving to counteract function decline. On October 6, at a seminar in the City Health Center (Minsk), the psychologist of this institution, Ekaterina Chuyashova, told the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency.

- Even the great physiologist Ivan Pavlov wrote about the extinction and activation of reflexes, and modern science confirms that our main body builds additional neural connections only when it solves fundamentally new for itself, super-complex tasks.

According to her, solving crosswords and scanwords, contrary to stereotypes, is ineffective.

- Very quickly it becomes a habitual automatic action, explained E. Chuyashova. The brain does not strain, but only reproduces the old knowledge already in memory. A new neural connection is built only when a person is emotionally involved in the process and overcomes old stereotypes.

As a positive example, the psychologist cited the situation: children gave an elderly person a smartphone.

- The desire to correspond with grandchildren creates a powerful emotional stimulus. A person sincerely wants to succeed, overcomes the barrier, and at this moment the brain is actively working, the speaker said. Well develop the brain learning a foreign language or preparing a new, exotic dish.

To maintain the tone of mind, the specialist advised using applied techniques, for example, neurobiology. This is a simple exercise for the brain, consisting of daily activities that intentionally break household patterns. Among them, performing the usual rituals (cleaning teeth, opening door locks) with a non-dominant hand. Or taking a shower with your eyes closed, focusing only on tactile sensations. It is possible to change the usual routes of movement, to form new social ties.

According to E. Chuyashova, it is vital for an elderly person to be involved in all available fields of activity: intellectual (reading, computer), creative (handicrafts), economic (dacha, repair) and social (volunteering).

“A big mistake of many caring relatives is the desire to completely protect an elderly person from everyday difficulties,” Chuyashova added. The brain of an elderly person should not be passive. To preserve cognitive functions, elements of coping and light intellectual or physical stress are needed. Doing simple everyday tasks involving motor and muscle memory is one of the best ways to stay on top.