“It’s all downhill from here.” “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” “My age is against me.”
❓Is that something you have been told? Or perhaps sometimes you might even tell this to yourself?
❗Actually, there is a lot of science to show us otherwise.
📚First, from previous experience of learning new skills, dealing with pain & illness, or previous experience of “just” feeling good in yourself, you will have a lot of information about yourself: what works for you & what does not work. You are an expert in you & that is something to celebrate.
🌳Second, aside from your own library of experiences, your body has an amazing ability to adapt and re-organise. This happens throughout your life, not just when you are ‘young’, & is also called plasticity.
🧠 One place plasticity happens, is in the brain (called neuroplasticity). In response to experience, nerve cells grow & re-organise, some connections grow stronger, others weaker which makes the stronger connections work better. This means it is never too late to learn a new skill.
😲Plasticity of the cells in the remaining body has also been called bioplasticity & happens on many different levels:
🦴Your bone constantly remodels in response to what you do with your body. For example, hopping sends signals to your bones to regenerate & grow stronger.
🦵 The squishy stuff in your joints also regenerates if you ‘ask enough’ of it. Read mythbusters#5 on cartilage growth in runners.
💪In the same way, muscle continues to grow throughout life, as long as we challenge it. A lot of the muscle reduction you see in people from a particular age on is more to do with a change in lifestyle (sitting more, moving less) than to do with age.
🠊 This means, as long as we create the right condition for our body & brain, age is but a number. The following pointers will get you started in this
😴 Optimise (hell, prioritise) good sleep 🥦 Eat mainly real foods (none of those numbers in the ingredient list) 📖 Continue to challenge your brain by learning new things 🏃 Challenge your muscles & bones by taking the stairs, hiking, jumping, strength training …👪 Regularly connect in person with your good friends & with your family. Chat about life, what is going well & what is bugging you …
If you are keen to learn more about this or other topics related to brain and body health, follow me or subscribe to the blogpost. To work with me one-on-one to apply some of these principles to your own life and movement, message me for a free call. I look forward to hearing from you.
More resources (no paid partnerships or sponsorship)
- Attia, P. (2023). Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity.
- Free public lectures & public programmes to keep the brain going
- Microcredentials & postgraduate learning
References (for the extra keen)
Gustaffson & Ulfhake (2024)
Khan et al. (2022)
Marzolaet al. (2023)