As humans age, they lose physical abilities more or less gradually. Especially between 40 and 50 years old. Muscle mass is lost, vision becomes less sharp, joints begin to fail. But something different happens in the brain. The brain rewires itself at 40. What exactly happens?
Glucose
It is a kind of reconfiguration of your internal “wiring”. Researchers at Monash University in Australia analyzed more than 150 studies on how the brain ages. “The brain consumes 20% of the glucose that enters our body. With age you lose that ability to absorb that nutrient,” says neuroscientist Sharna Jamadar. The brain begins a kind of reengineering of its systems to take advantage of the nutrients it can now absorb.”
This results in different neural networks becoming more integrated in the following years. In some of the cases studied, this “rewiring” managed to create a kind of resistance to brain aging.
Our brain is made up of a complex network of units. They are in turn divided into regions, subregions and, in some cases, individual neurons. During our growth and youth, that network and those units are in a process of high connectivity. That is why in those years it is easier for us to learn specialized sports or a new language. But the brain rewires itself at 40 and this changes. “Less flexible thinking, reduced verbal and numerical reasoning begins,” explains Jamadar.
Exercise and diet
This is because the circuits connect more with the networks that handle general issues and not specific ones. Before 40, the circuits go through the brain units connecting with very sophisticated networks. After 40, what we see is that the circuits connect with all the circuits, almost without discrimination.
The main recommendation to maintain a healthy brain as we age is to maintain a healthy diet and exercise. The consumption of nuts, avocado and vegetables is recommended. “The brain will consume less glucose and will do so less effectively. The foods we consume will have an immediate effect on the health of our brain,” indicates the scientist.
