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Staying Sharp: 9 Keys for a Youthful Brain through Modern Science and Ageless Wisdom
Mantenere un’ottima memoria e un cervello sano e brillante: è l’auspicio che tutti ci rivolgiamo pensando a quando saremo in là con gli anni o notando i primi segnali che la nostra mente sta facendo cilecca.
Ebbene, in realtà è un obiettivo più facile da raggiungere di quanto abitualmente non si creda. Unendo gli esiti della più recente ricerca nell’ambito delle neuroscienze, con gli antichi saperi orientali in merito alla resilienza, alla mindfulness e alle pratiche di riduzione dello stress, Henry Emmons e David Alter mostrano che invecchiare bene, con un cervello sano, vivace e attivo, è a portata di mano. Di più, mostrano che è addirittura possibile far fare dietrofront all’invecchiamento cerebrale e innescare un processo, non farmacologico, di ringiovanimento del cervello.
Lo spiegano in questo libro che, accogliendo la loro pluridecennale esperienza, traduce i fondamenti degli studi sul cervello in una raccolta di nove lezioni chiave che hanno dimostrato la loro efficacia nel preservare e rafforzare l’acutezza della nostra mente. Con il ricco bagaglio di teorie spiegate in modo semplice e di esercizi pratici per allenare la mente e il cervello, il lettore sarà guidato a vivere con più gioia e a invecchiare con più leggerezza, a prescindere dall’età anagrafica.
Ebbene, in realtà è un obiettivo più facile da raggiungere di quanto abitualmente non si creda. Unendo gli esiti della più recente ricerca nell’ambito delle neuroscienze, con gli antichi saperi orientali in merito alla resilienza, alla mindfulness e alle pratiche di riduzione dello stress, Henry Emmons e David Alter mostrano che invecchiare bene, con un cervello sano, vivace e attivo, è a portata di mano. Di più, mostrano che è addirittura possibile far fare dietrofront all’invecchiamento cerebrale e innescare un processo, non farmacologico, di ringiovanimento del cervello.
Lo spiegano in questo libro che, accogliendo la loro pluridecennale esperienza, traduce i fondamenti degli studi sul cervello in una raccolta di nove lezioni chiave che hanno dimostrato la loro efficacia nel preservare e rafforzare l’acutezza della nostra mente. Con il ricco bagaglio di teorie spiegate in modo semplice e di esercizi pratici per allenare la mente e il cervello, il lettore sarà guidato a vivere con più gioia e a invecchiare con più leggerezza, a prescindere dall’età anagrafica.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2015
57 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Henry Emmons
18 books24 followersHenry Emmons, MD, is a psychiatrist who integrates mind-body and natural therapies, mindfulness and allied Buddhist therapeutics, and psychotherapeutic caring and insight in his clinical work.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 3, 2019
Agreat readable book. Don't wait until you are 91 to read it! Never to early to learn practical , eary things.
June 28, 2025
Nothing new or earth-shattering; it's all advice you've heard a million times before. Still, it's good to be reminded of these pieces of advice and explanations. I highlighted up the wazoo, bits I want to recall and incorporate into my life. Like many others, dementia is my greatest fear and I find it the scariest disease. The authors do a good job calming down people like me, pointing out that we still have some control and DNA is not destiny.
Our genetic code-our DNA - may be something we carry with us throughout our lives.But whether or not these genes become manifest in our lives depends upon many things that are affected by how we live. In other words, we can influence our genetic destiny through the choices we make.
what you eat plays a huge role in determining what illnesses you develop, whether that illness goes into remission, and whether it can be prevented in the first place. The science that studies how genetic expression develops is called epigenetics. In addition to heart disease and diabetes, there are two other age-related conditions that we know to be influenced by epigenetics: cancer and dementia. A process called DNA methylation, which determines whether genes are turned on or off, is influenced by choices you make.Isn't it empowering to think that there is something you can do to influence the switching on and off of your genes?
Here are the 9 keys:
1. movement.
2. well rested.
3. well nourished.
4. cultivates curiosity.
5. flexible.
6. optimistic.
7.empathic.
8. well connected.
9.authentic.
In later middle life, the brain's processing speed slows down, affecting how quickly words can be found or how rapidly new learning occurs. But the good news is that we can influence how our brain changes in specific ways, preserving some of its youthful vigor and strengthening other parts to compensate for the inevitable slowing
Although Brian's fears were expressed as an either/or question -"Do l or don't I have Alzheimer's disease?" — the real issue is more subtle and needs to be identified and addressed more directly. He was really asking, "Is this the end?" Alzheimer's is viewed as a disease for which there is no treatment and no hope. The diagnosis predicts a complete and total loss of control over one's mind and over one's future. Who among us doesn't fear that scenario? The fear of Alzheimer's often masks a whole host of fears relating to aging.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has five core functions - sensing what is happening in the moment, noticing out emotional response to it, applying the mental brakes to keep from reacting impulsively, using past memories to help us respond in the best possible way and finally crafting an appropriate plan and putting it into action. For neurodivergent individuals, such as those with ADHD or autism spectrum disorders, the development of the prefrontal cortex generally occurs later than in neurotypical people. While the prefrontal cortex typically matures between ages 20-25 in neurotypical individuals, it may continue developing until around ages 28-35 in neurodivergent individuals.
Focusing attention, increasing tolerance for distress, and nourishing positive emotional states help us to reconnect to others.
Normal aged related issues: slowing of the rate at which you process information • diminished ability to pay attention to multiple conversations or activities at once • more difficulty sustaining focused attention for long periods of time • greater challenges when learning new information as compared to the past • longer delays when retrieving information from memory (such as names, words, or directions) These mental changes mirror parallel changes that occur to the physical body (for example, slower movements, less stamina) Yet we are generally more accepting of physical changes than of mental ones
The right hemisphere extracts patterns from the new and unfamiliar and hands them off to the left hemisphere, which stores them for later use, and usually tags the pattern with a verbal description. When people make deliberate choices to expose themselves and their brains to new and
challenging experiences,the right hemisphere shows improved functioning.
we need to cultivate mindfulness.The ability to focus attention-key to making sense of our increasingly complex world - is an art that can be learned, practiced, and refined. Being present not only makes us more effective, it also makes us happier.
the idea of multitasking — successfully doing more than one thing at a time-is a myth. The human brain can indeed quickly switch from one thing to another, but that comes at a cost. We lose time and energy when we constantly switch our focus. We become less efficient, and maybe even less intelligent, when we repeatedly shift our focus. People become less able to decide what's irrelevant and could therefore be ignored. They may have been quick to change their focus but couldn't filter
out the important from the unimportant.
it. It requires an unbelievably sophisticated attention management system to filter all that information, selecting the relevant signals that are buried within all the sensory background noise. Some people with fundamental attention problems, such as those with ADHD may be unable to focus their attention no matter how hard they try. But even without a problem like ADHD, many people have such a poor ability to manage their attention that it gets in the way of their day-to-day functioning.
the brain is constantly barraged with stimuli that compete for our attention.The ability to suppress what is not relevant is the partner to the ability to select what is relevant. It allows you, for example, to carry on a conversation despite the surrounding noise And for people with auditory processing disorder, they do not have this skill
We can let in too much, becoming flooded by all the inputs coming our way. That is like the photographer who opens the aperture too wide, allowing so much light to come in that it washes out the details of the picture. When flooded we become even more distractible more ramped up with accelerated but disjointed thinking. Some of the side effects to this pattern include feeling stressed or anxious and not sleeping well.
The other common pattern is to shut down in a vain attempt to stop the onslaught. Then our thinking becomes slowed and we tend to feel sluggish, flat, or even a bit depressed. Like the photograph whose images are dark and shadowy, life loses its luster. Interest and motivation wane, and we settle into a state of lethargy.
It isn't that the meditators' minds don't wander; they do. But they have become adept at recognizing when their minds have wandered, and that allows them to intentionally shift out of default mode and back into a focused state. Doing so engages a host of important brain areas and makes them stronger
One's inner life can be run by negative emotions, which none of us wants. Being aware of your emotions-and then knowing what to do with them—is an extremely helpful combination of skills known as emotional regulation. People who are skilled at emotional regulation tend to share a number of qualities: • They have developed a good ability to tolerate distressing emotions.• They can find the middle way between being flooded by emotions or suppressing them -not too much, not too little.
• They are able to stay grounded in the moment so that they don't get swept away by the really hard emotions • They can tune in to the emotional tone around them. Their empathy, the ability to sense what the other is feeling, allows for a higher level of relationship with others.
Through mindfulness, they had grown a bigger brain, much like the sculpting of the body that happens with weight lifting. And it occurred in the brain areas that really count-specifically in the areas of the hippocampus, the orbitofrontal cortex, the thalamus, and the inferior temporal gyrus - all of which are known for regulating emotions.
The body is meant to move, and failure to move is among the strongest reasons behind all the chronic health problems of the twenty-first century. Movement is not only exercise for the body: it is, quite literally, exercise for the brain. Movement makes the brain bigger, stronger, and faster.
Alzheimer's disease correlates with a particular gene, known as APOE4. This gene is involved with the deposition of amyloid, a protein that is destructive to the brain's cortex in people with AD.Researchers followed 201 cognitively normal adults ages and found that in those who carried the APOE 4 gene, exercise helped keep this harmful protein out of their sensitive brain areas.There are several other biomarkers for AD that are also improved by moderate exercise.- THIS NEEDS TO BE MY SCREEN SAVER
If you are chronically stressed out, then movement can help to diminish the harmful impact of the stress hormones. After all, the fight-or-flight response is preparing us for activity, vigorous activity, for moving as if our life depended upon it. When we are stressed and we do move vigorously, we are fulfilling our biological imperative, using up some of our energy and burning off the physical effects of adrenaline and cortisol.
Stress shrinks the hippocampus-something we want to avoid at all costs in order to preserve memory as we age.
Doing thirty squats in a row may seem more worthwhile because it feels like exercise, but you get far more benefit by standing up thirty times spread out over the course of the day. Recurrent movement clearly trumps concentrated bursts of exercise.
One of the means by which sleep improves mood is that it reduces what is known as emotional reactivity. The PFC remains calm and effective more easily when we've slept well.
They found a very strong correlation between depression and the amount of light in their bedrooms at night, and concluded that an important way to prevent depression may be to simply keep the bedroom light very low. Keep it dim. Turn off your electronics at least an hour before bed, including the computer, iPad, and smartphone. Never watch TV in bed. Keep the room lights as low as you can, or use candles. Darkness before bed will do amazing things for your natural sleepiness.
Elevated blood sugar heightens the damage caused to the blood vessels in the brain by the proteins found in Alzheimer's disease. Blood sugar literally shrinks the brain, and it may not take much to do it. Even if it measures in the high end of the normal range, blood sugar is associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus...As we age, this metabolic process tends to get even messier
eat a large variety of brightly colored fruits and vegetables. The phytonutrients that give them their colors also give us the brain protection we need.
about a quarter of the plate is made up of protein, a quarter is starch, and half the plate is vegetables, with added healthy fats.
•Curiosity activates the reward centers deep within the brain.Curiosity is a whole brain exercise that integrates the knowledge circuits of the left brain with the pattern-seeking circuits of the right brain. Curiosity reboots the brain, keeping it fresh and vital by balancing knowing with a hunger to know more. Without the benefit of sustained attention, curiosity can be a source of distraction or mischief (think of the adventures of Curious George) or even danger.
research suggests that the growth of new brain cells is stimulated best by being exposed to what is new, unpredictable, and uncertain. Exposure to what we don't know or haven't faced before compels us to come up with new strategies and new solutions-and promotes a more adaptable and flexible brain.
Compulsive gambling is an example of curiosity run amok.A compulsive gambler intellectually knows the odds of winning are small. But the gambler's rational mind is overcome by the combination of overstimulation of the brain's approach circuits and the understimulation of the inhibitory circuits. People who have a normal degree of curiosity can anticipate those negative consequences, enjoy some time at the casino, and stop before significant problems arise. Curiosity, like every other capacity in the brain, has an upside and a downside. We need to practice moderation, exercising our judgment and wisdom while expanding our curiosity.
No one wants to feel dulled or bored all the time, but transient feelings of boredom are an important counterpoint to unbridled curiosity. Developing a tolerance for sameness, the ability to take a mental, physical, and emotional pause, can protect us from perpetually chasing after what is new and appealing.
Think about expanding your comfort zone of competence.By engaging in activities that are just a bit beyond your current skill level, you will see your competence grow. The brain never loses its appetite for growth, and providing mental and physical challenges is an important way to satisfy the brain's hunger for continued growth. Passion and curiosity are effective counterweights to anxiety, worry, and fear.
Strike a balance between those activities that you do on your own and other enjoyable activities that you can do with your friends. Doing things independently improves your relationship with yourself. As you become better acquainted with and more accepting of who you are, you can bring a more contented self to your interactions with others. In turn, this can make for deeper and more meaningful connections with them.
There are differences in how people cope with fear and anxiety. Coping styles can be boiled down into two contrasting but complementary approaches, protective coping and adaptive coping. Did you ever deal with your concern about a looming deadline by escaping into a movie rather than digging into the project?This kind of avoidance is a classic protective cop-ing. A protective coping style is less flexible, more impulsive, more aggressive...we have genetic predispositions for fear or flexibility, but our brains are forever being modified by ongoing experience.
Many people seek to avoid changes by constructing a life of familiar and safe routines that keep anxiety(a mental form of fear) at bay. The price of over-relying on such efforts is to risk stagnation, and stagnation correlates with measurable shrinking and thinning of brain tissues, resulting in a clear loss of adaptive flexibility. UH OH
people tend to fall along a continuum between rapid, inflexible, big-picture thinking and slower, adaptable, more detail-oriented thinking. Are you drawn to what is shiny and new? Do you yearn for what is familiar and comforting?Knowing where along the continuum you tend to fall can provide you with an important clue on where to focus as you grow your flexibility. If you are a person who chases new experiences, the key is to become more comfortable with, and tolerant of, routines and repetitions. For that person, it is important to build "depth" by going deeper into an experience and staying with it for a time. On the other hand, if you are a seeker of sameness, the goal is to increase "breadth" of life by broadening the range of experiences you sample, even if the conclusion is that what is new in this particular instance is not to your liking. Different strokes for different folks.
But response flexibility involves regular sampling of "strokes" from beyond your comfort zone.
Monitoring or observing your thoughts is far different from debating them. Ironically, directly challenging or dismissing worries only serves to strengthen them.
Optimism acknowledges that suffering is simply and unavoidably part of life's journey, but at the same time, it reminds us that contentment, joy, and happiness can nevertheless be attained
with persistent and determined effort.
The first optimism-building filter involves selective attention. We can't be everywhere at once.
Without paying attention to where we choose to be, we will find ourselves wherever our habits take us...Notice what features of your inner or outer environment you are drawn to pay attention to and whether those features are helpful. Do those features help you to more deeply engage with others or to withdraw and detach from them?
People who are habitual procrastinators report that the pressure of an impending deadline and the fear of embarrassment or other consequences of missing the deadline finally prompt them to act. Optimists,on the other hand, are motivated less by fear and more by the pleasure they anticipate when they imagine how the future will turn out. We anticipate the good-and act to bring the good into being!
Like the little engine that could, rehearse the mantra "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." Each time these practices are engaged, your mind is incrementally rewiring your brain to grow optimism.
nothing is permanent. Everything changes. The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
The heart beats and the heart relaxes. Thoughts rise up and subside to be replaced by new thoughts. Even feelings and sensations rise up, shift, and become something new. Everything is -renewed in each moment.
journey along life's path is less about avoiding obstacles than it is about making important choices about how to face them.
The right hemisphere perceives the nonverbal aspects of our interactions, like the subtle facial ex-
pressions which make up 50 to 90 percent of what gets communicated during an encounter.
Nonverbal signals provide the emotional context for interpreting the words being spoken. The right hemisphere of the brain is fundamentally the relationship hemisphere.
Chronically keeping the empathy dial on maximum can allow in too much of other people's experiences. Your stress coping system can be overwhelmed by too much vulnerability, or what psychologists call poor interpersonal boundaries. Unregulated empathy can produce the emotional equivalent of a repetitive stress injury. It is often in the second half of life when these mental injuries show up in the form of burnout, including diminished mental performance, physical illnesses, and emotional numbing.
Under the stress of an overempathic connection to others, the hippocampus goes dormant. Fewer nerve cells germinate.The sprouting of new brain cells (neurogenesis) declines, leaving one less resilient in the face of future stresses.
Our genetic code-our DNA - may be something we carry with us throughout our lives.But whether or not these genes become manifest in our lives depends upon many things that are affected by how we live. In other words, we can influence our genetic destiny through the choices we make.
what you eat plays a huge role in determining what illnesses you develop, whether that illness goes into remission, and whether it can be prevented in the first place. The science that studies how genetic expression develops is called epigenetics. In addition to heart disease and diabetes, there are two other age-related conditions that we know to be influenced by epigenetics: cancer and dementia. A process called DNA methylation, which determines whether genes are turned on or off, is influenced by choices you make.Isn't it empowering to think that there is something you can do to influence the switching on and off of your genes?
Here are the 9 keys:
1. movement.
2. well rested.
3. well nourished.
4. cultivates curiosity.
5. flexible.
6. optimistic.
7.empathic.
8. well connected.
9.authentic.
In later middle life, the brain's processing speed slows down, affecting how quickly words can be found or how rapidly new learning occurs. But the good news is that we can influence how our brain changes in specific ways, preserving some of its youthful vigor and strengthening other parts to compensate for the inevitable slowing
Although Brian's fears were expressed as an either/or question -"Do l or don't I have Alzheimer's disease?" — the real issue is more subtle and needs to be identified and addressed more directly. He was really asking, "Is this the end?" Alzheimer's is viewed as a disease for which there is no treatment and no hope. The diagnosis predicts a complete and total loss of control over one's mind and over one's future. Who among us doesn't fear that scenario? The fear of Alzheimer's often masks a whole host of fears relating to aging.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has five core functions - sensing what is happening in the moment, noticing out emotional response to it, applying the mental brakes to keep from reacting impulsively, using past memories to help us respond in the best possible way and finally crafting an appropriate plan and putting it into action. For neurodivergent individuals, such as those with ADHD or autism spectrum disorders, the development of the prefrontal cortex generally occurs later than in neurotypical people. While the prefrontal cortex typically matures between ages 20-25 in neurotypical individuals, it may continue developing until around ages 28-35 in neurodivergent individuals.
Focusing attention, increasing tolerance for distress, and nourishing positive emotional states help us to reconnect to others.
Normal aged related issues: slowing of the rate at which you process information • diminished ability to pay attention to multiple conversations or activities at once • more difficulty sustaining focused attention for long periods of time • greater challenges when learning new information as compared to the past • longer delays when retrieving information from memory (such as names, words, or directions) These mental changes mirror parallel changes that occur to the physical body (for example, slower movements, less stamina) Yet we are generally more accepting of physical changes than of mental ones
The right hemisphere extracts patterns from the new and unfamiliar and hands them off to the left hemisphere, which stores them for later use, and usually tags the pattern with a verbal description. When people make deliberate choices to expose themselves and their brains to new and
challenging experiences,the right hemisphere shows improved functioning.
we need to cultivate mindfulness.The ability to focus attention-key to making sense of our increasingly complex world - is an art that can be learned, practiced, and refined. Being present not only makes us more effective, it also makes us happier.
the idea of multitasking — successfully doing more than one thing at a time-is a myth. The human brain can indeed quickly switch from one thing to another, but that comes at a cost. We lose time and energy when we constantly switch our focus. We become less efficient, and maybe even less intelligent, when we repeatedly shift our focus. People become less able to decide what's irrelevant and could therefore be ignored. They may have been quick to change their focus but couldn't filter
out the important from the unimportant.
it. It requires an unbelievably sophisticated attention management system to filter all that information, selecting the relevant signals that are buried within all the sensory background noise. Some people with fundamental attention problems, such as those with ADHD may be unable to focus their attention no matter how hard they try. But even without a problem like ADHD, many people have such a poor ability to manage their attention that it gets in the way of their day-to-day functioning.
the brain is constantly barraged with stimuli that compete for our attention.The ability to suppress what is not relevant is the partner to the ability to select what is relevant. It allows you, for example, to carry on a conversation despite the surrounding noise And for people with auditory processing disorder, they do not have this skill
We can let in too much, becoming flooded by all the inputs coming our way. That is like the photographer who opens the aperture too wide, allowing so much light to come in that it washes out the details of the picture. When flooded we become even more distractible more ramped up with accelerated but disjointed thinking. Some of the side effects to this pattern include feeling stressed or anxious and not sleeping well.
The other common pattern is to shut down in a vain attempt to stop the onslaught. Then our thinking becomes slowed and we tend to feel sluggish, flat, or even a bit depressed. Like the photograph whose images are dark and shadowy, life loses its luster. Interest and motivation wane, and we settle into a state of lethargy.
It isn't that the meditators' minds don't wander; they do. But they have become adept at recognizing when their minds have wandered, and that allows them to intentionally shift out of default mode and back into a focused state. Doing so engages a host of important brain areas and makes them stronger
One's inner life can be run by negative emotions, which none of us wants. Being aware of your emotions-and then knowing what to do with them—is an extremely helpful combination of skills known as emotional regulation. People who are skilled at emotional regulation tend to share a number of qualities: • They have developed a good ability to tolerate distressing emotions.• They can find the middle way between being flooded by emotions or suppressing them -not too much, not too little.
• They are able to stay grounded in the moment so that they don't get swept away by the really hard emotions • They can tune in to the emotional tone around them. Their empathy, the ability to sense what the other is feeling, allows for a higher level of relationship with others.
Through mindfulness, they had grown a bigger brain, much like the sculpting of the body that happens with weight lifting. And it occurred in the brain areas that really count-specifically in the areas of the hippocampus, the orbitofrontal cortex, the thalamus, and the inferior temporal gyrus - all of which are known for regulating emotions.
The body is meant to move, and failure to move is among the strongest reasons behind all the chronic health problems of the twenty-first century. Movement is not only exercise for the body: it is, quite literally, exercise for the brain. Movement makes the brain bigger, stronger, and faster.
Alzheimer's disease correlates with a particular gene, known as APOE4. This gene is involved with the deposition of amyloid, a protein that is destructive to the brain's cortex in people with AD.Researchers followed 201 cognitively normal adults ages and found that in those who carried the APOE 4 gene, exercise helped keep this harmful protein out of their sensitive brain areas.There are several other biomarkers for AD that are also improved by moderate exercise.- THIS NEEDS TO BE MY SCREEN SAVER
If you are chronically stressed out, then movement can help to diminish the harmful impact of the stress hormones. After all, the fight-or-flight response is preparing us for activity, vigorous activity, for moving as if our life depended upon it. When we are stressed and we do move vigorously, we are fulfilling our biological imperative, using up some of our energy and burning off the physical effects of adrenaline and cortisol.
Stress shrinks the hippocampus-something we want to avoid at all costs in order to preserve memory as we age.
Doing thirty squats in a row may seem more worthwhile because it feels like exercise, but you get far more benefit by standing up thirty times spread out over the course of the day. Recurrent movement clearly trumps concentrated bursts of exercise.
One of the means by which sleep improves mood is that it reduces what is known as emotional reactivity. The PFC remains calm and effective more easily when we've slept well.
They found a very strong correlation between depression and the amount of light in their bedrooms at night, and concluded that an important way to prevent depression may be to simply keep the bedroom light very low. Keep it dim. Turn off your electronics at least an hour before bed, including the computer, iPad, and smartphone. Never watch TV in bed. Keep the room lights as low as you can, or use candles. Darkness before bed will do amazing things for your natural sleepiness.
Elevated blood sugar heightens the damage caused to the blood vessels in the brain by the proteins found in Alzheimer's disease. Blood sugar literally shrinks the brain, and it may not take much to do it. Even if it measures in the high end of the normal range, blood sugar is associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus...As we age, this metabolic process tends to get even messier
eat a large variety of brightly colored fruits and vegetables. The phytonutrients that give them their colors also give us the brain protection we need.
about a quarter of the plate is made up of protein, a quarter is starch, and half the plate is vegetables, with added healthy fats.
•Curiosity activates the reward centers deep within the brain.Curiosity is a whole brain exercise that integrates the knowledge circuits of the left brain with the pattern-seeking circuits of the right brain. Curiosity reboots the brain, keeping it fresh and vital by balancing knowing with a hunger to know more. Without the benefit of sustained attention, curiosity can be a source of distraction or mischief (think of the adventures of Curious George) or even danger.
research suggests that the growth of new brain cells is stimulated best by being exposed to what is new, unpredictable, and uncertain. Exposure to what we don't know or haven't faced before compels us to come up with new strategies and new solutions-and promotes a more adaptable and flexible brain.
Compulsive gambling is an example of curiosity run amok.A compulsive gambler intellectually knows the odds of winning are small. But the gambler's rational mind is overcome by the combination of overstimulation of the brain's approach circuits and the understimulation of the inhibitory circuits. People who have a normal degree of curiosity can anticipate those negative consequences, enjoy some time at the casino, and stop before significant problems arise. Curiosity, like every other capacity in the brain, has an upside and a downside. We need to practice moderation, exercising our judgment and wisdom while expanding our curiosity.
No one wants to feel dulled or bored all the time, but transient feelings of boredom are an important counterpoint to unbridled curiosity. Developing a tolerance for sameness, the ability to take a mental, physical, and emotional pause, can protect us from perpetually chasing after what is new and appealing.
Think about expanding your comfort zone of competence.By engaging in activities that are just a bit beyond your current skill level, you will see your competence grow. The brain never loses its appetite for growth, and providing mental and physical challenges is an important way to satisfy the brain's hunger for continued growth. Passion and curiosity are effective counterweights to anxiety, worry, and fear.
Strike a balance between those activities that you do on your own and other enjoyable activities that you can do with your friends. Doing things independently improves your relationship with yourself. As you become better acquainted with and more accepting of who you are, you can bring a more contented self to your interactions with others. In turn, this can make for deeper and more meaningful connections with them.
There are differences in how people cope with fear and anxiety. Coping styles can be boiled down into two contrasting but complementary approaches, protective coping and adaptive coping. Did you ever deal with your concern about a looming deadline by escaping into a movie rather than digging into the project?This kind of avoidance is a classic protective cop-ing. A protective coping style is less flexible, more impulsive, more aggressive...we have genetic predispositions for fear or flexibility, but our brains are forever being modified by ongoing experience.
Many people seek to avoid changes by constructing a life of familiar and safe routines that keep anxiety(a mental form of fear) at bay. The price of over-relying on such efforts is to risk stagnation, and stagnation correlates with measurable shrinking and thinning of brain tissues, resulting in a clear loss of adaptive flexibility. UH OH
people tend to fall along a continuum between rapid, inflexible, big-picture thinking and slower, adaptable, more detail-oriented thinking. Are you drawn to what is shiny and new? Do you yearn for what is familiar and comforting?Knowing where along the continuum you tend to fall can provide you with an important clue on where to focus as you grow your flexibility. If you are a person who chases new experiences, the key is to become more comfortable with, and tolerant of, routines and repetitions. For that person, it is important to build "depth" by going deeper into an experience and staying with it for a time. On the other hand, if you are a seeker of sameness, the goal is to increase "breadth" of life by broadening the range of experiences you sample, even if the conclusion is that what is new in this particular instance is not to your liking. Different strokes for different folks.
But response flexibility involves regular sampling of "strokes" from beyond your comfort zone.
Monitoring or observing your thoughts is far different from debating them. Ironically, directly challenging or dismissing worries only serves to strengthen them.
Optimism acknowledges that suffering is simply and unavoidably part of life's journey, but at the same time, it reminds us that contentment, joy, and happiness can nevertheless be attained
with persistent and determined effort.
The first optimism-building filter involves selective attention. We can't be everywhere at once.
Without paying attention to where we choose to be, we will find ourselves wherever our habits take us...Notice what features of your inner or outer environment you are drawn to pay attention to and whether those features are helpful. Do those features help you to more deeply engage with others or to withdraw and detach from them?
People who are habitual procrastinators report that the pressure of an impending deadline and the fear of embarrassment or other consequences of missing the deadline finally prompt them to act. Optimists,on the other hand, are motivated less by fear and more by the pleasure they anticipate when they imagine how the future will turn out. We anticipate the good-and act to bring the good into being!
Like the little engine that could, rehearse the mantra "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." Each time these practices are engaged, your mind is incrementally rewiring your brain to grow optimism.
nothing is permanent. Everything changes. The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
The heart beats and the heart relaxes. Thoughts rise up and subside to be replaced by new thoughts. Even feelings and sensations rise up, shift, and become something new. Everything is -renewed in each moment.
journey along life's path is less about avoiding obstacles than it is about making important choices about how to face them.
The right hemisphere perceives the nonverbal aspects of our interactions, like the subtle facial ex-
pressions which make up 50 to 90 percent of what gets communicated during an encounter.
Nonverbal signals provide the emotional context for interpreting the words being spoken. The right hemisphere of the brain is fundamentally the relationship hemisphere.
Chronically keeping the empathy dial on maximum can allow in too much of other people's experiences. Your stress coping system can be overwhelmed by too much vulnerability, or what psychologists call poor interpersonal boundaries. Unregulated empathy can produce the emotional equivalent of a repetitive stress injury. It is often in the second half of life when these mental injuries show up in the form of burnout, including diminished mental performance, physical illnesses, and emotional numbing.
Under the stress of an overempathic connection to others, the hippocampus goes dormant. Fewer nerve cells germinate.The sprouting of new brain cells (neurogenesis) declines, leaving one less resilient in the face of future stresses.
February 1, 2020
First half was a 4/5 with relevant useful information about meditation, exercise and sleep. Second half was 2/5 where it gets more philosophical (without any data to back it up). Only saving grace in second half was about curiosity.
October 16, 2020
I wanted to abadon this book but kept on because i was hoping to gain new insight on the subject that I'd not previously encountered in other related materials I've consumed. There is good information here, i just found it to be repetitive and the style was not engaging for me. I rated 3 stars to prevent the overall score from being reduced because it's a decent read for someone who isn't already familiar with the subject matter.
April 12, 2019
As with Emmons' book Chemistry of Joy, Staying Sharp is a book that's worth owning and referencing from time to time. It's a great reminder of the importance (and even simplicity) of whole health. People of any age should read this book for an understanding of how our movement, our diet, and our mental state all affect the health and functioning of our brain. It is encouraging and hopeful.
July 15, 2025
If you don't know anything about what your brain and body need as you age, this could be a helpful book. Although some of the neuroscience is now outdated (the book's 10 years old), the conclusions are still helpful. But if you're already knowledgeable about these things, this book won't give you a lot of new information.
March 19, 2018
So it's good to know, I'm not loosing my mind. This book has a lot of tips for relaxing, and slowing down some, but enjoy like and be open to new experiences. I liked the message, and some of the examples. Makes me want to reinvent me. But, one step at a time. I'll get there.
July 7, 2021
This book is absolutely fantastic for anyone looking toward their middle age or into more senior years! I think it’s truly helpful for any aged person. I learned a lot and reflected a ton my my thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. I need to reread it to take it all in!
June 10, 2019
Informative and encouraging book that reminds us of the proactive choices we can make to maintain a youthful brain throughout life.
July 8, 2020
Solid five stars. Good practical advice for mental health without too much filler.
August 18, 2020
If you haven’t read anything about human brain science then this book might be of interest for you. There are good takeaways based on research and some are theories that might be of some help.
February 29, 2016
Emmons, Henry (M.D.) and Alter, David (Ph.D.), Staying Sharp: 9 Keys for a Youthful Brain through Modern Science and Ageless Wisdom, Simon and Schuster (Touchstone Books), New York, 2015 (280pp.$25)
Despite the haughty platitudes about American “exceptionalism” in health care, ours is a nation plagued by ill-health—stress, obesity, heart-disease, chronic fatigue, prescription drug abuse and hypertension are each symptomatic of a society gone haywire in a plague of overwork, income inequality and employment uncertainty, light and noise pollution and traffic snarls, not to mention the distractions of television and “electronic devices”. Screen zombies and gun nuts are the signal human totems of social life today.
Although touted as a path to wellness for older folks, a new book by two Minnesota doctors is a valuable resource for any person (young or old) seeking a path toward a more resilient life. “Staying Sharp” has plenty of neuroscience couched in easy to understand language. But it also draws upon a wealth of “wisdom” teaching that is integrated with modern neurobiology, psychology, social science and natural healing systems to present a totally synchronized approach to wellbeing. Henry Emmonds is a psychiatrist who integrates mind-body and natural therapies, along with compassion practice, into clinical work at Partners in Resilience in Minneapolis. His fellow-author, David Alter, is a psychologist with thirty years experience in health psychology, neuropsychology, and clinical hypnosis, and a cofounder of Partners in Healing, a center for holistic health in Minneapolis. They make a great team.
“Staying Sharp” presents its foundational teachings in an easy to comprehend analysis of brain chemistry, body physics, and the social dynamics of empathy, optimism and flexibility. Ultimately readers are urged by these two doctors to seek an authentic life that is both healthy and connected. Movement, rest, nutrition, self-delusion, attention, meditation and play all are examined in light of the latest medical and psychological studies. Taken together with Emmons two previous books, “The Chemistry of Joy” and “The Chemistry of Calm”, “Staying Sharp” is a grand amalgam of modern, science-based holistic medicine and ancient wisdom.
It can’t be easy for any of us to escape what has become a truly noisy, distasteful, nasty, angry and distracted America. But for our own sakes, and for the sake of those around us, it is time to try.
Despite the haughty platitudes about American “exceptionalism” in health care, ours is a nation plagued by ill-health—stress, obesity, heart-disease, chronic fatigue, prescription drug abuse and hypertension are each symptomatic of a society gone haywire in a plague of overwork, income inequality and employment uncertainty, light and noise pollution and traffic snarls, not to mention the distractions of television and “electronic devices”. Screen zombies and gun nuts are the signal human totems of social life today.
Although touted as a path to wellness for older folks, a new book by two Minnesota doctors is a valuable resource for any person (young or old) seeking a path toward a more resilient life. “Staying Sharp” has plenty of neuroscience couched in easy to understand language. But it also draws upon a wealth of “wisdom” teaching that is integrated with modern neurobiology, psychology, social science and natural healing systems to present a totally synchronized approach to wellbeing. Henry Emmonds is a psychiatrist who integrates mind-body and natural therapies, along with compassion practice, into clinical work at Partners in Resilience in Minneapolis. His fellow-author, David Alter, is a psychologist with thirty years experience in health psychology, neuropsychology, and clinical hypnosis, and a cofounder of Partners in Healing, a center for holistic health in Minneapolis. They make a great team.
“Staying Sharp” presents its foundational teachings in an easy to comprehend analysis of brain chemistry, body physics, and the social dynamics of empathy, optimism and flexibility. Ultimately readers are urged by these two doctors to seek an authentic life that is both healthy and connected. Movement, rest, nutrition, self-delusion, attention, meditation and play all are examined in light of the latest medical and psychological studies. Taken together with Emmons two previous books, “The Chemistry of Joy” and “The Chemistry of Calm”, “Staying Sharp” is a grand amalgam of modern, science-based holistic medicine and ancient wisdom.
It can’t be easy for any of us to escape what has become a truly noisy, distasteful, nasty, angry and distracted America. But for our own sakes, and for the sake of those around us, it is time to try.
November 20, 2015
(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)
Fascinating, Informative and Practical
A fascinating book on how the brain works, and how to keep it working to its full capacity. Although containing a massive amount of attention grabbing material, it is written in an easy, sometimes amusing, and always riveting style. Each chapter is prefaced with "Key Concepts", and broken up into small sections, all clearly labelled. I strongly advise having page markers ready to insert, as there are many sections here that you are going to want to revisit.
Following an explanation of how the brain works , including new research and discoveries about it, the 9 key lessons of the "Youthful Brain Program" are explored. These include sections on exercise, excellent nutrition advice (exactly what I had been looking for) and sleep, explaining why these are so important for the brain, with ideas on how to improve each. Also included are ideas for flexibility of mind, empathy, being positive plus many other sections regarding how "the brain and mind impact health and daily functioning". In each section there are plenty of reasons given as to why the activities suggested, including mindfulness, are good for the brain, including references to research and further resources. What makes this book particularly special, is the number and variety of suggestions given to help the reader improve/maintain brain function, for example in the movement chapter a range of suggestions are given for those that like to do a lot of exercise right through to the people who just want to make one small change, like standing up more often.
This book is packed full of so much fascinating, informative, motivating and realistic ideas that it is impossible here, in a few words, to describe it with justice. Suffice to say that I think this is a book that everyone will benefit from and enjoy. Not just the people reaching middle life that it appears to be aimed at, but also younger people - who too can learn much from the advice given, and who may wish to buy a second copy for their older relatives, or friends who are about to retire.
(See more of my reviews on: www.emmabbooks.blogspot.co.at )
Fascinating, Informative and Practical
A fascinating book on how the brain works, and how to keep it working to its full capacity. Although containing a massive amount of attention grabbing material, it is written in an easy, sometimes amusing, and always riveting style. Each chapter is prefaced with "Key Concepts", and broken up into small sections, all clearly labelled. I strongly advise having page markers ready to insert, as there are many sections here that you are going to want to revisit.
Following an explanation of how the brain works , including new research and discoveries about it, the 9 key lessons of the "Youthful Brain Program" are explored. These include sections on exercise, excellent nutrition advice (exactly what I had been looking for) and sleep, explaining why these are so important for the brain, with ideas on how to improve each. Also included are ideas for flexibility of mind, empathy, being positive plus many other sections regarding how "the brain and mind impact health and daily functioning". In each section there are plenty of reasons given as to why the activities suggested, including mindfulness, are good for the brain, including references to research and further resources. What makes this book particularly special, is the number and variety of suggestions given to help the reader improve/maintain brain function, for example in the movement chapter a range of suggestions are given for those that like to do a lot of exercise right through to the people who just want to make one small change, like standing up more often.
This book is packed full of so much fascinating, informative, motivating and realistic ideas that it is impossible here, in a few words, to describe it with justice. Suffice to say that I think this is a book that everyone will benefit from and enjoy. Not just the people reaching middle life that it appears to be aimed at, but also younger people - who too can learn much from the advice given, and who may wish to buy a second copy for their older relatives, or friends who are about to retire.
(See more of my reviews on: www.emmabbooks.blogspot.co.at )
February 18, 2017
Almost a five star book in terms or giving orderly information and motivation for staying or getting healthier in every way.
November 9, 2015
This book was recommended to me by my sister’s counselor. It is a very good self-help book covering the gamut of what it talks to stay sharp as we age. The authors do a good job of covering exercise, diet, lifelong learning, curiosity, empathy, and a Namaste view of others. The detailed technical discussion of the parts of the brain and how they function was a bit much for me but easy enough to skim.
I finished the book energized to do many of the things suggested in the book. I liked the quote in the book “Old is when your memories outnumber your dreams”, which brings to mind one of my favorite quotes “Most of what people blame on age is actually due to inactivity!”
I finished the book energized to do many of the things suggested in the book. I liked the quote in the book “Old is when your memories outnumber your dreams”, which brings to mind one of my favorite quotes “Most of what people blame on age is actually due to inactivity!”
November 4, 2015
4.5 An extremely thoughtful book. This book surprised me because it not only offered standard advice about how diet, exercise and positive, connected relationships influence the quality of aging but it also highlighted how developing an "authentic" self is a big part of aging successfully. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes; "My highest ambition is to be who I already am." Another "spiritual" question the authors raise is, how shall I live, knowing I will die? A lot to think about!!
March 2, 2016
Nothing new, really. The section on keeping connections alive (people - facts - processes) was promising, but then I remembered Ronald Reagan. He must have had a mind that used connections every day and still he succumbed to Alzheimer's. However, it was a good reminder about eating an anti-inflammatory diet and exercising, but I was hoping for a magic bullet.
February 9, 2016
This easy to read book is a guideline for keeping your brain healthy. One interesting thing I had not heard is that we lose the ability to empathize as we get older. It's a skill we should actively work on.
June 1, 2016
Full of practical tips and guidance. Well written covering complex topics in a simple rather than simplistic way. Obviously aimed at a significantly older audience but an interesting read. Slightly falls into woolly oddness towards the end but not a massive issue.
April 2, 2016
A book club pick, I have heard most of this before so not a lot new. Some interesting tidbits, and others may find more information.
February 17, 2017
didn't care for writing style; much of the information is common knowledge although I did learn a couple of things
August 1, 2024
Make friends with the passage of time.
September 7, 2018
As someone interested in keeping sharp myself this was one I was looking forward to reading.
Delivers some practical yet simple tips and mixes in some stories, case + research studies to provide an insight into factors affecting the ageing process.
Well worth a read as it is something that will affect us both and reassuring to know that we do and can have an impact on how it happens to us
Delivers some practical yet simple tips and mixes in some stories, case + research studies to provide an insight into factors affecting the ageing process.
Well worth a read as it is something that will affect us both and reassuring to know that we do and can have an impact on how it happens to us
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