Spark

by John J. Ratey

We already know that smoking, inactivity, and eating poorly are root causes of these bodily diseases. Likewise, the latest research is clear about how lifestyle influences the mental hazards that come with aging. The same things that kill the body kill the brain, which neuroscientist Mark Mattson, of the National Institute on Aging, sees as a positive. “I think the good news—if we take it seriously—is that many of the same factors that can reduce our risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes also reduce the risk for age-related neurodegenerative disorders,” he says. The measures we would take to guard against diabetes, for example, also balance insulin levels in the brain and shore up neurons against metabolic stress. Running to lower our blood pressure and strengthen our heart also keeps the capillaries in the brain from collapsing or corroding and causing a stroke. Lifting weights to prevent osteoporosis from devouring our bones releases growth factors that make dendrites bloom. Conversely, taking omega-3 fatty acids for mental acuity strengthens our bones.