Super Agers: What Are They and How Can We Become One?

It is no secret that Americans are living longer and longer. Just because the quantity of our years is going up does not necessarily mean that the quality of those years (especially closer to the end of our lives) is going up as well. In fact, one of the greatest fears of older adults is remaining physically sound while losing cognitive and mental capacity.

There are, however, those who manage to live well into their 80s and beyond while remaining “sharp as a tack.” Those who reach the age of 80 with the cognitive capabilities of someone decades younger is referred to as a Super Ager. Who would not want to be a Super Ager? It is the best of all worlds! The good news is that researchers have found six “habits” that Super Agers have in common that can guide us as we hope to achieve this status.

Super Agers maintain a healthier diet. 2 servings of vegetables/day, 2 servings of berries/week, and one serving of fish/week have a positive effect on brain health. Other foods to include for better brain health include nuts, whole grains, olive oil, beans, and poultry.
They have connected social lives. Studies show that more loneliness leads to greater chances of memory loss. Super Agers seek out social networks and meet new people.
They are better at managing stress. Older adults who find ways to manage stress (through exercise, meditation, etc.) have better health outcomes. (More about this below.)
Super Agers are intentional about getting enough rest. The more sleep-deprived we are, the lower our cognitive ability, the worse our mood, the weaker our immune system, and the more difficult it is to manage blood sugar. 7-8 hours of sleep per night is recommended.
They engage in a variety of brain-stimulating activities. Aging can cause declines in our cognitive abilities due to increased dysfunction in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. Activities like crossword puzzles, Sudoku, reading, listening to lectures and music, as well as some word games can actually improve brain function, problem-solving skills, and the ability to think nimbly.
They exercise regularly. This very much related to #3 since exercise can be a stress-reducer. Regular exercise (both aerobic and non-aerobic) increases the production of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a protein in the brain and spinal cord that helps nerve cells survive and grow. Aerobic (or “cardio”) specifically reduces cognitive impairment and the risk of dementia.

The trend seems to be toward continued rising life expectancies. Medical science has focused on the quantity of years; our personal behavior, energy, and priorities should be focused on the quality of those years. Following the steps above are no guarantee that we will become Super Agers, but it is noteworthy that Super Agers share these commonalities.

For some of us, this will require a lot of adjustment (especially in our diet). Even modest changes can have an impact. The effort certainly seems to be worth the payoff.

Deep Sleep and Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the issues that older adults face is getting enough quality rest and sleep. Older mens’ sleep is often interrupted in the middle of the night by the need to urinate if they have prostate issues. Many post-menopausal women suffer from insomnia and night-time breathing disorders. Others just have a hard time “shutting off” all the activities of the day. It turns out that lack of quality sleep can affect more than just our level of energy the next day; it can also influence the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.

ScienceAlert just reported on a study conducted at UC-Berkeley published in BMC Medicine (an on-line journal of medicine) in May. The research showed that subjects in the study who got more deep sleep (defined as non-rapid eye movement slow wave sleep) did better on memory tests the next day than those who did not. The article notes that there is a bit of a chicken-egg issue here; one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s is sleep problems…and sleep problems may worsen the disease progression. Even so, this appears to be another piece in the puzzle.

Researchers believe that the study and scores of others like it point to this kind of sleep as necessary for allowing the body to get rid of waste products in the brain that accumulate during the day. It remains to be seen what improved sleep over the long-term might do, but in the short-term it appears that more of this kind of sleep can slow the progression of the disease. If, in fact, there is a cause-effect relationship there will be more effective ways to prevent this kind of dementia.

The article also mentions the role of sleep aids (that might actually do more harm than good in this respect). In order to get a better night’s sleep quality, lay off of caffeine later in the day, exercise, limit screen time at night, and take a hot shower. Most of us would like to get on board with that…and now we know it may have the added benefit of preventing dementia.

Lose Weight While You’re Sleeping?

It has been all over the news the last couple of days since a study was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Lose weight while sleeping! Well that certainly beats dieting and going to the gym, right?

Despite the click-bait headlines, there are some important findings. There are also some reasons to be wary of the advice.

In a nutshell, the study involved 80 participants between the ages of 21 and 40 who got less than 6.5 hours of sleep per night. Half of the participants kept their current sleep patterns while the other half were coached about how to increase their nightly sleep to 8.5 hours. After two weeks, lab tests showed that the group that got more sleep consumed on average 270 calories/day less than the control group. Over time, that can contribute to weight loss.

Some in the field of sleep study see this is a game changer. To me, it looks like simple math; the less time you are awake, the less time you have to eat. The logic is similar to that of intermittent fasting; limit the time you can eat and you will naturally consume less calories.

While getting adequate rest is extremely important, one should not presume that this is necessarily the best route for losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight. If one’s diet is unhealthy and/or one is sedentary most of the day, increasing sleep will only go so far.

It will be interesting to see if there is follow-up research on this topic. In the meantime, it seems as if this could be yet another reason to take seriously how much quality rest we get. Even if it does not lead to dramatic weight loss, it helps us to refresh and start the new day on the right note.