Thanks for the memories
UCLA’s Dr. Gary Small believes crisp recollection begins with a healthy brain
By Carl Kozlowski 04/30/2009
A professor of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences, Dr. Gary Small is one of the world’s leading experts on memory and the effects of aging on the brain.
Director of UCLA’s Center on Aging, Small is the author of four books on the mind and memory, including “The Memory Prescription: Dr. Gary Small’s 14-Day Plan to Keep Your Brain and Body Young” and “The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young.” Through research, Small has found inventive and often natural ways to maintain and even restore brain function well into old age.
With his latest book, “iBrain,” a departure from his usual topic of aging and memory, Small — the keynote speaker at today’s Pasadena Conference on Aging at the First Church of the Nazarene — takes a sometimes hopeful, sometimes harrowing look at how the human brain and society are adapting to high technology and constant computerized stimulation.
PW: Tell us about your new book, “ iBrain,” and what you’ve learned about the way technology is shaping the human mind.
Dr. Small: It’s about how technology not only changes our lives, but may change our brains. That’s both a good and a bad thing. Technology improves our efficiency, and we have a lot of entertainment from the technology that fascinates us. It also improves cognitive functioning and reaction time.
But there’s always a possibility of technological addiction, Attention Deficit Disorder and tech abuse. Young people are spending an average of nine hours a day on technology and their tech skills are excellent, but their human-contact, face-to-face skills are declining. They don’t notice non-verbal cues. They get hooked into the technology and it does something to their brain that’s difficult to stop. The wiring of the brain for dopamine, which controls addiction to drugs or sex, also controls technology addiction.
I think the effects are mixed, because as you get older you’re less likely to use the technology so much. We just did a study that found older people who searched facts online, rather than those naïve to the experience, have much more [brain] activity and we can train them on technology and improve their minds. We’re studying “your brain on Google,” which means for the first time using a brain scanner to see what happens when you read a book versus search online. I talk about it in my book.
“iBrain” also deals with the ability of seniors to grapple with new technologies. How is the so-called digital divide impacting seniors and what can they do about it?
I think the “digital divide” is basically younger people spending more time with technology than seniors do. It’s exaggerating the generation gap into a brain gap. The answer is to upgrade the technological skills of older digital immigrants — those who came aboard to digital technology late — and help the younger tech natives, the ones who grew up with technology, with their communication skills. It’s important to bring the older population into the digital fold, both in work and cultural aspects.
The other day on “The View” they were talking about Twitter; I’ve never tried it, which motivated me to want to look at it. Unless you really experience these things, you’re left out of a huge loop. The traditional ways of communicating are fading away. Papers are going paperless or going thinner. Young people are online for information. Older people are more likely to adapt to books online because they can enhance their lives carrying many books on the computer and because they can adjust the font size.
What are some of the most important things that seniors — and people who are soon going to be seniors — can do to keep their minds healthy and active?
It’s not just the technology; it’s an entire lifestyle. Physical exercise is important for brain power. Walking just 10 minutes a day can lower risk for Alzheimer’s. Trying to learn every day will enhance health, and we’ve developed memory classes that are available nationwide. Another approach is to use technology to improve memory. There are lots of devices out there now that can enhance brain function.
The conference you’re speaking at has a larger and timely element to it, which is seniors dealing with what’s happened to them in this economy — their homes in danger, financial security gone when they thought their future was guaranteed by investments now worth only half as much, making it impossible for them to retire. As the director of UCLA’s Center on Aging, what kinds of things are you seeing and how are seniors dealing with these changes?
It’s not just the older generation, but everyone has a lot of anxiety. I’ve seen a lot of positive responses where people are coming together. We know one key to successful aging is maintaining social networks, and it’s important not to be afraid to ask for help from friends and family. People are giving each other breaks on owing money, for instance. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and get help from friends.
In my own life, our nuclear family, we’ve tried to spend less money on dinners, told our teenagers be thrifty and turn off the lights. I’m finding the quality of my life has improved — I’m spending less money but more time with family. It’s important to have a positive attitude and important to be socially connected.
What kinds of actions should seniors be taking now to adjust to all this and continue to strive for a better quality of life?
My book “The Longevity Bible” talks about eight strategies for a better life, such as positive outlook, social connections, mental and physical activity. Diet is important, but unless you avoid toxins in the environment, and don’t drink and drive or smoke, you’re not going to live that long. Genetics do not define the whole story of how we age. The average person has more power than they think.
What sort of public policy steps should be taken to alleviate these crises and the more general problems that seniors face?
As we get more information about healthy aging and successful aging, I think that will change public policy. To do that we need solid scientific evidence, but that is beginning to emerge and I’m hoping we’ll see more and more changes for a healthy quality of life. We’ve seen changes with dieting and laws about driving. As we get more specific, we’ll also stay healthier and, by extension, older.
Do you have any tips for adults whose parents are now seniors on how they can maintain strong, healthy and positive relationships with their aging parents?
You want to be sensitive to their point of view, because there’s often a reversal of parenting rules. But instead of kids telling their parents what to do, respect their autonomy and have a real dialogue and a healthy caring attitude about issues of finances and health.
A positive thing for all society is the graying of the baby boomers. AARP is a stronger force; celebrities now want to get on the cover of that more than other magazines. It’s showing a positive image of aging that’s very important. [The boomers] are coming of age and that can only help all of us with these issues.
Deputy Editor Joe Piasecki contributed to this report.
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