For weeks I’ve been intending to post a link to A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond, a New York Times article that appeared on January 19, 2012. The article, by Patricia Cohen, addresses mental fitness of people as they age and examines the reasons that brain power changes as people grow older.
Visit the MIDUS site.
Especially interesting is the research of a Brandeis University psychologist and principal investigator, Dr. Margie Lachman and others on aging research. Midlife in the United States (Midus) is tracking more than 7,000 people between the age of 25 and 74 as they age through midlife and into the elder years.
Some Interesting Points
- A college degree is associated with a slowdown of the brain’s aging process and longer life.
- The work of the brain that depends on accumulated information and experience gets better over time.
- Using a computer may improve mental functions in some ways.
- Less educated people appear to be able to make up for some deficits in middle age by reading, writing, and doing word puzzles.
Read the whole article. Read my blog post on association vs. causation.
As Our Parents Age So Do We 
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