The Nervous System - Taking care: keeping the nervous system healthy
The growth of the brain stops once an individual reaches young adulthood. As aging takes place, neurons become damaged and die. Since they cannot reproduce themselves, their number in the brain continually decreases. However, the number lost under normal conditions is only a small percentage of the total.
As in all body systems, though, aging brings about structural changes in the brain and nervous system. With the loss of neurons, brain size and weight decrease. Blood flow to the brain also decreases. Again, these changes are normal and usually are not the cause of mental disabilities in elderly people.
However, certain activities in life can accelerate the aging process of the brain, leading to mental impairment. Boxers and alcoholics are prime candidates to suffer from slurred speech, tremors, and dementia (impaired memory, thinking, and reasoning) long before others. Certain drugs, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis (diseased condition in which the walls of arteries become thickened and hard, interfering with the circulation of blood), poor nutrition, depression, and stress can also lead to premature loss of mental abilities.
Learning can continue throughout life as neural pathways are always available and ready to be developed. Like the muscles of the body, the mind can remain strong if used regularly. The following activities, if maintained on a life-long basis, can help keep the nervous system operating at peak efficiency: eating a proper diet low in fat and high in fiber, maintaining a healthy weight, consuming proper amounts of good-quality drinking water, getting adequate rest, engaging in regular exercise, not smoking or taking illegal drugs, drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol (if at all), and reducing stress levels.
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